SATURDAY OF OUR LADY AND THE FEAST OF ST BARBARA; 4th DECEMBER

SATURDAY OF OUR LADY AND THE FEAST OF ST BARBARA

4th DECEMBER
SATURDAY OF OUR LADY



The consecrated building of the church is a place to lead people to the Truth. Holier than the building is the Tabernacle of our souls. Nothing is holier than a soul in a state of grace; while a building can be a place where grace is dispensed, only living souls can be a receptacle of grace - can love God. The Little Company of Mary, under the spiritual guidance of the Venerable Mary Potter, saw their role as that of keeping Our Lady company at the foot of the Cross, beneath the Cross in the Crucifixion and death of her Son; to accompany the sick and the dying on their journey - to offer love and compassion. We are the beneficiaries of their spiritual legacy - we must be on guard against those who would divide us, both outside and within the Church. The Introit for the Mass of today is from Genesis 28:17:
“Terrible is this place: It is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven; and it shall be called the Court of God. “
ST BARBARA
The feast of St Barbara, on 4th December, celebrates the bravery of a young girl who lived and was martyred during the reign of Maximian, in the second century. She was the daughter of a rich pagan and was so beautiful that her father, who was rather strict, locked her in a tower. Nevertheless, she managed to become a Christian, probably under the tutelage of Origen. She escaped the tower and her father handed her over to the Romans to be executed. She escaped and her father tracked her down, dragged her home by the hair and murdered her – a father had the right to do this in pre-Christian Rome. Her father was then punished by lightning and fire raining down from the sky – he was basically exploded to death. For that reason, the medieval cannon makers and artillery makers adopted St Barbara as their patron saint. The significance of her feast day, at least for our purposes, is that this is the day for the planting of wheat seeds for the table for Christmas Eve, in cotton wool and water. Superstition says that if the wheat grows straight, the family will prosper throughout the year. At Christmas time, when the seeds have grown, the wheat is laid out on the Christmas Table.
Barbarakuchen – German Lemon Cake (named for St Barbara)
From Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Scheugraf; see Hi Cokkery.com
ingredients
1 lemon
¾ cup butter. Softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
11/4 cup cornstarch
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup icing sugar
1-2 tablespoons water
1 Grate the peel of the lemon and set aside. Squeeze out the juice into a small cup. In a bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the lemon peel. In another bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and baking powder.
2 Gradually add this to the butter mixture to make a stiff batter. Spread into a greased, small bread loaf pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees C for 45-55 minutes, testing with a skewer. Remove from oven and let cool.
3 Make the icing by mixing the powdered sugar with the reserved lemon juice. Add the water and mix into a smooth glaze. Pour over the cake and let drizzle down the sides. When the icing hardens, the cake is ready to slice and serve.

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