Sanctus Simplicitus

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894

ST. ALBINUS was of an ancient and noble family in Brittany, and from his childhood was fervent in every exercise of piety. He ardently sighed after the happiness which a devout soul finds in being perfectly disengaged from all earthly things. Having embraced the monastic state at Tintillant, near Augers, he shone a perfect model of virtue, living as if in all things he had been without any will of his own; and his soul seemed so perfectly governed by the spirit of Christ as to live only for Him. At the age of thirty-five years he was chosen abbot, in 504, and twenty-five years afterwards Bishop of Angers. He everywhere restored discipline, being inflamed with a holy zeal for the honor of God. His dignity seemed to make no alteration either in his mortifications or in the constant recollection of his soul. Honored by all the world, even by kings, he was never affected with vanity. Powerful in works and miracles, he looked upon himself as the most unworthy and most unprofitable among the servants of God, and had no other ambition than to appear such in the eyes of others as he was in those of his own humility. In the third Council of Orleans, in 538, he procured the thirtieth canon of the Council of Epaone to be revived, by which those are declared excommunicated who presume to contract incestuous marriages in the first or second degree of consanguinity or affinity. He died on the 1st of March, in 549.

Reflection.—With whatever virtues a man may be endowed, he will discover, if he considers himself attentively, a sufficient depth of misery to afford cause for deep humility; but Jesus Christ says, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

1.) Homemade Fish Sticks (served with yummy looking red potatoes and green beans!)

2.) Green Curry Vegetables over Rice

3.) Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia

4.) Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

5.) Veggie Pizza OR Taco Pizza with these homemade refried beans, using this home made pizza crust? YUM!

The Willson family has put out another wonderful newsletter for the month of March, featuring the Lenten season. All articles come from imprimatured books that are noted. The newsletter also has games and quizzes for the children, coloring pages and other fun things. Find all past issues HERE on our download page.

Download March's Edition Here

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894

February 24.—ST. MATTHIAS, Apostle. AFTER our blessed Lord's Ascension His disciples met together, with Mary His mother and the eleven apostles, in an upper room at Jerusalem. The little company numbered no more than one hundred and twenty souls. They were waiting for the promised coining of the Holy Ghost, and they persevered in prayer. Meanwhile there was a solemn act to be performed on the part of the Church, which could not be postponed. The place of the fallen Judas must be filled up, that the elect number of the apostles might be complete. St. Peter, therefore, as Vicar of Christ, arose to announce the divine decree. That which the Holy Ghost had spoken by the mouth of David concerning Judas, he said, must be fulfilled. Of him it had been written, "His bishopric let another take." A choice, therefore, was to be made of one among those who had been their companions from the beginning, who could bear witness to the Resurrection of Jesus. Two were named of equal merit, Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. Then, after praying to God, Who knows the hearts of all men, to show which of these He had chosen, they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was forthwith numbered with the apostles. It is recorded of the Saint, thus wonderfully elected to so high a vocation, that he was above all remarkable for his mortification of the flesh. It was thus that he made his election sure.

Reflection.—Our ignorance of many points in St. Matthias's life serves to fix the attention all the more firmly upon these two—the occasion of his call to the apostolate, and the fact of his perseverance. We then naturally turn in thought to our own vocation and our own end.

1.) Vegetarian Freezer Meal Recipes, Great for Lent!

2.) Marsala Mushroom Ragout

3.) Hurry-Up Alfredo

4.) Mac and Chard (Looks delicious!)

5.) Pasta with Homemade Pesto, Potatoes and Green Beans

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY
The Liturgical Year
By Dom Gueranger

The Church gives us to-day another subject for our meditation: it is the Vocation of Abraham. When the waters of the Deluge had subsided, and mankind had once more peopled the earth, the immorality, which had previously excited God’s anger, again grew rife among men. Idolatry, too, into which the ante-diluvian race had not fallen, now showed itself, and human wickedness seemed thus to have reached the height of its malice. Foreseeing that the nations of the earth would fall into rebellion against him, God resolved to select one people that should be peculiarly his, and among whom should be preserved those sacred truths, which the Gentiles were to lose sight of. This new people was to originate from one man, who would be the father and model of all future believers. This was Abraham. His faith and devotedness merited for him that he should be chosen to be the Father of the children of God, and the head of that spiritual family, to which belong all the elect, both of the old and new Testament.

It is necessary, therefore, that we should know Abraham, our father and our model. This is his grand characteristic:- fidelity to God, submissiveness to his commands, abandonment and sacrifice of everything in order to obey his holy will. Such ought to be the prominent virtues of every Christian. Let us, then, study the life of our great Patriarch, and learn the lessons it teaches.

