Little Lent

Well, Lent "officially" ends today. However, I consider the next two days (Good Friday and Holy Saturday) to be a "Little Lent" because though it is a short period of time, they are the darkest days of the liturgical year.

This year Lent has been a rather dry experience for me. I mean that spiritually, not literally. I let the world get in the way of my prayer life and my prayer life suffered for it. I've had worse Lents, and better Lents, so I'm not complaining, just observing.

But it got me thinking about slippery slopes. At the beginning of Lent I had intended to read "Introduction to the Devout Life" by St. Francis de Sales. I began in earnest, but soon found myself reading other things. I intended to use the time I spent playing computer games to devote more time to prayer. That time evaporated - I still don't know to where.

One thing I did read was "Come Rack, Come Rope" by Robert Hugh Benson. It is a historical novel about a Catholic living in England under Elizabeth I. The book got me thinking about martyrdom. There's a quote form Flannery O'Connor “She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.” It's one thing to face death for the faith, but another to be constantly pecked at. Some of the characters in the book experience this.

We're seeing the same thing in the persecution of Christians in the world and in our country today. "Oh just pay for the contraception. It's only a few dollars." Then why is it a $30,000 fine not to pay? "Oh just bake the cake. It's only a bit of flour and frosting." Then why is it a $500,000 lawsuit not to bake it? We are not being martyred per se, but are forced to violate our conscience in tiny ways more and more.

And where does that slippery slope end? Like in Breaking Bad, will there be a time when we find we can no longer refuse to comply? God grant me the strength to pick up my cross again and continue.

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Lonesome Lent

So I haven't blogged much in a while. For this  I apologize. Yes, I'm very busy, but so are we all. I have a million tiny things I could blog about, but I never find the time to do so because they don't seem, well, big enough. I'm going to try to change that.

I've been having a very spiritually dry Lent once again. In fact, the only Lent in recent years that was fruitful was the one when I was in the middle of a Bible study. Perhaps that's a clue as to what I should be doing. But the study on Matthew just ended and we're all taking a break.

Today at mass we heard the story of Lazarus. I thought about blogging on that but there are so many things to talk about that it would be a book! So I'm blogging about the songs instead. I am a hymn snob. By that I mean I want to be able to sing the hymn, not have it performed for me, and I want the hymn to have some sort of meaning that's Christian, Catholic Christian.

Today I got to hear "Lonesome Valley." Perhaps I'm missing something but to me this song is not Catholic at all, and not Biblical at all. I'm OK with Jesus walking the lonesome valley, but us? First off, Jesus told us He would be with us always, until the end of the age. Now I know Protestants don't take that literally, but Catholics sure do. Then there are our guardian angels, who walk with us. Plus we have the Communion of Saints - we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

The third verse is problematic too. For although we do stand alone in the judgement in the sense that we are responsible for our own actions, we are not totally along again. Jesus intercedes for us, as do Mary and the Saints, once again. I guess the words could be taken multiple ways.

I realize we are entering the Passiontide, but "Lonesome Valley," except for the first verse, doesn't fit with the season or with the readings for the day. We'll see what comes up next week. My vote (which I don't get a vote) would be one of my favorite hymns, "O Sacred Head Now Wounded." Here are a couple of versions for reflection.

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Red Lentil and Carrot Soup

I know you've all been wondering, "what does Mike eat?" Well, Mike likes to eat, and likes to cook, and so does the rest of the family. This is kind of a mystery, since my parents were not really cooks. Dad could heat up a meal with enough directions, and while mom cooked for us, there was a large amount of canned and frozen "things" which I guess was somewhat of a phase moms went through in that era.

However, given the level if food snobbery to which my family and I have attained, meatless Fridays are still meatless, but much less penitential. Is it really offering up a small sacrifice if you're eating gourmet? Not that I would call my cooking gourmet, but it is yummy stuff.

With Lent coming up in just over a month, I visited Meatless Friday fun at Catholic Mom and decided to post a recipe. The problem is my conscience. You see, as a child, meatless Fridays and days of abstinence were always penitential in terms of food. We ate such scrumptious fare as canned spaghetti (yes, it exists) and scrambled eggs, or tuna fish salad sandwiches.

And so it is with a small amount of guilt I make things like homemade pizza, shrimp stir fry, or red lentil and carrot soup. The last is adapted from a recipe I found on epicurious that we made for a party where we had several vegetarian guests. Everyone liked it so much it's become a dish we make for ourselves as well.

