This is the last week of Christmas. We begin with Septuagesima (the 70th day before the final day of the Paschal Octave) and we end with the last feast of the Infancy of Christ. It is the feast of both the Purification and the Presentation on Friday. It is the day that the Blessed Mother would have come back to be ritually cleansed from childbirth and brought back into the life of corporate worship, and the day that Jesus would be presented and "bought back" as the first born son who opened the womb. This practice is preserved in the Church today, through the service of the Churching of Women (which is still found in all Anglican traditions, as well). In the East, both Orthodox and Catholic, it is the teaching for women to rest at home with their babies for the first 40 days, to heal, to care for their babies, and to be served. On the 40th day, they are brought back into the church for prayers and blessings, and it is common to perform the baptism for the baby that day.

It is the day of the prophecies of both Saints Anna and Simeon, and so is also called the Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple. It is a fitting conclusion to the Nativity season. We do not have the words of Saint Anna, only that she spoke of Him to all were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Clearly, she knew who Jesus was. I love how they both recognized the Lord immediately on seeing Him.

The Church teaches us that Saint Simeon was a scribe, and that in his work as a scribe he attempted to "correct" the Isaiah passage which prophecies of the virgin birth, since no person could be born that way. In the moment that he tried to scrape out the word virgin and change it to wife, he noticed that his hand was being held back by an angel. That angel whispered to him that he, himself, would see its fulfillment before he died. Saint Simeon spent the rest of his life waiting to see this fulfillment. Because of this, we have not only Saint Simeon's words of prophecy, but we pray his prayer every night at evening prayer:

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word! For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.

The end of the Christmas season means the beginning of looking forward to Lent. Like last year, they coincide and it is the week of Septuagesima. We slowly start to pare things down in our lives, and get ready for the work of fasting, praying, and almsgiving. I encourage you to prayerfully join the Church in this. We walk with all the Church in the life of Christ every year, with our days and weeks and months shaped to His time. These two weeks before Lent officially begins are a time to slow down, pare down, and prepare for the fast.

Even though the fasting is challenging, every one of our family is used to and looks forward to the spiritual training. Jerome actually said that since they grew up doing it, for him it just feels normal. It forces him to think about his food and God. This is why it always takes me by surprise that there are Christians who don't even keep the Friday fast, let alone the Wednesday one, or do any fasting for Lent or Advent, not because we don't understand that they don't, but because it makes you look at each bite you eat, every meal you plan as part of your worship of God, and by neglecting the fast, they miss out on that. It is not something we offer to God because He needs it, but something He offers to us because we do.

We commemorate the betrayal of Judas and our Lord's crucifixion, in fasting each week. We prepare for His birth and coming again, and His resurrection, in fasting and prayer and almsgiving. People are missing out on this when they don't participate. Our every bite is shaped by our faith, our days and weeks and seasons are shaped by the life of Christ. We are so glad to have grown into this practice - even when it is hard, maybe especially when it is hard. When it is hard, we are reminded that we need God for everything. Even to ward off the desire for a cheeseburger. We fast because it is so easy to forget how much we need God. We fast because Christ indentified with the poor, and so should we. We fast, because it allows us to learn to conquer our appetites, and all sin is disordered appetite. We fast because our ancestral sin was the breaking of the fast. We fast so we remember to pray. We fast because Christ Himself told us how to do it when we do it, not if we do it. We fast because we want to be more like Him, who fasted for 40 days and nights. For all these reasons and more, I encourage you to take a step toward this practice, if you can. Do it for these reasons. Pray and ask God to help and strengthen you. He will show you your weakness, and give you His strength. May God bless us all. Please pray for me.

Most of the time, East and West share the same dates and general times for our feasts and fasts, but this week we have the Western feast for Saint Ignatius of Antioch, separately from the East. Since he was such a pivotal and important figure in the Church, we commemorate him both times. Please join us in our prayers for unity in the Church.

So much has been going on this past week! I keep waiting for life to slow down, and I just don't know when or how that will happen. There is some stuff going on in the background with a family member we are very concerned for and don't really have a way to help. Please pray for the upcoming wedding and for our families. This week, we also begin our homeschool co-op again, which adds another layer of busy-ness, even though it comes with fun, too.

We are still cooking out of the freezers and I'm hoping this will help us adjust our inventory to be more accurate, as well. Since this is the first week in the run up to Lent for those of us in the West, it will also make room for more produce and other Lenten fare. The count down is on! However, since Dominic and Shawn are Orthodox, their Lent doesn't begin until much later, so we will get a break right at the beginning of Lent, to celebrate with the bride and bridegroom. Because of the date of the wedding, we will be missing our doughnut Mardi Gras celebration this year, though we will still hold a pancake dinner. This will shorten our Lenten observance, because it is not right to fast when there is a wedding feast. On the other hand, with our worship with the Orthodox mission here, every other Saturday from March 23 through May 5 will involve fasting with them. We will one day pray and fast and feast together. Glory to God!

• Sunday - Septuagesima
  Breakfast: Nacho Breakfast, Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Kofta bi Siniyeh, Algerian Olive Bread, Leftover Falafel, Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Monday
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Sliced Pears, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Pork Chops Pizzaiola, Basmati Rice, Roasted Veggies, Fresh Pineapple
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Grapefruit Halves, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cape Malay Chicken Curry with Yellow Rice, Fruit Salad
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Chopped Apples, Raisins, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Puerto Rican Beans, Cuban Pumpkin Rice, Fresh Pineapple
• Thursday - Feast of Saint Ignatius of Antioch
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding with Dried Cherries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Potage Parmentier (Potato Leek Soup), French Bread, Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies, Brown Butter Ginger Chews
• Friday - Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary and the Presentation of the Infant Christ
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Cod with Chermoula Sauce and Couscous, Green Salad, Orange Rum Cake
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Blaise
  Breakfast: Mexican Eggs Benedict with Chorizo and Avocado Cream, Sliced Pears, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps, Frosted Button Cookies*

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Nativity, Prayer Requests, Presentation, Purification, Septuagesima, Tales from the Kitchen