Jesus and Popcorn

"Pleeeease!!! Pleeeeaaasse can I have some?" Whines my adorable younger brother, reaching for the cookie dough.
"No, we're about to go to mass." I remind him.
"So???"

I think for a couple seconds.

"We're not supposed to eat before mass."
"What? Why?"
He grabs a handful of popcorn from the kitchen counter.
"Because, we're about to recieve Jesus. And we don't want Jesus all mixed up with popcorn, do we?"

His eyes widen with the realization that maybe Jesus is real, maybe this is important.

I catch him 10 minues later slurping down a Sprite. I guess I wasn't clear enough that the 1-hour ban of food before mass is extended to drinks too.

(Get it?!? It's Jesus eating a cookie!!! Hahaha!!!)

Too often in our Church today, the simple rules that we were taught as children are dismissed because "if you want to follow them, you can, but God's not going to kill you if you don't feel like it."
My own family doesn't always believe in some Church Doctrine.

They know I do.
As they put it, I "care about that stuff."
But just because I feel strongly about it doesn't make them feel obligated to do it too.

And I don't blame them.

Maybe I should clarify.

They may be my family, and they have shaped who I am, but we're still different people who have had different experiences. And the experiences I have had (in adoration and other things) have led me to completely believe in and love God. And not only that, it has changed the person I am.

I didn't do this. Actually, I have nothing to do with it. For some reason, God chose me to know Him. So it's my responsibility to help the people around me know Him too and get to heaven.

It's a very thin and treacherous line when someone  wants to help those close to them (like their parents). It takes a whole lot of humility.
If they ever read this, I want them to know that all I'm saying is that I love God and I love them and all I want is to do His will.

Where was I going with all of this?
I'm not really sure.

But back to the Jesus and popcorn thing.
It may seem outrageous to follow seemingly pointless rules without hesitation.
But what you may not know is that I once had hesitation. There was a point in my life when I didn't really believe. And I questioned and searched and God brought me to the conclusion that the Church would never ask me to do something if it wasn't going to help me love God more.

And if we can't be faithful in the little things, how are we ever going to have the strength and courage to be faithful when it really matters?

p.s.
If anyone was wondering, the cookies turned out really yummy

p.p.s.
I'm writing a speech in my speech class about JPII and I'm really excited :)