1 pound red lentils
7 cups vegetable stock
1 large onion, chopped1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small bag of baby carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon mushroom powder (or 1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon curry powder
Sriracha to taste
Scallions and cilantro for garnish

Bring lentils and stock to a boil, skim off foam. In the meantime saute the vegetables in a little olive oil. Add vegetables and spices. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Sriracha sauce, and simmer for 15 minutes or so. Serve with chopped scallions and cilantro, and some crusty bread on the side. Yum.

Give it a try this Lent. If you like it, you can feel guilty too.

[Note: I don't typically photograph my food, so the photo above is from Thrifty Living which has a similar, tasty looking recipe, if you don't like all those spices.]

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40 Days of Almsgiving

In Part 1 of this series I spoke of the notion of almsgiving during Lent as I am practicing it this year. This week's lucky charities are:

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty:

At the Becket Fund we like to say we’ve defended the religious rights of people from “A to Z,” from Anglicans to Zoroastrians. Our supporters represent a myriad of religions, but they all share our common vision of a world where religious freedom is respected as a fundamental human right that all are entitled to enjoy and exercise.

Friends of scouting:

"Friends of Scouting" is the name given to Scouting's annual financial support campaign.  The council's operation, including upkeep and maintenance of our camping properties, registrations and recordkeeping services, and our field staff, are all funded through private contributions received through the Friends of Scouting Campaign.

Christian Foundation for Children and the Aging:

CFCA is a lay Catholic organization working with persons of all faiths to create a worldwide community of compassion and service. We sponsor children, youth and the aging from all faiths and strive to be a tranquil presence in their lives. When we create a true exchange of cultures, understanding and love as equals we are alleviating not just material poverty but are also creating the bonds of lasting peace and unity among people of diverse faiths and backgrounds.

Jérôme Lejeune Foundation:

The mission of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation USA is to provide research, care, and advocacy to benefit those with genetic intellectual disabilities. This is carried out by conducting, promoting, and funding in the United States therapeutically oriented research; by assisting in the development of healthcare services for these individuals; and by serving as their advocate in a spirit of respect for the dignity of all human persons.

Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations:

The Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations is privileged to assist men and women to follow God's call to service in the Church through a life of consecration. We operate the St. Joseph Student Debt Relief Grant Program for religious life and the St. John Vianney Student Debt Relief Grant Program for the parish priesthood. These grants eliminate the delay many young people encounter as they struggle to pay off their student debts before they can enter religious life. A grant pays candidates' student loan payments while they are in formation for either religious life or the priesthood.

NCHLA (National Committee for Human Life Amendment):

In the great civil rights struggle to secure the right to life for all, Archbishop John Roach, testifying on behalf of the Catholic Bishops, expressed the guiding vision:

"We are committed to full legal recognition of the right to life of the unborn child, and will not rest in our efforts until society respects the inherent worth and dignity of every member of the human race."

November 5, 1981 Statement before the
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution

SQPN:

SQPN (Star Quest Production Network) is a multimedia organization specializing in the production of audio and video programs faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Its mission is to respond to the Church’s call to use the media for religious information, for evangelization and catechesis and for formation and education.

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40 Days of Almsgiving

Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. This year, in addition to the usual prayer and fasting I'm trying to get more serious about almsgiving. My plan is to donate to a different charity each day for 40 days. I thought I'd share some of them with you, but blogging a charity a day is kind of, well, tough. So, I'm batching them up. Feel free to chime in with your favorite charities for me to donate to.

Last week the beneficiaries were:

40 Days for Life. I have taken part in 40 Days for Life for the past several years, and can testify to its effectiveness at saving and turning around lives.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.

The Diocese of Trenton Bishop's Annual Appeal. Our bishops need our support, spiritually and financially. Bishop O'Connell is having an especially tough time this year. Recovering from skin cancer, he now faces the loss of a foot to diabetes. From Bishop O'Connell's letter on the Appeal.

As each of us participates in different ways to observe this Year of Faith we must remember that this tremendous gift of knowing God’s love is not for us to keep alone. It is for us to share; by the words we speak, by the way we live our lives and by the way we love one another.

Now, more than ever, there are those who truly need to hear the message of God’s saving love. With your contribution to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal you will help bring the good news of the Gospel to countless individuals and groups throughout the diocese by offering hope, love and the gift of new life in Christ.

Opus Bono Sacerdotii.This organization helps for priests who have various legal, psychological or spiritual problems.

Opus Bono Sacerdotii (Work for the Good of the Priesthood) was founded in response to many sensitive situations with priests requesting confidential assistance for unique problems. These situations may encompass a whole spectrum of circumstances, however, the success in caring for Catholic priests is understanding the uniqueness of each individual and their particular needs, abilities and desires especially as it effects the extraordinary relationship between the natural and supernatural aspect of the person of the priest.

