The Unprofitable Servant: A Mid-Winter's Sunday at Home

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Mid-Winter's Sunday at Home

My parents are getting up there in years and I always have some guilt on these Sundays when we decide to have dinner at home. They are always welcome to have dinner here but they always say no, and it's just not possible to go to their house every single Sunday, so here we are. The house smells almost heavenly with the scent of my Italian meatloaf baking in the oven. We'll start off with a little rigatoni marinara, followed by the meatloaf, and finish off with a salad dressed with the last of the olive oil from Assisi. My husband picked up a cheesecake for dessert.

A few weeks from now, we're having a little reception after Mass so our TLM community can have an opportunity to share some food and some company. I was amused that my pastor asked my daughter if she thought I would be contributing any food. As if I wouldn't! What he didn't know is that the gracious woman who coordinates these quarterly events had already contacted me to ask me if I could help. A tray of sandwiches and a dessert are something easy enough for me to put together.

I like to give the TLM crowd a little taste of Italy or at least of South Philly when we have these gatherings. Many of our regulars are not from the immediate area and I think it must be tantalizing to travel to the Italian Market area every Sunday without ever getting to sample its wares, so it's my little treat. For our last one, I made Italian hoagies which are, for the uninitiated, sandwiches made of prosciutto, salami, provolone, mortadella and other cold cuts on a roll dressed with oil, oregano, lettuce, tomato and onions. For our next get-together, I'm thinking chicken cutlet sandwiches with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe.

The tree is no longer with us, but the Christmas lights on our banister and on the lilac bush in the backyard are, as is the Nativity. The Wise Men have made their appearance and the entire ensemble will be left up until just after the Feast of the Presentation on February 2nd.

We had a visiting pastor at the TLM today. He gave a thought-provoking homily on the miracle at the wedding at Cana. The water had no choice but to be transformed by Christ. By the free will with which we were endowed by God, we do have a choice about whether or not we will let Him transform us.

What will our answer be?

I hope I never forget that this is not a one-time proposition but a life-long process.

9 comments:

PatriciaJanuary 15, 2012 at 5:33 PM
Wow! That IS thought-provoking, Joyce. Sometimes I wish I were like the water...because battling my own will is often so hard! And I lose sometimes.

Imagine, God must deem it worth the loss of some souls forever, in order to receive the love of those who freely choose Him. How powerful is this free will of ours! Scary!

Loved hearing about your Sunday dinner and all the Italian goodies in your past and future church gatherings. Italian food is the best! Yum!

Love you,
Patricia
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MannyJanuary 15, 2012 at 7:24 PM
That is a wow! That is insightful. Sounds like a great homily. But why a homily on the wedding at Cana? Today's reading was on the "What are you looking for?" passage in John chapter 1. Or does TLM have different readings?

Also wow on your dinner. Yummy. My wife went on strike tonight and wanted Chinese food. So we got take out. I think you might have mentioned it once before but I don't recall. What's in your Italian meatloaf?
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TLWJanuary 15, 2012 at 7:40 PM
Patricia, I have heard two wonderful sermons on this Gospel in the course of a week. How blessed am I?

Manny, someday I hope both Forms are on the same calendar but until then, the readings are often not the same. As for the meatloaf, I take two lbs of ground beef pork and veal and add to it chopped onion, garlic, parsley and carrots plus an egg to hold it all together. I take 3 boiled potatoes and put them through a ricer and add the potato to the meatloaf mix (instead of the usual breadcrumbs). I flatten it out on a piece of wax paper and then put strips of prosciutto and fontina cheese on it, then use the wax paper to shape it into a roll. Add a little chicken broth and white wine to the pan and bake until it's ready. It's out of this world and because it's full of vegetables, it's a complete meal. I highly recommend you try it!

Peace
Joyce
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MannyJanuary 15, 2012 at 9:57 PM
Sounds delicious!

Oh I had not known they were on different calendars. Would you know why that is?
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noreenJanuary 16, 2012 at 7:33 PM
Oh I would be doomed Joyce if it was a one-time proposition to be transformed by Christ!! Thank and praise God that He gives me many chances!!
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Kathy Felsted UsherJanuary 16, 2012 at 8:38 PM
Yum! If I can ever chew again I'll have to make hoagies! My husband is the big mortadella fan. STL has a big Italian community with wonderful markets. Once in awhile we make a trip in to get some really great stuff!
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JennyJanuary 21, 2012 at 1:46 PM
Your family meal sound delicious. I'm visiting from, I don't remember what click led me to your blog, but it was a treat to browse around.

I just started a website for Catholic women called Suscipio (Yes, I attend the TLM LOL!). My prayer is for Suscipio to be a communal website where we will study the Scriptures together, read books encouraging us in our vocations and just hang around like minded Catholic women. Please stop by for a visit.

In His Heart
Jenny
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TLWJanuary 21, 2012 at 6:23 PM
Hi Jenny
When I click on your name, it brings me to a Verizon message saying the website is unavailable. Please send a link.
Thanks
Joyce
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Mary, Queen of Peace

Ever glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins, Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love He had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from His cross He recommended thee to the care and protection of His beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of every kind whatsoever. Thou art the Mother of Mercies, the sweet comforter and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, wither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; Through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine Will, thou gavest thy consent, and whom, after the expiration of nine months thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit the world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives, when He besought His eternal Father to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the garden, whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre of His death and sufferings. I ask it, through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith He was bound and scourged, when stripped of His seamless garment, for which His executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it, through the scoffs and ignominies by which He was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death, and which He bore with heavenly patience. I ask it, through His bitter tears and bloody sweat; His silence and resignation; His sadness and grief of heart. I ask it, through the blood which trickled from His royal and Sacred Head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed and pierced with His crown of thorns. I ask it, through the excruciating torments He suffered, when His hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it, through His vehement thirst, and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it, through His dereliction on the cross when He exclaimed, "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" I ask it, through His mercy extended to the good thief, and through His recommending His precious soul and spirit into the hands of His eternal Father before He expired, saying, "It is consummated." I ask it, through the blood mixed with water, which issued from His Sacred Side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it, through His immaculate life, bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and the darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it, through His descent into hell, where He confronted the Saints of the old law with His presence, and led the captivity captive. I ask it, through His glorious victory over death, when He arose again to life on the third day, and through the joy which His appearance for forty days after gave thee, His blessed Mother, His Apostles, and the rest of His Disciples; when in thine and their presence He miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, infused into the hearts of His Disciples, when He descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the gospel. I ask it, through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world, by fire. I ask it, through the compassion He bore thee in His life, and the unspeakable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me, (Mention your prayer intention here...) And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honour thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and His filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear Him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, beside the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignominies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolutions, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament of the Church worthily, and die in thy friendship and favour. Lastly, obtain through thy Son, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting, from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Lord God Almighty, to Whom be all power now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

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The Unprofitable Servant

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Mid-Winter's Sunday at Home

9 comments:

Mary, Queen of Peace

St Michael the Archangel

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross