Tuna on a Solemnity.. D'oh! And Why I'm Sticking to Meatless Fridays the Rest of the Year. :)

I cook every single solitary day.  Well.  Nearly.   And as Catholic converts who are rather traditionally minded, we do the 'meatless Fridays'.  It was not always that way.   We've only been meatless maybe three years or so.  One of the things, like many other things, that we've been led to doing.

So here I am.  It's Friday.  A Holy Day of Obligation since today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother.. we of course attended mass this morning, and we come home and BECAUSE it's Friday we have tea and bagels with cream cheese.. (no meat) and I go about making a big bowl of tuna egg salad BECAUSE it's a Friday...  and then, there's hubby.. giving bits of beef jerky to our two dogs for a treat.   Even the dogs are denied meat on Fridays.  And there he is.. and suddenly it hits me.

That moment when you realize, that, after having made a vat of tuna egg salad for the familys meatless Friday meal, that today is a Solemnity. Yep. Today's one of those rare Friday meat eating days. And what did I fix? TUNA! (smacks self) This will teach me to pay attention better. I hope. *sighs*

Can. 1251: Abstinence from eating meat or some other food according to the prescripts of the conference of bishops is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
This article is great for why we are meatless all the OTHER Fridays of the year. :)

Why I'm Sticking to Meatless Fridays | Catholic Answers

Being a Fish Eater

The first time I heard the term "fish eater", it amused me, and brought me the mental image of poor fishermen living in Europe eighty years ago, somberly eating fish stew... sitting at a scarred wooden table in a cottage with his wife, their nine children, by the light of oil lamps while the cold wind blew through the cracks of their rustic home.  THAT was a 'fish-eater'.    But now I know the 'real' meaning of this term.  "Fish eater" means, 'Catholic'.

The Urban Dictionary reads:  "a slang term for Catholics, so attributed because Catholics eat fish on Fridays during the season of Lent."

Do we?  Most Catholics I know don't "do" meatless Fridays any more.  I personally have only "done" meatless Fridays for about three years, because to be honest I didn't think the Church "did that" anymore.  Funny how a little reading can enlighten you.  :)    Meatless Fridays are NOT just for Lent.

Before Vatican II, the Code of Cannon Law said:

 "Can. 1251: Abstinence from eating meat or some other food according to the prescripts of the conference of bishops is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1253: The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.

What the U.S. Bishops Have Said:

Here’s what the document, Pastoral Statement On Penance And Abstinence, says about abstaining from meat on Fridays:

22. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year, a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of their personal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to help expiate in union with Christ Crucified.

23. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.  (What this reads 'to me', is that EVERY FRIDAY of the year, is a 'little' Good Friday.  

24. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat. (READ:   first place to abstinence from flesh meat.)  We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law. Our expectation is based on the following considerations:

We shall thus freely and out of love for Christ Crucified show our solidarity with the generations of believers to whom this practice frequently became, especially in times of persecution and of great poverty,no mean evidence of fidelity to Christ and His Church.

We shall thus also remind ourselves that as Christians, although immersed in the world and sharing its life, we must preserve a saving and necessary difference from the spirit of the world. Our deliberate, personal abstinence from meat, more especially because no longer required by law, will be an outward sign of inward spiritual values that we cherish.

A little FYI... the 'push' has started to bring back meatless Fridays 'officially' in the United States.  

In my home, we are fish-eaters.  I have fish eater friends, and one of my dearest friends is a brand new fish-eater. :)    Fifty years ago, it MEANT something to be Catholic.   We were set apart.  Now you can't tell us from anyone else.   We need to get that back.  We are 'in' the world, but not 'of' the world.    At one time, Catholics were pro life, pro traditional marriage.  Now we have Catholics who seem to think they can pick and choose what the Church teaches.  That's not being a Catholic... that's the "Church of YOU//Your FEELINGS//Your Opinion", ... which frankly, does not matter one whit.   

Jesus does not change.  The Church does not change.  It is the people.. who have changed the church, or what they have accepted or allowed.   We have GOT to remember WHO WE ARE!!    When someone looks at us, do they recognize we are a Catholic by our actions... our example... how we live our life/treat others?  Or can they tell only because you're wearing your Guadalupe tee shirt or your scapular is peeking out?   Or do they see kindness..  someone who serves others and puts others first?   Do they see someone who takes a stand for what is right, instead of what is popular/accepted/politically correct?  (Worth noting here that Jesus was NOT "politically correct".)   :)  

I challenge you all... BE 'that Catholic'.  BE set apart.  Make every Friday a 'little' Good Friday.. Remember HIS Passion..  and join the growing numbers of Catholics who are meatless on ALL Fridays of the year.   I truly believe it helps us feel connected to each other - and to be a witness to our faith.

