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So the Olympics are over and all I have on my mind is chocolate. Bear with me, there’s a connection somewhere in the creamy rich goodness of this confection. Really. I promise!

While attending a birthday party last weekend,  I had the pleasure of sharing my love of chocolate with another reveler. I use that word oh-so-cleverly because not only were we enjoying the party, but she happened to “reveal” something to me in passing that actually became the topic of a brief conversation.

Have you ever given much thought to chocolate? I mean, beyond whether or not you want nuts in it? Me neither! Sure, I have the occasional urge to get dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. For the connoisseurs there’s no contest—dark chocolate rules, but for the rest of us, milk chocolate has the right amount of creamy sweet goodness that puts a smile on our faces.

Hershey’s was brilliant when they named their little bite-sized treat a Kiss.
Anyway, while my friend and I were enjoying the chocolate icing on the cake, she made a comment that really made me think. She noted that chocolate is very bitter and only becomes a delectable treat after milk and sugar have been added. Wow! Of course. I knew that.

Because I’m kind of nerdy, I looked up the process for refining the chocolate. The historical roots can be found in the Mayan or Aztec people, who distilled the cacao beans and made a frothy bitter drink, and after Columbus presented the beans to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spaniards began drinking it, after adding milk and sugar to counter its bitter taste. It wasn’t until the 1800’s, after the Italians and the Dutch tweaked it that we saw the emergence of chocolate resembling what it is today.

So chocolate, and the Olympics, got me thinking about how we really need each other in order to grow and maximize our potential.  Stay with me here, it’s not such a stretch. We need the fraternity and interaction of community, and the [ideally] friendly competition that keeps us growing and changing to improve our lives, and improve society.

I was not at all surprised to find that the Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say, generally, about the forces that led to the development of chocolate candy, and the benefit of the Olympics Games:

Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the nature of man; they are necessary to him. To promote the participation of the greatest number in the life of a society, the creation of voluntary associations and institutions must be encouraged “on both national and international levels, which relate to economic and social goals, to cultural and recreational activities, to sport, to various professions, and to political affairs.” This “socialization” also expresses the natural tendency for human beings to associate with one another for the sake of attaining objectives that exceed individual capacities. It develops the qualities of the person, especially the sense of initiative and responsibility, and helps guarantee his rights (CCC 1882).

See? I told you I’d make the connection. It turns out that as usual, the Church contains the wisdom we need to maximize God’s plan for us.

As St. Ignatius of Loyola said, “All for the glory of God.”