I had the best Fish Friday of my entire life on the first Friday of Lent this year. I was blessed to lead a retreat for the Bishop’s Servers of the Diocese of Shreveport, and the bishop and I caught a couple of catfish whoppers (see pic below).
Fishing with a bishop (successor of the apostolic fishermen) and landing monster catfish: Thank you Lord!
But Louisiana catfish are not necessary for a great Fish Friday. Here are some great ideas on how to keep “meatless Fridays” in Lent, and how NOT to do meatless Fridays:
[I’ve discussed the theological reasons for why we Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays in another post: Please read “Why is Fish Okay But Not Meat.”]
Before creating an intentional plan for “Friday fare” or “fish Fridays,” Joy and I would just sort of wing it: “Oh it’s Friday. Shucks. Mmmm. I guess we’ll have to order some cheese pizzas.” Even worse, we’d remember after the fact. I’d order a chicken sandwich at lunch and then suddenly remember.
This is playing defense. You want to plan offense. Defense reacts. Offense creates a clear strategy. You need to make a plan. Write it down and post it on the fridge.
Today’s post focuses on the practical aspect. How do you and/or your family keep meatless Fridays?
It seems like such a chore. However, with some creativity, it can become an act of penance and a family tradition. And when your conference of bishops restores the custom, you’ll already be accustomed to the laudable and ancient practice. I’ve listed some suggestions below.
I also hope Taylor could address Seventh Day Adventism in a video.
My in-laws are Adventists and a few are curious about Catholicism. At family get-togethers I’ve gotten questions, such as, wasn’t Constantine the founder of the Catholic Church? and, didn’t a Pope change the Sabbath day in order to attract converts from followers of a Sunday pagan ritual? They’ve been taught a lot of misinformation!
Clearly Constantine was not the founder of Catholicism. See our video(s) on Constantinian era on this.
Regarding Sunday, it goes back to the Apostles:
“And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight,” (Acts 20:7).
Here Saint Paul is breaking bread (Eucharist) and preaching on Sunday.
Saint Paul also recognizes Sunday as the day of Christian gathering here:
“On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.” (1 Cor. 16:2). So the offering was taken on Sunday – during Liturgy.
The Jews kept Saturday (last day of week) because they looked forward to Messiah. Christians keep Sunday (first day of the week) because we look back to the Messiah.
Moreover, Christ rose again from the dead on Sunday and the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost on a Sunday. Christ is King of the New Creation and so Sunday, the day of creation is the day of His worship.
Seventh Day Adventists are thus Judaizers and they do not understand the fulness of Christ’s fulfillment of not only the Old Law, but the Old Creation. If you want to see study how Christ fulfills the entire Old Testament (including an appendix list of over 300 prophecies), see my book The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity.
Advent season is here, but so many of us are unsure about what it means, how to explain “Advent” to our friends/family, and what to do keep a “holy Advent.” Here’s a class to help you:
DISCOVER THE HISTORY & THEOLOGY OF ADVENT In this Catholic Webinar, I will explain:
the earliest historical records about Advent
the ancient relationship between Advent and Lent
why Advent went from 5 to 4 Sundays around AD 1000
the theology of “delayed gratification” as it relates to Advent & the Eucharistic Fast
practical tips on how to celebrate Advent (especially important for families)
Please join me for my Catholic Webinar on the “History and Theology of Advent”. It’s free and open to the first 1,000 registrants.
Is Halloween the Devil’s Day? Let’s break it down and see how Satan is trying to steal our Catholic holidays. Ready?
As you know, Halloween is short for All-Hallows-Even. “Even” or “Eve” refers to the evening before the day.
Christmas Eve is the night before December 25. Similarly, Hallows Eve is the night before November 1, the Catholic festival of All Saints.
This holy day of obligation was once known as “All Hallows” since “hallow” is a more ancient form of “holy.” For example, “hallowed by thy name” means “holy is thy name.”
All Saints = All Hallows. In fact, November 1 was once called “Hallowmas.” For those linguists out there, hallowed comes from the Old English word haligra which fell out of use before AD 1500. Those who know German will recognize it’s similarity to heiliger.
Is Halloween the Devil’s Day? Is it Evil?
