Latin Recipes for Holy Week
In Latin America and to Hispanics in the US, Holy Week (the week that precedes Easter Sunday) is a sacred time marked by, among other things, giving up meat and eating seafood or vegetables. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites meat-free recipes, which happen to be as good for the body as they are for the soul.
It saddens me that more Christian anti-choicers participate in 40 Day of Life than Lent. Even though they both last the same amount of time, they’re for completely different reasons. One is for respecting the Man who gave His life to repent the sins of all those who believe in Him and the other to make sure people with uteri can’t control their bodies or lives…
Guidelines for Great Lent
Here are some concrete guidelines for taking Great Lent more seriously:
• Turn off the television, radio, and stereo for the entire lenten season, except for news and serious or educational programs.
• Do not visit or engage in outside activities for their own sake. Keep useless talking to a minimum. Do only necessary business, good works, and acts of charity.
• Examine and measure every aspect of your life—family, work, society, politics, economics, values, and desires—against the model set forth by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.
• Question yourself in regard to love, truth, honest, purity, humility, peace, forgiveness, justice, mercy, hungering, and thirsting for God, wisdom, and knowledge.
• In the name of Jesus Christ, forgive all who have offended you and seek forgiveness from those whom you have offended. If it will not be embarrassing or misinterpreted as an act of self-righteousness, express yourself as concretely as possible. Visit, make a phone call, and so forth.
• Set aside and give a sizeable portion of your resources to others; the parish, the poor, a social or educational agency. Tell no one what you have done. Ask no gratitude and forgo requesting a receipt. Do not advertise what you are doing.
• Fast strictly at all times. Eat no meat, as the basic minimum. Suit your fast to your work, but avoid luxury. Again, tell no one. Do not advertise or discuss your fasting with anyone and avoid judging others who may not be fasting with you.
• Pray at home at least at one fixed time each day. Choose a brief rule of prayer, but keep it faithfully.
• Read the scriptures in the same brief, yet regular way. You may wish to follow the Church’s calendar, read a chapter of a given book on a daily basis, or simply read and reflect upon passages which you happen upon. In addition, meditate upon these: 1 John; Romans 12-14; Matthew 5 - 7, and John 14-17.
• Be faithful to Christ’s gospel in every word, action, and thought—even the smallest or most insignificant.
• Participate in all of the weekly lenten services, especially the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, Saturday evening Great Vespers, and the Sunday Divine Liturgy, confessing seriously and receiving Holy Communion frequently.
