Chef Franco Lania

Hello friends, today I would like to take a departure from cooking and travel so I can share with you something a little different.  What I want to touch upon is something that is quite personal and viewed by everyone in their own special way.  I am talking about faith, “spirituality”, and connecting to a higher power much greater than ourselves.  As we go through our lives, many of us face the “faith crisis” and begin to reassess our religious beliefs.  Call it a test of our faith, falling away from religion, or whatever you want but this struggle usually pops up when things become difficult, maybe too difficult to bear and we feel as if our “God” has abandoned us; our connection to a higher power seems to have been unplugged or blocked.  This is a difficult place to be and it can lead to a great downward spiral in our lives in so many ways.  However, there is a very bright side to all this and it’s the reason why I am writing this article.

Over time some people let go of their faith and live every day without it.  Eventually, this may lead them to feel even more lost, more confused and life seems to become even harder and more unmanageable.  Some people try all different kinds of spirituality methods, but they just don’t do the trick; they are not filling the great void in their lives.  If you fall into this situation, as I did, then it might be a clear indication that it’s time for you to return to true faith-based life.  Oddly enough, you are being called back to spirituality and now, at this time, you are most likely ready to accept if full-heartedly.

A return to faith is a long road for many and it can take years and plenty of heartaches and hard knocks, but the important thing is that you returned and you are healing and building a better version of yourself.  I am a Roman Catholic and to return back to my faith was one of the most difficult, yet most positive things I ever did in my life.  The Catholic faith is a cornerstone for many Christian-based religions but at the end of the day, they all converge on one simple and heartwarming fact- God is there for you even when you are not there for him and have removed religion from your life.  Through it all, a Higher Power was and is still there for you and realizing this is a very enlightening thing.

So, when you finally decide to come home (back to religion) with an open heart a very powerful loving presence will be there ready to welcome and heal you.  Your light of inner peace will begin to glow and your re-kindled spirituality will start to help you, help yourself, and ultimately get you back on track with your life and to where you should be.

True faith is always a work in progress for us all, but well worth the positive rewards. After many years of living in my refound faith, I was contacted, just before the holidays last year, by the National Catholic Register which is a news service of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), America’s premier Catholic cable network.  They wrote an article about me and my journey back to religion.  You can click here to read the full article.

I want to thank the National Catholic Register for reaching out to me. This is all very humbling and proof that as quiet or as personal your faith may be to you, it still can be felt by others at times, especially when you least expect it.

Keep the faith! 🙏 😇