The Rev. Ben Berinti of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Melbourne reflected on, of all things, a donut in his meditation published in the July 26 weekly church bulletin.

Berinti wrote that a parishioner recently dropped off a dessert for him, conveying that it is well known throughout the congregation that Berinti has a sweet tooth. 

“While not denying the truth, I did clarify, as I usually do, that as with all things in my life — I enjoy them ‘in moderation,’” Berinti wrote. 

The Rev. Ben Berinti | https://icparishmb.org/

Through this reflection, Berinti began to think about the fact that on their own, sweet things do matter, but the amount of filling matters as well. A small amount of filling in a donut, for example, will be disappointing, even though there is indeed some amount of filling. Therefore, it is the content and amount of that content that matters most.

“We can go through the motions with a lot of things: in our relationships, in our work, in our commitments, in our discipleship — and sometimes we can make the externals look pretty presentable — getting away with less than someone or something really needs,” Berinti wrote. “But when we look deep inside ourselves, we may find little to back up the external practices. Sometimes we just may be like that unsatisfying donut.”

It cannot be enough to simply appear good, we must also be good, he wrote. 

“Looking at Jesus’ preaching and teaching as recounted in all four of the Gospels, when he rails against the religiosity of his day, it’s mostly because internal depth, commitment and expansiveness pale in comparison to the externals,” Berinti wrote. 

In order to ensure that we are filling our souls and lives with the right amount of meaningful content, we must constantly complete self-examinations of ourselves, he wrote. If we forget to be vigilant, it can be to our detriment to find that there is little of substance within our souls. 

“When we are willing to take a look, on a regular basis, at the quality of what rests on the inside, as Jesus tells us: the outside becomes even better.”