Sunday, March 8, 2009

I am pretty sure this makes me a bad Catholic.

Lent. —The Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote the forty days' fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (Fr. careme, It. quaresima, Span. cuaresma), meaning the "forty days", or more literally the "fortieth day". This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakostē (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentēkostē), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New-Testament times. This etymology, as we shall see, is of some little importance in explaining the early developments of the Easter fast. Well Ralph and I decided that this year we would not be "giving up" a worldly vice for lent. Seriously, other than caffeine they are all gone. We are two working parents. Caffeine. Is. Going. No. Where. And really, how does caffeine take you away from God?
In Post Vatican II days, Catholics believe that you should not eat meat on Fridays. We try to strictly adhere to this. So, for the past three years every Friday night of Lent I make Cioppino. My struggle? I think that I am supposed to view this as some sort of sacrifice....instead there is nothing that graces my table with more glory than the lovely said Cioppino.
Bad Catholic? a) Did not give up anything for Lent b) see said sacrifice (no meat on Fridays) as a treat. Oh, and after we ate Cioppino, we left Ms. G with a babysitter and went to go see Doubt....which again I think would add c) went to see Doubt as another sin.
Any thoughts?


3 comments:

jz said...

Chioppino is lovely to you, but give me my seafood grilled or broiled and if I am going to sin give it to me fried. Allie, you are not a bad anything.
Mom

Amanda said...

I agree with your mama. If I'm going to sin, give it to me fried!

Tricia said...

When we were younger we didn't give up anything for Lent, instead we had to do something above and beyond during Lent. One year in high school, I volunteered at a nursing home. Another year, we did yard work for an ederly neighbor. And so forth. It made a bigger impact than not eating chocolate for forty days. Heck, I do that when I know I will be wearing my skinny jeans...