Be a fish-eater. :) 

Embracing Lent

Today is better.  No ugliness, no fighting, no ..... feeling that the devil is living in my home.  I sprinkled holy water and blessed salt and prayed through a certain section of the house, and begged prayers from one and all.  To say that is has helped is an understatement.   Today I am doing it again, and this time I'm getting the entire house.   I've also taken to adding blessed salt (just a pinch) to all of our food, and a drop of holy water to each pitcher of tea or whatever drink I make.   The most problematic part of the house is void of a crucifix... that will be changing asap.  I had a Medjugorje holy water font in there before, but mysteriously, it "broke".  Hmmm.  I will get small crucifixes, get them blessed, and am putting them WAY UP HIGH over the door.   I aim to do that to every door of the house.  Including our front and back doors.  Which leads me to the question, do I put them up on the inside over the door, or outside, over the door?  I'm a bit confuddled on that point.

 Our parish is having masses at 7:15 and at noon, with confessions before each.   I may actually try to make that early one.  (which will truly be an act of God if I can make it there that early!)

So today I did a bit of shopping...  picking up some Lent staples, such as canned tuna,  and ingredients for a few, easy to prepare meatless comfort food meals that don't include beans.  (I have a shelf full of beans already!)  With my non-Catholic husband, who dutifully is meatless with us, I try to make things he likes so it is easier on him.   

So today I get out my purple candle holder... dusting off and redecorating my little alter table, (an old pie safe).   Lent, lent, bring on Lent!!  How I cannot wait!!  The ashes, the incense, the immersion in prayers and readings... the fasting and abstinence... the smallness of us and the bigness of God.   I feel I must make haste... and clean like Jesus is coming over (physically) for a visit!   I want to put away the distractions... but can I do it?  Will I make an effort to do this every day?  Will it last?  

I have been such a fickle Catholic... I've been hit and miss at mass for about a year now... some days I flat out did not want to go... and then at the end of the day, I felt a sadness that I didn't.  Some days I just felt too overwhelmed or tired or drained to go... it's been a struggle... and I know that it was the devil giving me excuses in my ear to use and to say, and reminding me of sadness and frailties and so forth.  Old Smut Face has been busy.  And I want, with all of my heart, to TOTALLY tick him off. :)   I think embracing Lent is a good place to start.

Veggie Girl?

When I was about 20 years old, I decided to stop eating meat.  I still had eggs, (sparingly), and cheese, and once in a blue moon I would eat a few shrimp, but that was the extent of it.  When I became pregnant with my first child at age 25, the meat cravings began, and I started eating it again.

Since then, I, (for about 2 years between the ages of about 38 to 40), gave up all pork and shellfish.  That didn't last either.  Though, I know in my heart of hearts that both are very bad for you.  

Most years I give up meat for the entire 40 days of Lent.  Some years this was not difficult.  Some years, it's been hard.

About two (I think) years ago, we started doing Meatless Fridays.  As a convert to our Catholic faith, I somehow missed the boat on this.  Though a lot of Catholics no longer "do" meatless Fridays... for some reason they think it's no longer a "requirement".   I looked in the Catechism... we 'are' supposed to still be giving up 'something' on Fridays.  Because every single Friday is like a 'little' Good Friday.  So even if you still want to eat meat on a Friday, at least deny yourself 'something', or, say some extra prayers.  Not everything has to be 'taken away' or 'denied'. You can always 'add' to prayers, works of mercy, and so forth. :)  Anyway...

I've been buying a lot of natural foods. Quinoa, muesli, oat groats, granola, lentils, peas, and beans. Bulgar.  Barley.  The kids and I have been eating these things off and on.  But I am ready to 'step it up'.  

About two days ago, I was watching a video on youtube, and the couple were making lentil soup for themselves.  My hippie tastebuds started drooling and craving, and I bought 2 sacks of lentils.  Hubby asked about them, and I told him about the video and that I wanted to make some lentil soup.  He admitted he too, likes lentil soup.  Whaaaaat?   Wow.  News to me!!  Little comments like this give me hope.  LOL

Last night the four of us were watching television.  The girls and I got up and got a yogurt and some granola.  Hubby watched us, and then got himself some.  My. Husband. Ate. Granola.  *shock*  And even more shocking, was his, "Hey, this stuff is GOOD."  Wow.  Just.. WOW!  I can't believe it! :)  *does happy dance*  There is hope for us yet!

 I am going to make the lentil soup today I think.  I'm craving it.  I have several bags of dried beans and so forth in the pantry, as well as frozen peas.  So I have quite the supply.  My thinking is this:  I am going to 'try' and just be meatless during the week.  Not every day.  Just, say, Monday through Friday.  I may have days when I eat a little... I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  I would LIKE to say I was also giving up all refined flours and sugars and caffeine AND dairy.  But no.. I am just not 'there' yet.  Though I am limiting my refined flours and sugars, and I believe that is a good start.  Such as, yesterday I only had a half cup of coffee, and then fruit water all day.  Finally last night I had two glasses of green tea with honey.   Not exactly great but better than guzzling sweet tea or Cocola all day long!

Rome wasn't built in a day.  And all of us are works in progress.  In my continued efforts for our family to eat better, and more healthy... this 'has' to start with me.