Fridays in Lent
So far so good as we enter Day 7 of our quarantine. Thanks to so many who have called, texted, emailed, dropped off food and have offered support. It is greatly appreciated. We continue to pray for each other in these difficult days for so many people.
It's a Friday in Lent. I know that some bishops have dispensed people from the obligation to eat meat on Friday because of the coronavirus epidemic and the difficulties that some people may have in getting supplies at the store. But even if the Pope himself had dispensed us from eating meat on a Friday in Lent, my mother would never have relented from our regular fast from meat - not just during Lent but every Friday all year long. No one ever ate meat of any kind on any Friday of the year in the Stubna household. We learned as children that it was a day that we abstained from meat as we reflected on the sacrifice that our Lord made for our sins on that Good Friday at Calvary. Tuna noodle casserole (which was never a favorite of mine), Mrs. Paul's fish sticks, macaroni and cheese (which is still one of my favorite comfort foods all these years later), Mrs. T's pierogies, my mother's salmon loaf. Some of my siblings complained and argued that we didn't have to abstain every Friday - but my mother was hearing none of it. It's the least you can do when you think of what Jesus did for us. It was something, some small routine, a sacrifice from the normal more appealing cuisine. In my house it was a great sacrifice for my father who didn't like fish and preferred his meat and potatoes. But he ate without complaint and we all joined in this ritual of our faith.
Year's later once all six of us were out of the house, the menu moved to poached salmon, or fettucini alfredo with shrimp, crab cakes. My dad started to cook and found out that he really liked salmon and my mother could afford to eat what she really loved - shrimp, crabcakes, lobster and tilapia - but could never afford with six kids, my grandmother and often others at the dinner table. It wasn't just the abstaining from meat on Friday that I remember; it was the reason and purpose for what we were doing. It's the least we could do - giving up meat - when we thought of what Jesus offered for the redemption of our sins and the salvation of souls. Theology 101 at its best. My mother and father would roll their eyes at the dispensations being given even in the midst of the epidemic. We would be eating tuna casserole for sure. No doubt about it. I'm going to skip the tuna casserole tonight but I am making some macaroni and cheese.
It's a Friday in Lent. I know that some bishops have dispensed people from the obligation to eat meat on Friday because of the coronavirus epidemic and the difficulties that some people may have in getting supplies at the store. But even if the Pope himself had dispensed us from eating meat on a Friday in Lent, my mother would never have relented from our regular fast from meat - not just during Lent but every Friday all year long. No one ever ate meat of any kind on any Friday of the year in the Stubna household. We learned as children that it was a day that we abstained from meat as we reflected on the sacrifice that our Lord made for our sins on that Good Friday at Calvary. Tuna noodle casserole (which was never a favorite of mine), Mrs. Paul's fish sticks, macaroni and cheese (which is still one of my favorite comfort foods all these years later), Mrs. T's pierogies, my mother's salmon loaf. Some of my siblings complained and argued that we didn't have to abstain every Friday - but my mother was hearing none of it. It's the least you can do when you think of what Jesus did for us. It was something, some small routine, a sacrifice from the normal more appealing cuisine. In my house it was a great sacrifice for my father who didn't like fish and preferred his meat and potatoes. But he ate without complaint and we all joined in this ritual of our faith.
Year's later once all six of us were out of the house, the menu moved to poached salmon, or fettucini alfredo with shrimp, crab cakes. My dad started to cook and found out that he really liked salmon and my mother could afford to eat what she really loved - shrimp, crabcakes, lobster and tilapia - but could never afford with six kids, my grandmother and often others at the dinner table. It wasn't just the abstaining from meat on Friday that I remember; it was the reason and purpose for what we were doing. It's the least we could do - giving up meat - when we thought of what Jesus offered for the redemption of our sins and the salvation of souls. Theology 101 at its best. My mother and father would roll their eyes at the dispensations being given even in the midst of the epidemic. We would be eating tuna casserole for sure. No doubt about it. I'm going to skip the tuna casserole tonight but I am making some macaroni and cheese.
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