@bishop_conley@catholicthing I do not know why the brother priest who wrote this chose to remain anonymous for this is a reflection redolent with wisdom and humility. Having taught sacraments and liturgy and now serving as pastor, I see how the holy heart & mind of Pope Benedict has opened the Lordโs beauty
More worrying news from #Nicaragua: the regime has detained 80-year-old Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salomon, apostolic administrator of Esteli, in the absence of the actual apostolic administrator, Bishop Alvarez, who's in exile.
The priest is detained in the Managua seminary
@briankeepsworth โThey have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see. โฆ
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.โ Psalm 115
@EdmCathSchools Itโs the beginning of Lent - the holiest penitential season - what is the connection between this and fasting, prayer, and almsgiving ? There is a link โฆ help us find it
Did you know that the pretzel has a deep spiritual meaning for Lent? In fact, it was the ancient Christian Lenten bread as far back as the fourth century. In the old Roman Empire, the faithful kept a very strict fast all through Lent: no milk, no butter, no cheese, no eggs, no cream and no meat. They made small breads of water, flour and salt, to remind themselves that Lent was a time of prayer. They shaped these breads in the form of crossed arms for in those days they crossed their arms over the breast while praying. Therefore they called the breads "little arms" (bracellae). From this Latin word, the Germanic people later coined the term "pretzel."
Thus the pretzel is the most appropriate food symbol in Lent. It still shows the form of arms crossed in prayer, reminding us that Lent is a time of prayer. It consists only of water and flour, thus proclaiming Lent as a time of fasting. The earliest picture and description of a pretzel (from the fifth century) may be found in the manuscript-codex No. 3867, Vatican Library.
That many people eat pretzels today all through the year, that they take them together with beer in taverns and restaurants, is only an accidental habit. In many places of Europe, pretzels are served only from Ash Wednesday to Easter, thus keeping the ancient symbolism alive.
There seems to be no reason why our Christian families should not return to this beautiful custom of our ancient Roman fellow-Christian, especially since we still have these breads everywhere. The children will be delighted and greatly impressed when they hear the true story of the pretzel
From The Year of the Lord in the Christian Home by Rev. Francis X. Weiser, S.J. (Collegeville, Minnesota, The Liturgical Press, ยฉ1964) p. 89, pp. 93-94.