The following passage from the Book of Genesis, which the Church gives us in her Matins of to-day, will serve as the text of our considerations.

From the Book of Genesis. Ch. XII.
And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee and in thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed. So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran. And he took Saraï his wife and Lot, his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it, Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Haï  on the east. He built there also, an altar to the Lord, and called upon his Name.

Could the Christian have a finer model than this holy Patriarch, whose docility and devotedness in following the call of his God are so perfect? We are forced to exclaim, with the Holy Fathers: “O true Christian, even before Christ had come on the earth! He had the spirit of the Gospel, before the Gospel was preached! He was an Apostolic man, before the Apostles existed!” God calls him: he leaves all things, - his country, his kindred, his father’s house, - and he goes into an unknown land. God leads him, - he is satisfied; he fears no difficulties; he never once looks back. Did the Apostles themselves more? But, see how grand is his reward. God says to him: In thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed. This Chaldean is to give to the world Him that shall bless and save it. Death will, it is true, close his eyes ages before the dawning of that day, when one of his race, who is to be born of a Virgin and be united personally with the Divine Word, shall redeem all generations, past, present, and to come. But, meanwhile, till Heaven shall be thrown open to receive this Redeemer and the countless just, who have won the crown, Abraham shall be honoured, in the Limbo of expectation, in a manner becoming his great virtue and merit. It is in his Bosom [St. Luke, xvi. 22], that is, around him, that our First Parents, (having atoned for their sin by penance,) Noah, Moses, David, and all the just, including poor Lazarus, received that rest and happiness, which were a foretaste and a preparation for eternal bliss in Heaven. Thus is Abraham honoured; thus does God requite the love and fidelity of them that serve him.

When the fulness of time came, the Son of God, who was also Son of Abraham, declared his Eternal Father’s power, by saying, that he was about to raise up a new progeny of Abraham’s children from the very stones, that is, from the Gentiles [St. Matth. iii. 9]. We Christians are this new generation. But, are we worthy children of our Father? - Let us listen to the Apostle of the Gentiles: By faith, Abraham, when called (by God), obeyed to go out into a place, which he was to receive for an inheritance: and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith, he abode in the land, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the co-heirs of the same promise; for he looked for a City that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God [Heb. xi. 8,9,10].

If, therefore, we be children of Abraham, we must, as the Church tells us, during Septuagesima, look upon ourselves as exiles on the earth, and dwell, by hope and desire, in that true country of ours, from which we are now banished, but towards which we are each day drawing nigher, if, like Abraham, we are faithful in those various stations allotted us by our Lord. We are commanded to use this world as though we used it not [I. Cor. vii. 31]; to have an abiding conviction of our not having here a lasting City [Heb. xiii. 14], and of the misery and danger we incur, when we forget that Death is one day to separate us from everything we possess in this life.

How far from being true children of Abraham are those Christians who spend this and the two following days in intemperance and dissipation, because Lent is so soon to be upon us. We can easily understand how the simple manners of our Catholic forefathers could keep a leave-taking of the ordinary way of living, which Lent was to put a stop to, and reconcile their innocent Carnival with Christian gravity; just as we can understand how their rigorous observance of the laws of the Church for Lent would inspire certain festive customs at Easter. Even in our own times, a joyous Shrovetide is not to be altogether reprobated, provided the Christian sentiment of the approaching holy Season of Lent be strong enough to check the evil tendency of corrupt nature: otherwise the original intention of an innocent custom would be perverted, and the forethought of Penance could in no sense be considered as the prompter of our joyous farewell to ease and comforts. While admitting all this, we would ask, what right or title have they to share in these Shrovetide rejoicings, whose Lent will pass and find them out of the Church, because they will not have complied with the precept of Easter Communion? And they, too, who claim dispensations from abstinence and fasting during Lent, and, from one reason or another, evade every penitential exercise during the solemn Forty Days of Penance, and will find themselves at Easter as weighed down by the guilt and debt of their sins as they were on Ash Wednesday, - what meaning, we would ask, can there possibly be in their feast-making at Shrovetide?

