Venite Prandete

  FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT PASSION SUNDAY 21st MARCH The fifth Sunday of Lent is the start of Passiontide, the two week period leading up to Good Friday, culminating in Easter Sunday, in which the focus of Holy Mother Church turns to the Passion of Our Lord - the word “Passion” from the Latin, meaning “suffering”. From today until Holy Saturday, after Grace and at the finish of each decade of the Rosary, (instead of the Gloria Patri), is said: V. Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem. R. Mortem autem crucis. [V. Christ was obedient unto death. R. Death by the Cross]. The Church enters a mournful period of the Liturgy, more solemn than the hitherto reflective period of the Lenten preparation. The statues are veiled and remain covered until the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, specifically at the singing of the Gloria. The statues and pictures are covered with a plain, unornamented violet veil before Vespers on the Saturday preceding, with the exception of the Stations of ...

  LAETARE SUNDAY – THE SUNDAY OF THE FIVE LOAVES FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT 14th MARCH I continue with the presentation of Dom Prosper Gueranger’s description of the solemnity of Laetare Sunday and its traditions (1): “We now come to the explanation of another name given to the fourth Sunday of Lent, which was suggested by the Gospel of the day. We find this Sunday called in several ancient documents, the Sunday of the five loaves. The miracle alluded to in this title not only forms an essential portion of the Church’s instructions during Lent, but it is also an additional element of today’s joy. We forget for an instant the coming Passion of the Son of God, to give our attention to the greatest of the benefits He has bestowed on us; for under the figure of these loaves multiplied by the power of Jesus, our faith sees that bread which came down from heaven, and giveth life to the world. ‘The Pasch’, says our Evangelist, ‘was near at hand’; and, in a few days, our Lord will say to us: ‘...

  LAETARE SUNDAY - THE GOLDEN ROSE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT 14th MARCH Golden Rose of Minucchio da Siena (1330) given by Pope John XXIII to Rudolph III of Nidau, Count of Neuchatel. (John XXIII was an anti-Pope and is said to have been "worthless in spiritual things"). Golden Rose of the Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel - given by Pope Benedict XVI on 15th May 2011. Dom Prosper Gueranger describes the solemnity of Laetare Sunday and its traditions (1): “This Sunday, called from the first word of the Introit, Laetare Sunday, is one of the most solemn of the year. The Church interrupts her Lenten mournfulness; the chants of the Mass speak of nothing but joy and consolation; the organ, which has been silent during the preceding three Sundays, now gives forth its melodious voice; the deacon resumes his dalmatic, and the sub-deacon his tunic; and instead of purple, rose-coloured vestments are allowed to be used. These same rites were practised in Advent, on the third Sunday, c...

  FISH BAKED IN SALT [Serves 10-12] For those whose abstinence involves giving up meat, this recipe is straightforward and nourishing – the salt retains the freshness and moisture of the fish - it is actually not penance - it is seriously delicious. INGREDIENTS I whole snapper 1.4kg, gutted but not scaled. Coarse cooking salt sufficient to completely cover the fish. METHOD: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Pour a layer of coarse sea salt evenly over the bottom of a baking dish. Place a 1.4kg whole snapper on top of the salt. Place a few bay leaves and thyme sprigs in its belly with some bay leaves spread around. Completely cover the fish with salt and bake in the oven for 40 minutes (allow 10 minutes per 500g plus an addition 10 minutes). Remove the fish from the oven and rest for 5 minutes. Carefully tap the salt off the top and scrape away any remaining salt. Cut the salt away and discard. Using 2 spoons, scoop the flesh onto warmed plates. Pull the backbone out and spoon...

  LENTEN FASTING Dom Prosper Gueranger tells us that, “For several centuries, abstinence from flesh-meat included likewise the prohibition of all animal food, with the single exception of fish, which, on account of its cold nature, as also for several mystical reasons, founded on the Sacred Scriptures, was always permitted to be taken by those who fasted. Every sort of milk-meat was forbidden.” (1) The particular fasting period we are undergoing at this time is a preparatory one which, we pray, will assist us in overcoming our weaknesses and which we can direct towards a higher purpose, a fast which was inherited from the Jewish practices, devolving from the Apostles: “The Apostles, therefore, legislated for our weakness, by instituting, at the very commencement of the Christian Church, that the solemnity of Easter should be preceded by a universal fast; and it was only natural that they should have made this period of penance to consist of forty days, seeing that our Divine Master...

