Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God; Oh come, let us adore Him.

This is one of a few truly Western feasts that I truly revel in and wish were shared by both lungs of the Church. I know that I "read" more Eastern, but in these I am firmly Western. This is a feast that I think should be enthusiastically embraced by all of the Church. It is a theological feast. It celebrates what we believe. We believe in, rejoice in, and love the Trinity! In the east, it is celebrated along with Pentecost, however, it is a principal feast in the west. Prior to the Great Schism, it was a secondary feast and relatively minor observance. It came about around the time of the Arian heresy, which was repudiated by the Nicene and Constantinople Councils in the Nicene Creed. Around this time, there were prefaces and prayers written and proclaimed in churches on Sundays which emphasized orthodox Christian faith, and those for the Holy Trinity were said the Sunday after Pentecost in some areas, in other areas, it was the Sunday before Advent. It was emphasized to counter the erroneous teachings of the day, and was elevated in the west to primary first class status in 1911, again to counter heretical teaching. In the east, while it is not primary, in the quite the same way, it is the first of the three day observance of Pentecost, and is also called Trinity Sunday. Each of those three days emphasizes different parts of the faith that is born that day, and the first is Trinity. Because we are a week apart this year, ironically, we are celebrating Trinity Sunday on the same day. I pray one day it will be observed in unbroken community. God is unity (one God) and community (three Persons) and has created all people to be in one in community. God shows us this community in Himself so we can be an image of Him in the world.

This week, appropriately, we ordained a new priest for our local church. Rich and I have been helping here for years, as a stop gap, to get this little parish to a place where they are served by dedicated clergy. Of course, we are still assisting, but this is a major waypoint for this parish, and we are rejoicing. Our church had the meal largely catered by a wonderful local restaurant, and a few of us women provided the desserts. I found out that crème brulée requires 80 eggs, three gallons of cream, and nine cups of sugar.

This has been a busy week for so many reasons this week. That is why this is posted so late. Friday ws a major point in the troubles our family has been enduring. We have been praying and were able to bring 32 people to be with us, praying, and being witnesses, in support of our family. That was a high moment. We were not prepared for a hold, though, and have to wait until next week to know the full outcome of this. Please keep praying.

The good news is that, aside from our kids' godparents coming from my home town, a clergy couple from our old hometown, former priests from this area returning to come in support, friends and neighbors, our local adult kids, even Dominic and Shawn came with Winnie (who behaved perfectly as we sat and observed and prayed). We had four priests, a deacon, and a retired pastor there. We had a retired firefighter/EMT, and a retired reserve police officer. We had business owners, homemakers, future lawyers (he ought to be a lawyer by the end of this year), friends of our kids, neighbors, everyone you can think of - and every age from nine months to 83 years old. Dominic, Shawn and Winnie stayed the weekend, and we were able to decompress and rest from a very exhausting experience. I made cinnamon rolls to bring with us to either celebrate, or to commiserate. It was kind of in between, but that was what made up our dinner Friday.

Next week is also a huge, busy week for us, and we are all starting to feel a lot of this in our health, so please pray for our strength. Since we have been slammed for the past few weeks, with no relief for another week and a half, the recipes are on hold. I will get them posted as soon as I can.

• Sunday - Trinity Sunday
  Breakfast: Croissant, Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches, Fruit Plate, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Chicken Piccata, Green Salad with Bleu Cheese, Candied Walnuts and Craisins, Caprese Gnocchi, Formaggio Bread, Roasted Vegetables, Fruit Plate, Limoncello Crème Brulée*, Chocolate Mousse, Cookies
• Monday - Feast of Saint Justin Martyr
  Breakfast: Fried Eggs, Toast, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Xinjiang Cumin Lamb, Jasmine Rice, Homemade Samoa Bars
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftover Gnocchi and Chicken Piccata, Green Salad, Crème Brûlée
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Toast with Za'atar Spice Blend, Olive Oil, Aleppo Pepper, Sliced Cucumbers and Radishes, Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Saneyet Battatas, Basmati Rice, Chopped Salad, Fruit Plate
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk, Tea and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Friday - Feast of Saint Boniface
  Breakfast: Toast with Za'atar Spice Blend, Olive Oil, Aleppo Pepper, Sliced Cucumbers and Radishes, Olives, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Snack Tray and Cinnamon Rolls
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Mustard Glazed Corned Beef, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Limoncello Crème Brulée

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, Family, Homemaking, Keeping the Feast, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen, Trinity