I don’t like linking to 1P5 so instead I will link to NVP (who links to 1P5). I am a huge fan of Matthew Plese. It is his presentation on fasting a few years ago that encouraged me to try to do what my ancestors in the faith did regarding fasting.
Thanks to Mark D. for posting this excellent resource this morning!
I did not have a big, splashy post ready to roll out at midnight this year. I figured the five of you who read this blog already know what to do for Lent. Nevertheless, I did want to post a few thoughts if they might in any way by beneficial to you.
Right off the bat, this Ash Wednesday has come upon me with many clear signs of Spring. I like to take these signs as a taste of hope from God. First, we have this:
As if that wasn’t enough, the Carolina wrens who have made their home in my mailbox seasonally for the past six years – yes, it is the same damn bird, I am sure – have once again decided to take up residence. How do I know? Well, I was walking out the front door and one of the little warblers scared the living daylights out of yours truly by flying frantically out of the partially ajar lid. I hate them and I also love them. Regardless of my feelings toward them, their actions indicate there will soon be eggs and hatchlings, and the like.
Also, it’s almost 80 degrees here so there’s that.
But now regarding the Holy Season directly…
Here’s what I’m doing. This is now the fourth year for me. It IS possible to do this and not die. And it’s really simple.
Today it’s a complete fast. No food midnight to midnight. Tomorrow and following, it goes as follows. Sourdough bread at 3:00 and usually a little (smaller) bit more at 6:00. Occasional broth. Water, black coffee, black tea. That’s it until Holy Thursday when I return to a strict fast for 72 hours leading up to the Vigil.
I share all of this not out of pride. This is not my doing in any way. There is an abundance of grace available to all who attempt this simply because Our Lord promised it to us for this time. I’m not going to dig up the citations but you can find them for yourself. Lent is the time He asks us to give back to Him; so clearly He will make it possible. My own experience the past few years has shown me that. Side note: it is much more difficult for me to attempt a strict fast even one week after Easter. Trust in Him.
If you attend daily Mass, that’s wonderful. If you do not usually attend daily Mass, consider trying for Lent. I know this part can be the most difficult for many of us who do not live near a parish with a schedule matching our own. Make the effort, though, and you will be rewarded. Rosary? We all should be doing this every day anyway. ‘Nuff said. Morning prayers? Bedtime? We, I, have to take this seriously as death. Spiritual reading? Let’s get going. Lay out a structure and stick to it. If you fall, get back up. Speaking of spiritual reading, yesterday I posted a link to daily meditations. Here’s a gem from today’s.
Mortifications raise the soul to God. St. Francis de Sales used to say that a soul cannot ascend to the throne of God unless the flesh is mortified and depressed. There are many beautiful remarks on this subject in the Works of St. Teresa: “It would be a folly,” says this great Saint, “to think that God admits to His familiar friendship those who seek their own ease. Sensuality and prayer are incompatible. Souls who truly love God cannot desire repose.”
Death will come for each of us. Prepare now by your penances and mortifications to meet your Judge.
I always struggle with this one. This year, I took advantage of an email that I kept receiving from the Discalced Carmelite Hermits of Fairfield, PA. I made a donation to them and in exchange I enrolled a few friends (and my own family) in 40 Masses, 40 days of prayer and vigils, and 40 days of penance. Here’s the link. It is not too late to enroll. I am certainly glad to know others are praying and mortifying themselves for my sake. I also, must do the same.
If there are other noble spiritual things I come across over these next six weeks I will certainly share them. I ask your prayers for me. Know that you are all in mine.
I would also like to share something that was just passed on to me. It’s from Dom Gueranger from around 140 years ago.
“…how few Christians we meet who are strict observers of Lent… even in its present mild form. And must there not result from this ever growing spirit of immortification a general effeminacy of character which will lead at last frightful social disorders. Those nations among whose people the spirit and practice of penance are extinct are heaping up against themselves the wrath of God and provoking His justice to destroy them by one or other of these scourges: civil discord or conquest. There is an inconsistency which must strike every thinking mind: the observance of the Lords Day on one hand, the observance of days of penance and fasting on the other. The Word of God is unmistakable: unless we do penance, we shall perish.
“May God in His Mercy and Goodness grant to each of us a holy Lent. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray that we may be made worthy of the Promises of Christ!”
Many thanks to a very hard working man, our friend Supernerd…
The link below will bring you to a series of daily meditations by the great Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori. They are meticulously arranged to coincide with Lent. Avail yourself. His wisdom is timeless and salutary.
https://www.religiousbookshelf.com/
You know Lent is almost here when Harvey busts out the sourdough.
OK, You actually know Lent is almost here when Harvey calls his sister and asks her how to make sourdough again.
Recall:
To wit, yours truly, recognizing the hour is upon us, made that call this afternoon. It went something like this:
“How do I make sourdough again? It wasn’t that hard, right?”
Then followed thirty minutes of hilarity.
You see, it turns out I still had the magic starter from last year tucked in my fridge in a mason jar. It further turns out that this stuff is good as gold as long as it’s been refrigerated. Imagine my joy at finding out I was halfway there as I was just getting started!
“So I should be able to just feed this and start making bread, right?”
And then she told me all about the joys of “discard recipes” as she was cross stitching Washington Crossing the Delaware. “It’s for the semiquincentennial,” she said and I asked no further questions. You did read the linked post from last year, right?
Back to that lovely word discard. It means something to be thrown away, rubbish, trash.
The astute reader and all trad wives and even some trad dads who just find the science behind all of this really, really cool will take note that in keeping a sourdough starter “alive”, one must discard some of it each day and “feed” the remaining starter with more flour and water. Typically, the discarded starter would go exactly where one would expect something that is discarded to go, that is, into the trash. She had long ago (last year) informed me that I should never pour starter down the drain because it would clog the pipes.
I guess now she feels I’ve graduated to a higher level of bread-making gnosis.
It turns out that the discarded starter can itself be used to make “easy recipes”.
Easy? We’ll see about that.
She continued instructing me over our FaceTime call while patching the crack in the original Liberty Bell. Not sure how she got them to loan it to her. Or how she fit a whole foundry in her dining room for that matter.
I learned all about confectioners sugar and how, with a tablespoon of water – “15 cc’s,” she said forgetting that she’s the RN, not me – I could create a glaze. I even used the Kitchenaid mixer for the first time!
Why, with just a few eggs, more flour, a hint of vanilla extract, and flour, I was well on my way to making this:
Not bad for something that was basically trash. Right?
It’s a cinnamon bread loaf and it’s very tasty.
I called her back to show her. She was meticulously painting 51 white stars on the ceiling of her entry hall. “Greenland,” she said. “It’s going to happen.”
And that, friends, is the story of how trash became treasure and also the portrait of a true trad wife and her little brother making bread across the miles.
In case you can’t tell, my springtime tulips are getting ready to bloom. Just in time for Ash Wednesday, a sign from God has sprung forth pointing to His love for sinful man.
I’m talking about my mom. LOL. I got to spend time with her this past week. When we were growing up, my Dad always traveled on Valentine’s Day or thereabouts. It was, in fact, the only time of year he traveled. He was, as I’ve mentioned a few times, an actuary. In fact, he was one of the best around. Mid-February always saw the yearly convention of the Society of Actuaries or the Enrolled Actuaries or one of the groups to which he belonged. It always took place in the nation’s capital so Dad would just drive down for it. He’d spend the requisite 2-3 days there and get home as fast as he could. When my next older sister went off to college and my youngest sister and I were the only two left at home, Dad decided that year to take Mom and the two of us with him. That was my first trip to DC. I was a homeschooled 9th grader. Lots of fun on that trip. But; all the years before and most of the after that one year were different for us. St. Valentine’s Day became a day where Mom and us youngest kids would go to Mass and then go out for the day. We’d have lunch at the diner, go shopping at the mall, and end up at our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner before going home to watch a movie. I am just realizing how Jersey that last sentence is. No worry, she made this day into a fun and memorable tradition for us. It was never a focus on romantic love but a a day in which we celebrated our family bond; and my wife and I have more or less done the same with our kids.
So when I saw Mom a few days ago, I presented her with a heart shaped box of chocolates just like when I was a kid. She got a kick out that. To honor her, here’s one of her favorite songs from when she was a younger lady. Enjoy!
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 