These are the last moments of meat for us in the West. Today is Forgiveness Sunday in the East, also known as Cheesefare Sunday (farewell to dairy). The Eastern Church will begin Lent tomorrow. We have a couple more days, because we begin on Ash Wednesday, midweek. Quinquagesima is the 50th day before the Paschal feast for us in the West. We celebrate together this year, glory to God, and we continue to pray, that both East and West will unite to celebrate together every year. The practices of Ash Wednesday are so profound, as are those of Forgiveness Sunday, and I hope that eventually the Church will get her act together and find a way to bring them together in all ways.

I've explained before that xerophagy is the accurate term for Lenten fasting. It means dry eating. We restrict meat, fish, dairy, eggs, oil and wine, which means our food is not as lubricated as normal. There are two strict fast days (no food or nutritive drink) in the West, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. There is an optional strict fast from the evening after the Maundy Thursday service through the end of the Paschal Vigil. In the East, the first week of Lent, from Clean Monday through their vespers service on Wednesday is supposed to be as strict a fast as possible, with the guidance of a spiritual father or mother, and they share the same Triduum fasting, I believe. Aside from that, the earliest rule of the Church is to eat no meat, no fish (with the exception of shellfish - and because of the expense, we eat them sparingly), no dairy or eggs, no olive oil (all oil in a few jurisdictions), no wine (or alcohol). On Saturdays and Sundays, the rule is relaxed to include olive oil and wine, and on a few significant feast days we are able to eat fish, and one day caviar is permitted (Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday, with fish eggs acting as a shadow of the eggs associated with the Resurrection). In the West, we celebrate Laetare Sunday about midway through the fast, and on that day we also eat dairy and egg. None of this is to imply that eating or that any of these foods are bad. They are good things from which we abstain as a discipline to train ourselves, following the example and teaching of our Lord.

This is worship. Worship throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New, always means sacrifice. It is not prayer, though that usually accompanies it. It is not singing hymns and songs, though they may also accompany it. It is not homilies or sermons, though they are edifying. It is sacrifice. The sacrifice that Christ offered for us once for all that we join into in the Eucharist. The sacrifice of something good for our own good in fasting. In the West, penance is emphasized, and while this is absolutely a part of our Lenten journey, fasting, praying, and almsgiving are seen more as a discipline Christ gives us through the Church to grow us spiritually. Young children, the elderly, those who have serious medical conditions, those who are hospitalized, pregnant and nursing women, are all exempt. There is no make-up required for these people. Their fast is considered complete. In all cases, fasting or not, we are to keep our eyes on our own plate. We are not to concern ourselves with how someone else is keeping the fast, unless that person is asking us for assistance or support.

Because we serve an Anglican parish on Sundays, we will be relaxing the fasting on Sundays to permit fish, as the parishioners are not required to keep the stricter fasting rules, so you will sometimes see fish on those days. My posts here about how we fast are not meant to show off, they are meants to show the reality of how we live our faith, and (I hope) to give encouragement and meal ideas to those seeking them. Now that all of our children are old enough to keep most or all of the fast, we are trying to live out the Lenten Rule more closely. Nejat is young enough not to be required to keep the fast, so we make sure we plan for her to eat on strict fast days, should she choose that, and she knows that she can eat foods that we cannot if we want to avoid wasting food or if she needs it. However, even she attempts to fast with the Church with us.

As we prepare for Lent, we must prepare for self-examination. So, in that frame of mind, if I have offended you or wronged you in any way, please forgive me and pray for me, a sinner. As for you readers, I pray that this will be a profitable and Holy Lent for you, however you observe it. Please pray for us, as well. Have a blessed fast.

• Sunday - Quinquagesima and Forgiveness Sunday
  Breakfast: Trapeza after Liturgy
  Dinner: Lengua Tacos, Salsa and Mexican Crema, Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Sides/Salads/Desserts brought by Parish
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Sausages, Biscuits (GF for Jerome), Grapefruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Koubbeh, Iraqi Koubbat Battatas (safe for Jerome), Taratoor, Harissa, Green Salad with Feta and Lemon Vinaigrette, Fruit Plate
• Tuesday - Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)
  Breakfast: Cheese Toast with Crudités, Sliced Apples, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers followed by Treats brought by our Friends, Louqaimat, Fastnacht Kreppel Filled with Pomegranate Jelly, Gluten Free Apple Fritters, Fritule
• Wednesday - Ash Wednesday
  Dinner: Tahina and Date Syrup Sandwich with Sliced Oranges for Nejat
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Sliced Apples (Peanut Butter on Apple Slices for Jerome), Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Vegetarian Bissilla* and Rice, Shatta, Salad, Sliced Blood Oranges
• Friday - Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity
  Breakfast: Scrambled Chickpeas, Sliced Cucumbers, Olives, Toast, Sliced Oranges, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean Chili, Chopped Onions, Cilantro, Avocado and Jalapeno, Fried Corn Tortilla Strips, Fruit Plate
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Potato Hash Burritos with Salsa, Sliced Apples, Coffee and Tea
  Dinner: Mejeddarah with Crisp Onions, Toum, Fruit Plate

Labels: Church Year, Faith and Morality, Family, Fasting as a Family, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Lent, Mardi Gras, Menu Plans, Quinquagesima, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:02 AM