  MONASTERY BEER; THE DRINKING OF BEER AS A LENTEN PRACTICE Many people voluntarily give up alcohol over the Lenten fasting period of forty days, or otherwise abstain from taking wine from Monday through to Friday. Exceptions to the Lenten fast can be made for major feast days – a religious practice which is observed tenaciously by some who (suddenly and coincidentally) become extremely observant of all feast days and show an intense desire to celebrate them. Catholics, of course, are not obliged to give up solid food for the Lenten fast, unlike the strict orders of monks in medieval days. However, they are obliged to fast for the Lenten period, meaning: eating one small meal, together with one or two smaller meals, the whole of which, taken together, amounts to one small meal. There may be no eating between meals. However, beer wine, coffee and tea may be taken, (unless, of course, that is the thing you have resolved to give up for Lent). It is obligatory to completely fast on the...

  FISH RECIPES FOR LENT STEAMED SNAPPER WITH GINGER AND SHALLOTS FOR THE FISH 1 tablespoon dry sherry 1 teaspoon caster sugar 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 1 medium size whole fish (snapper preferred or ling) 2 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks ½ bunch of shallots, trimmed and sliced diagonally 1 long fresh red chilli, deseeded and halved and thinly sliced VEGETABLES 1 bunch Bock Choy Handful of snow peas or Mange Tout 1 bunch broccoli 1 teaspoon oyster sauce 2 teaspoons soy sauce Garlic (inestimable amount – measured with the heart) METHOD 1 Combine sherry, sugar, sesame oil and half the soy sauce in a small jug. 2 Score the flesh of the fish with a sharp knife three times on each side. Insert some of the ginger matchsticks into cavity of the fish, together with some shallot slices and a small amount of the chilli. Retain the remaining ginger for the vegetables. 3 Place the fish in a flat dish or baking dish and pour over the sherry mix...

REFLECTIONS FOR LENT; SALESIAN SPIRITUALITY - LIVE TODAY WELL St Francis de Sales, called “the gentleman saint”, (1567-1622) was the Bishop of Geneva and a Doctor of the Church. His spirituality differs somewhat from the spiritual legacies of the great monastic schools, such as Augustinian or Benedictine in that it “places a particular focus on living a life of holiness in the midst of the world.” This Lenten reflection is taken from “Live Today Well, St Francis de Sale’s Simple Approach to Holiness,” by Father Thomas F Dailey, OSFS, (1) who quotes from St Francis de Sales: “Let us be firmly resolved to serve God with our whole heart and life. Beyond that, let us have no care about tomorrow. Let us think only of living today well, and when tomorrow comes, it will also be today and we can think of it then.” (2) The Salesian focus of spirituality is through re-intending duties, pausing for prayer and exercising the little virtues. These small daily practices are coupled with recourse to ...

EMBER DAYS OF LENT WEDNESDAY 24th FEBRUARY, FRIDAY 26th FEBRUARY AND SATURDAY 27th FEBRUARY The Church calls for Ember Days four times a year. They are tied to the Liturgical seasons, being: The Feast of St Lucy; Ash Wednesday –Lent; Pentecost and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Roodmas). Ember days are observed by fasting to the extent that the total sum of food taken for the whole day equals one small meal, taken by one small meal with two smaller meals and no food between meals. Tea, coffee, wine and beer are allowed, (believe it or not). The Ember days of Wednesday and Saturday are of partial abstinence – that is, a small amount of meat can be taken, but complete abstinence from meat is required on Ember Friday and, indeed, every Friday, both during Lent and generally. The fasting can have beneficial results physically, but its purpose is spiritual: To give thanks and praise to God; • To pray and fast for the conversion of sinners; • To pray for priests and vocations...