Oh that Christians would stand on their guard against such delusions as these, and gain that holy liberty of children of God [Rom. viii. 21], which consists in not being slaves to flesh and blood, and preserves man from moral degradation. Let them remember, that we are now in that holy Season, when the Church denies herself her songs of holy joy, in order the more forcibly to remind us that we are living in a Babylon of spiritual danger, and to excite us to regain that genuine Christian spirit, which everything in the world around us is quietly undermining. If the disciples of Christ are necessitated, by the position they hold in society, to take part in the profane amusements of these few days before Lent, let it be with a heart deeply imbued with the maxims of the Gospel. If, for example, they are obliged to listen to the music of theatres and concerts, let them imitate Saint Cecily, who thus sang, in her heart, in the midst of the excitement of worldly harmonies: May my heart, O God, be pure, and let me not be confounded! Above all, let them not countenance certain dances, which the world is so eloquent in defending, because so evidently according to its own spirit; and therefore they who encourage them, will be severely judged by Him, who has already pronounced wo upon the world. Lastly, let those who must go, on these days, and mingle in the company of worldlings, be guided by St. Francis of Sales, who advises them to think, from time to time, on such considerations as these:- that while all these frivolous, and often dangerous, amusements are going on, there are countless souls being tormented in the fire of hell, on account of the sins they committed on similar occasions; that, at that very hour of the night, there are many holy Religious depriving themselves of sleep in order to sing the divine praises and implore God’s mercy upon the world, and upon them that are wasting their time in its vanities; that there are thousands in the agonies of death, whilst all that gaiety is going on; that God and his Angels are attentively looking upon this thoughtless group; and finally, that life is passing away, and death so much nearer each moment. [Introduction to a Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 33].

We grant, that, on these three days immediately preceding the penitential Season of Lent, some provision was necessary to be made for those countless souls, who seem scarce able to live without some excitement. The Church supplies this want. She gives a substitute for frivolous amusements and dangerous pleasures; and those of her children upon whom Faith has not lost its influence, will find, in what she offers them, a feast surpassing all earthly enjoyments, and a means whereby to make amends to God, for the insults offered to his Divine Majesty during these days of Carnival. The Lamb, that taketh away the sins of the world, is exposed upon our Altars. Here, on this his throne of mercy, he receives the homage of them who come to adore him, and acknowledge him for their King; he accepts the repentance of those who come to tell him how grieved they are at having ever followed any other Master than Him; he offers himself to his Eternal Father for poor sinners, who not only treat his favours with indifference, but seem to have made a resolution to offend him during these days more than at any other period of the year.

It was the pious Cardinal Gabriel Paleotti, Archbishop of Bologna, who first originated the admirable devotion of the Forty Hours. He was a cotemporary of St. Charles Borromeo, and, like him, was eminent for his pastoral zeal. His object in this solemn Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament, was to offer to the Divine Majesty some compensation for the sins of men, and, at the very time when the world was busiest in deserving his anger, to appease it by the sight of his own Son, the Mediator between heaven and earth. St. Charles immediately introduced the Devotion into his own diocese and province. This was in the 15th Century. Later on, that is, in the 18th Century, Prosper Lambertini was Archbishop of Bologna; he zealously continued the pious design of his ancient predecessor, Paleotti, by encouraging his flock to devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament during the three days of Carnival; and when he was made Pope, under the name of Benedict the Fourteenth, he granted many Indulgences to all who, during these days, should visit our Lord in this Mystery of his Love, and should pray for the pardon of sinners. This favour was, at first, restricted to the Faithful of the Papal States; but in the year 1763 it was extended, by Pope Clement the Thirteenth, to the universal Church. Thus, the Forty Hours’ Devotion has spread through out the whole world, and become one of the most solemn expressions of Catholic Piety. Let us, then, who have the opportunity, profit by it during these three last days of our preparation for Lent. Let us, like Abraham, retire from the distracting dangers of the world, and seek the Lord our God. Let us go apart, for at least one short hour, from the dissipation of earthly enjoyments; and, kneeling in the Presence of our Jesus, merit the grace to keep our hearts innocent and detached, whilst sharing in those we cannot avoid. [The Litanies for the Forty Hours are given at the end of this Volume].

We will now resume our considerations upon the Liturgy of Quinquagesima Sunday. The passage of the Gospel selected by the Church, is that wherein our Saviour foretells to his Apostles the Sufferings he was to undergo in Jerusalem. This solemn announcement prepares us for Passiontide. We ought to receive it with feeling and grateful hearts, and make it an additional motive for imitating the devoted Abraham, and giving our whole selves to our God. The ancient Liturgists tell us, that the blind man of Jericho, (spoken of, in this same Gospel,) is a figure of those poor sinners, who, during these days, are blind to their Christian character, and rush into excesses, which even Paganism would have coveted. The blind man recovered his sight, because he was aware of his wretched state, and desired to be cured and to see. The Church wishes us to have a like desire, and she promises us that it shall be granted.

In the Greek Church, this Sunday is called Tyrophagos, because it is the last day on which is allowed the use of white meats, or, as we call them, milk-meals. Beginning with to-morrow, it is forbidden to eat them, for Lent then begins, and with all the severity wherewith the Oriental Churches observe it.

