It is now the second week of the pre-Lenten season. Sexagesima means 60 and simply refers to the fact that we are within 60 days of the feast. For us in the West, it is a week and a half until the Lenten observance begins. In the East, this year, it is not for another six weeks. We are far apart this year, which grieves me. The West still preserves the East's understanding of easing into the fast in Septuagesima and Sexagesima, and even with the Mardi Gras traditions of eating doughnuts or pancakes to use up the last of the eggs, milk and butter, which does point to the earlier and more authentic practice. One day, I hope that the observances of Forgiveness Sunday and Ash Wednesday can be joined in some way and I pray that one day we will all observe and celebrate together.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), this year, we will not be hosting our big doughnut feast on Mardi Gras, because of the upcoming wedding. Dominic and Shawn are officially converting to Orthodoxy, so their wedding will not be during Lent, so we will be suspending our fast for the Saturday and Sunday of their celebration. It is wrong to fast when the bridegroom is with us and we certainly are not going to put a solemn cast on their joyous day. As the fasts of the Church are a school given to us for our own growth, so we are prepared in body, mind, and soul for the spiritual battles of this world. It isn't a sin to neglect the fast, so much as it is a pity. It means we won't be so prepared. However, breaking it for celebrating a wedding with someone is neither a sin nor a pity and we rejoice to share with them. As I said before, because of our worshiping in the Orthodox mission here in town, we will be observing the Lenten rule on a few Saturdays after our Paschal feast, so it all works out in the end.

I know I have said this before, but neither Rich nor I grew up with this pattern of fasting and feasting (though with my Muslim upbringing, it was more familiar to me - just with one month of fasting, rather than three seasons of it and a biweekly observance), but now we cannot imagine our lives without it. What is foreign to us now is the idea that our every day, week, month, year, would not be marked by a remembrance of the events in Christ's life. Even though all of us are aware that doing so is not the norm for most Americans, or people in the West, it is always a surprise to the kids when they find that people are eating meat on a Wednesday or Friday, or when they wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter the day after the feast and have someone answer that it is over. It is a poverty that they don't mark the time this way, and for all the challenges the fasting and feasting can bring, it is such a gift to us, that we can make even what we put in our mouths part of our devotion and worship of God. It imbues meal times, weekly scheduling, all of it, with the spiritual. It is hard and good - perhaps more good because it is sometimes hard.

It is like the Old Testament admonition in Exodus and Joshua to do something specifically so your children will ask why and what it means. Talking about Wednesdays, Fridays, Advent and Lent, and why we eat differently then, brings the conversations up about Jesus, His betrayal, His Crucifixion, His Incarnation, His Resurrection. It makes every moment of our lives tied to the life of the Church and the life of Christ. In truth I am sad for Christians who don't do this out of a mistaken aversion to following rules.

We will feast well this week, though. The Anglican church where Rich serves Evening Prayer is hosting members of a Sudanese church that meets in the Tri-Cities, and we are preparing a feast for them. It will be glorious, with their choir joining our small parish, and joining us in singing praise to God and worshiping our Lord in the Eucharist. All week, our meals are going to be a little decadent, and we are using up the butter and eggs, milk and cream, sweets and meats, to make room for more Lenten fare. The Grocery Outlet often has good deals on foods that are appropriate for the Lenten fast (aside from the basics of fruits, vegetables, grains, and so on), and as the rule does not insist that the food we eat taste bad, only that it involves certain sacrifices (worship), we will take advantage of those good deals. While we should not focus all our attention on the food, because those guidelines are a training, and not the end of the training, I do find that planning it out ahead of time does help me keep my focus on prayer and charity, because I don't have to spend so much time thinking of what to make. Again, there is a balance to be struck.

This week Metropolitan Saba of the Antiochian Orthodox Church will be here, so we are having liturgy Friday night instead of Saturday morning. We have loads of events this week, actually, which makes our preparing for the wedding a little more busy. East and West are not fasting and feasting together this year. We will one day pray and feast together always. Pray with me for the reunification of the Church. Glory to God!

• Sunday - Sexagesima and Feast of Saint Cornelius
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Sausage and Cheese, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Charcuterie Tray, Lamb Shawerma*, Broiled Garlic and Herbed Lamb Chops, Arabic Style Rice Pilaf, Khoubz Araby, Harissa, Duqqus, Laban bi Chiyar, Sliced Tomatoes, Shredded Lettuce, Mixed Olives, Baq'lawa, Sour Cream Cake, Chocolate Coconut Bars
• Monday - Feast of Saint Agatha the Martyr
  Breakfast: Leftovers, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Lemon Mussels with Feta, Garlic Butter Pasta, Steam Sautéed Peas with Garlic and Dill, Sliced Oranges
• Tuesday - Feast of Saint Titus
  Breakfast: Syrian Rice Pudding with Dried Cherries, Sliced Apples, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Smothered Pork Chops with Shallots, Roasted Parsnips, Squash, Beets and Onions, Arabic Rice Pilaf, Sliced Apples
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Chickpeas with Vegetables, Toast, Grapefruit Halves, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegan Enfrijoladas, Cuban Yellow Rice, Guacamole and Salsa, Sliced Oranges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Mesfouf with Cream, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash, Fruit Plate
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast with Honey, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Southern Style Pickled Shrimp to Share after Liturgy
• Saturday - Feast of Saint Scholastica
  Breakfast: Lemon Cream Cheese Butterhorn Bars, Sausage Patties, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pepper and Beef Stir Fry, Jasmine Rice, Sliced Oranges

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, Prayer Requests, Sexagesima, Tales from the Kitchen