Showing posts with label Lent;. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent;. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Day 1
I love seeing crosses. I love collecting crosses. So, in honor of Lent 2014, I am posting 40 days of Crosses (from all over the world)...
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Pretzels and Lent
The pretzel has its origins as an official food of Lent. Even though much of the information available is based on tradition that has been
handed down through the ages, the Vatican library actually
has a manuscript illustrating one of the earliest pictures and descriptions
of the pretzel (Codex 3867).
During Lent in the early Church, many abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others made exceptions for food like fish. Pope St. Gregory sent the following to St. Augustine of Canterbury, "We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese and eggs." Second, the general rule was for a person to have only one meal a day, around three o’clock in the afternoon, and smaller snacks during the rest of the day.
According to Snyder’s of Hanover, (a modern day pretzel maker), a monk in the early 600s in Italy was preparing a special Lenten bread of water, flour and salt. In order to remind his brother monks that Lent was a time of prayer, he rolled the bread dough in strips and then shaped each strip in the form of crossed arms. The bread was then baked as a soft bread, just like the big soft pretzels one can find today.
There are two schools of thought concerning the name. 1)Because these breads were shaped into the form of crossed arms, they were called bracellae, the Latin word for "little arms." From this word, the Germans derived the word bretzel which has since mutated to the familiar word pretzel. 2) Another possibility is that the monk gave these breads to children as a reward when they could recite their prayers. The Latin word pretiola means "little reward," from which pretzel could also be reasonably derived.
This simple Lenten food became very popular and was enjoyed by all classes of people. As they were easy to prepare and store, it became a common food to give to the poor and hungry.
Another legend tells that monks baking pretzels in the basement of a monastery in Vienna, during the siege by the Ottoman Turks , could hear the sounds of the Turks digging secretly under the walls of the city. The monks alerted the guard and Vienna was saved!
Originally all pretzels were soft. The story is told of a young apprentice baker dozing off while tending to the oven where the pretzels were baking. After almost allowing the oven fires to die out, he awoke, stoked the oven and over-baked the pretzels. At first the master baker was upset, but soon discovered that the hard pretzels were also delicious. These hard pretzels were less perishable than the soft, and thereby easy to have available to give to the poor and hungry.
Grant us, we pray, that we too, may be reminded by the daily sight of these pretzels to observe the holy season of Lent with true devotion and great spiritual fruit. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
During Lent in the early Church, many abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others made exceptions for food like fish. Pope St. Gregory sent the following to St. Augustine of Canterbury, "We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese and eggs." Second, the general rule was for a person to have only one meal a day, around three o’clock in the afternoon, and smaller snacks during the rest of the day.
According to Snyder’s of Hanover, (a modern day pretzel maker), a monk in the early 600s in Italy was preparing a special Lenten bread of water, flour and salt. In order to remind his brother monks that Lent was a time of prayer, he rolled the bread dough in strips and then shaped each strip in the form of crossed arms. The bread was then baked as a soft bread, just like the big soft pretzels one can find today.
There are two schools of thought concerning the name. 1)Because these breads were shaped into the form of crossed arms, they were called bracellae, the Latin word for "little arms." From this word, the Germans derived the word bretzel which has since mutated to the familiar word pretzel. 2) Another possibility is that the monk gave these breads to children as a reward when they could recite their prayers. The Latin word pretiola means "little reward," from which pretzel could also be reasonably derived.
This simple Lenten food became very popular and was enjoyed by all classes of people. As they were easy to prepare and store, it became a common food to give to the poor and hungry.
Another legend tells that monks baking pretzels in the basement of a monastery in Vienna, during the siege by the Ottoman Turks , could hear the sounds of the Turks digging secretly under the walls of the city. The monks alerted the guard and Vienna was saved!
Originally all pretzels were soft. The story is told of a young apprentice baker dozing off while tending to the oven where the pretzels were baking. After almost allowing the oven fires to die out, he awoke, stoked the oven and over-baked the pretzels. At first the master baker was upset, but soon discovered that the hard pretzels were also delicious. These hard pretzels were less perishable than the soft, and thereby easy to have available to give to the poor and hungry.
The Pretzel Prayer
We beg you, O Lord, to bless these breads which are to remind us
that Lent is a sacred season of penance and prayer. For this very
reason, the early Christian started the custom of making these breads
in the form of arms crossed in prayer. Thus they kept the holy purpose
of Lent alive in their hearts from day to day, and increased in their
souls the love of Christ, even unto death, if necessary. Grant us, we pray, that we too, may be reminded by the daily sight of these pretzels to observe the holy season of Lent with true devotion and great spiritual fruit. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
An Irish story for Lent
Lent is a serious time in the church year, but I don't believe God wants us to live totally without humor. I posted this to pass along a little smile:
An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.
An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more.
This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers.
Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. “I don’t mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers.” ‘Tis odd, isn’t it?” the man replies, “You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond.”
The bartender and soon the whole town was pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.
Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening – he orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.
The next day, the bartender says to the man, “Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know-the two beers and all…”
The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, “You’ll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well… It’s just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.”
Told by Father Joseph Jenkins
An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.
An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more.
This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers.
Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. “I don’t mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers.” ‘Tis odd, isn’t it?” the man replies, “You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond.”
The bartender and soon the whole town was pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.
Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening – he orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.
The next day, the bartender says to the man, “Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know-the two beers and all…”
The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, “You’ll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well… It’s just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.”
Told by Father Joseph Jenkins
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