With Ash Wednesday less than a week away its time to gear up for the Lenten season in our house. For the major Liturgical Year Seasons I make my boys a coloring book for the season. The coloring book is made up of coloring pages found from around the internet with a few word finds and mazes added when time allows. We use this as part of our religion studies and it keeps all the pages in one nice spot.

I was blessed with a coil binding machine for my birthday this year and now I can fit even more pages nicely bound in a book!

To make your own Lent and Easter Book first print the cover HERE on white card stock. Use a blank piece of card stock for the back of your coloring book for extra support.

Here are the coloring pages we included in ours:

Children's Stations of the Cross Color

Stations of the Cross Coloring Pages

Jesus and His Disciples Coloring
Page

Jesus Condemned to Death Coloring Page

Saint Patrick Coloring Pages

Saint Patrick Coloring Page

Coloring Page #2

Coloring Page #3

Saint Joseph Coloring Pages

Saint Joseph Coloring Page

Coloring Page #2

Coloring Page #3

Coloring Page #4

Palm Sunday Coloring Pages

Palm Sunday Coloring Page

Another Palm Sunday Coloring Page

Coloring Page #2

Coloring Page #3

Coloring Page #4

Coloring Page #5

Triumphal Entry Coloring Page

Jesus Needs a Donkey Color Page

Maunday Thursday Coloring Pages

Last Supper Coloring Page

Coloring Page #2

Coloring Page #3

Last Supper Coloring Page #4

Misc Lent Coloring Pages

Jesus and the Pharisees Color Page

Agony in the Garden Color Page

Crucifixion Coloring Page

Scourging at the Pillar Coloring Page

Crowning of Thorns Color Page

Carrying of the Cross Coloring Page

Stations of the Cross Coloring Pages

Crucifixion Coloring Page

Jesus Prays in the Garden Coloring Page

AND EVEN MORE on our Easter Page HERE!

"The feast of penance! Oh so bright with true conversion's heavenly light, like sunrise after stormy night! Full long in sin's dark ways we went, yet now our steps are heavenward bent, and grace is plentiful in Lent."
-Catholic Life Impr. 1908

The Liturgical Season of Lent is upon us and this Wednesday brings the beginning, Ash Wednesday. As with Fridays, Lent also bring more abstinence from meat as well as fasting along with it. Start getting some ideas for those meatless meals from our 140 Vegetarian/Vegan Recipes from previous Feria Friday Posts!


Today's Feria Friday is truly a Feria day in that there is no saint whom the mass of the day is dedicated to, Feria meaning without. So for this weeks post, instead of a saint story, there is a tutorial on how to make a meatless meal from scratch.

There are many benefits to making your own corn tortillas right at home. The largest of those is probably that you know what is going into them. Many store bought tortillas have added chemicals to preserve them while they sit on the shelf and some also have a lot higher fat content so that they hold together. Homemade tortillas were surprising easier than I thought to make and they are much much cheaper. The main ingredient is Maseca Corn Masa, easily found in most super markets or online, which runs about $3 or so per bag. A bag is usually between 3-5 lbs and when only 2 cups are used for about 12+ tortillas it is a lot cheaper than buying store bought especially when the health benefits are added in.

This tutorial demonstrates the tortilla press version (verses rolling them out with a rolling pin). Most presses will run about $20 for an aluminum one and probably a bit more for a cast iron press. We purchased our cast iron press at Goodwill (second hand store) for $3.99, a deal that couldn't be passed up! Keep your eyes open for such a deal at a local second hand store. Since the presses require the use of plastic or parchment when used it keeps them super clean.

This recipe makes between 12-20 corn tortillas depending on how big you make them and if you are rolling them out or using a press.

What you need:

2 Cups Maseca Corn Masa mix

1 teaspoon Salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/8 Cup Water
(split the water using half lime juice if you wish)

Tortilla Press

2 Plastic Bags

It's that time again where we share 5 recipes on Feria Friday! Five more ideas for meatless meals in honor of Christ's death on the Cross.

This weeks recipes feature some great fall ingredients and comfort food as fall seems to have appeared here in Oregon!

1.) Squash with Wild Rice and Chantarelle Stuffing from Vegweb

2.) The Best Mac and Cheese recipe ever, our family agree's and we enjoy this every other week! It's also dairy free and made with veggies which is friendly on the budget and the waist line!

3.) Our families version of Minestrone Soup which is the most requested recipe in the house.

4.) Moroccan Black Bean Stew from The Vegan Mouse (This looks super yummy! I think it will be on our menu next week)

5.) Vegetarian Ruben Sandwhiches from Taste of Home (Looks yummy!)