Domestic Church Media is New Jersey's only Catholic Radio station, WFJS, 89.3 FM and 1260 AM. Supporting your local Catholic radio station is an important way to help spread the Gospel.

One of the goals of Domestic Church Media is to bring Catholic radio to New Jersey and New York City. Having been involved in Catholic radio on various levels in New Jersey and the Philadelphia area since 1995, Jim and Cheryl Manfredonia understand the responsibilities of operating a 24-hour Catholic radio apostolate. As with any media apostolic work, they know that their first and foremost responsibility is that of presenting the Truth of our Catholic Faith in all its rich fullness and without compromise.

Catholics Come Home is and organization that helps bring fallen away Catholics back to the Church.

Inspired by the our Holy Fathers’ calls to a New Evangelization and re-proposing of the Gospel, Catholics Come Home® reaches out to inactive Catholics using inspiring TV commercials and an interactive Web site. Without pressure or obligation, Catholics Come Home.org offers an opportunity to learn the truth about the Catholic faith in a loving, non-judgmental atmosphere. We offer many resources that aid fallen-away Catholics and non-Catholics in learning more about returning to the Catholic Church. Coming home has never been easier!

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I've Been tagged

I’ve been tagged with a Lenten meme by Jeff Young at Catholic Foodie and Lisa at Franciscan Focus. I wonder if I need to tag 10 people, then?

The rules:
Those tagged will share 5 things they “love” about Jesus / Or why they love Jesus. Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers. Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here with their name so that others can read them.

1. He is my perfect role model, and my hero.
2. No matter what trails or tests I have, I know He has been there, and understands me perfectly.
3. He is the alpha and the omega.
4. He always forgives me, whether I deserve it or not.
5. He taught me to pray.

I tag
Christie at Garden of Holiness
Paul Sofranko at Catholic Preachy
Adoro Te Devote
Owen of Drawn to Catholicism
Nod of Wynken, Blynken and Nod

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End abortion fast

Remember the TV show Kung Fu? I guess you're not an old fogey like me. It was about a Shaolin monk named Caine as he wanders around using kung fu. At the beginning of every episode they showed him training. The "graduation" consisted of him picking up an iron brazier filled with burning coals with his forearms. The heat branded symbols into his forearms. The point of the exercise was (presumably) to show how he was willing to suffer for his commitment to his kung fu.

Catholics are all about suffering. Not that we like it or anything, but we treat it differently from Caine or any other religion or philosophy. Suffering is not seen as something to be avoided but as a way of participating in the work Christ did. Thus, when we give things up for Lent it is not just a reminder of what Jesus did, or an issue of becoming holy by gaining self discipline (like Caine). We actually can help Christ save the world by uniting our puny penances with the infinite penance that God performed in becoming a man and dying on the cross for our sins.

My friend Christie is going a step beyond Lent and doing something courageous. She has written about it in her post "But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting". The title comes from the Gospel of Matthew 15:14-21.

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. "I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him."

And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"
And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Here we see Jesus affirm that evil can be fought through prayer and fasting. Sacrifice isn't just something to make us feel holy, or to demonstrate our commitment to a cause, it has an effect on the real world. Christie recognizes this, and is using it to help end the evil of abortion. In her words...

My dear friend, Rozanne, will be praying and fasting every Wednesday in order to open the hearts of these mothers to the alternatives to abortion. I will be praying and fasting every Thursday to help heal the women who got on that bus because they felt they had no other choice.

Check out the rest of her post. I think what she and her friend are doing is brave, and powerful. I am giving up lunch on Wednesdays and instead going to pray at an abortion clinic. Would you join us? Would you sacrifice something to end abortion?

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How's that Lent thing going for you?

Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Lent draws us closer to God and prepares us for the mysteries of Easter. And every year I look forward to Lent - it is one of my favorite times. Some years I have had fantastic spiritual experiences during Lent.

Not this year. Instead of being a time for slowing down and reflecting on my life, this year Lent has been marked by extra stress, extra work; broken commitments and missed opportunities. Instead of stepping up my commitment to life through 40 Days for Life, I have had various conflicts that have caused me to do less than ever. My prayer life has been rushed and hollow, when I haven't been too tired to pray at all.

In fact, the only thing that has gone "as planned" this Lent is the Great Adventure Bible Study I am taking, and although it's wonderful, and I highly recommend it, it's a minor part of my life, being 1.5 hours once a week. so for the most part I'd biding my time, trying to hang on until something changes.

So how is Lent going for you? I hope it's better than mine.

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