There are some Christians who have written off Halloween per se as some sort of diabolical black mass. This interpretation usually includes a legend of how the Catholic Church conspired with druids to corrupt Europe, or some other nonsense.
To be clear, it’s the vigil of a Christian holy day: All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints Eve. Has it been corrupted by our culture and consumer market? You bet. But they have also attempted to redefine “marriage,” Easter, Christmas, St Valentines, and increasingly Ash Wednesday.
Yes, Christmas has also been derailed by the culture. Does that mean that we’re going hand over Christmas? No way! Same goes for Halloween. The Church does not surrender what rightfully belongs to her – she wins it back!
Hell is on defense since Jesus Christ came. It’s the “gates of hell.” Gates are defensive. We are supposed to be storming the gates of hell. The sacrament of Confirmation commissions us as soldiers.
Pandaemonium: Here’s your Greek word of the week
The word Pandaemonium derives from Greek “παν”, meaning “all” and “δαιμόνιον”, meaning “little devil.” Pandaemonium means “All Devils.”
John Milton imagined Pandaemonium as the capital city of Hell in Book I of his Paradise Lost (1667).
Milton was an Arian, but his Paradise Lost is a pretty cool book. If you’re a Member of NSTI, you should read it and let me know if you think his Arianism bleeds through the pages. Also, check out Milton’s Satan Trinity.
The Devil would love to take over the feast day “All Saints” and rebrand it as “All Devils” or “Pandaemonium.” Are we going to let him? Hell no [pun intended]. All the Saints are ready for battle.
Celebrate Hallows Eve, but clarify “We don’t celebrate it by glorifying the demonic.” Dress your children as saints and be counter-cultural. Be leaven in the lump. Salt in the world. Be hallowed.
Oh, and don’t forget All Hallows (Nov 1) is a Holy Day of Obligation. It’s a mortal sin not to attend Holy Mass on this day (unless it is lawfully transferred by the bishops).
This Thursday night at 8pm I’ll be hosting another free Catholic Webinar on the Book of Revelation from a biblical, traditional, and Catholic point of view. If you’ve ever had questions or confusions about the End Times of the Book of Revelation, you won’t want to miss this Catholic Webinar Event.
YOU WILL DISCOVER:
Why the Book of Revelation was written
a Catholic interpretation of Revelation based on Scripture, Tradition, and Church Fathers
the Virgin Mary in Revelation 12
the Mark of the Beast and 666 from a Catholic view point of view
EVERYONE THAT ATTENDS WILL RECEIVE a FREE pdf worksheet of the Webinar. Dr Marshall will make available his 16 part series on Catholic Revelation.
Yesterday was the feast day of the Birth of our Blessed Virgin Mary (it’s 9 months after the feast of her Immaculate Conception on Dec 8).
Our family usually has a birthday cake and sings Happy Birthday. Here’s this years cake:
Close up #nofilter:
As you know from my other posts, I believe that Christ was actually born on Dec 25 1BC (there is not year zero) and I’ve written a small book on why that’s the case and how Josephus made an error on the death of Herod.
So if traditions states that Mary was 14 around the birth of Christ, that means that this year she turns 2030 years old (or 2031 if she was 15). Happy birthday Blessed Mother!
In what year did Christ raise and elevate the body of His Blessed Mother into Heaven? Some say in the AD 40s or 50s. I argue based on data in the New Testament that Mary was assumed in AD 63. Please watch the video lesson that I’ve prepared on this topic for NSTI.
This is lesson 7 of Church History: Module 2 – Redemptive History: Christ of the Covenants. To sign up and watch the rest of the lessons and modules in this Catholic Church History Course (and earn a Certificate), please visit: New Saint Thomas Institute’s Certificate in Catholic History:
Question: Do you agree that dating the Dormition/Assumption to AD 63 makes the most sense? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
And here are some interesting resources for you as we celebrate Our Lady’s Dormition and Assumption:
Did Mary give the Rosary to Saint Dominic? Is it a historical fact?
Catholic tradition states the Blessed Virgin Mary directly and personally instituted the Holy Rosary through Saint Dominic. A previous post described the traditional account of “How Mary Gave the Rosary to Saint Dominic.”
In this second post we examine the historical-critical objection claiming that the Rosary was an organic development of medieval piety and that Mary did not directly give the Holy Rosary to St Dominic.
I believe this modern claim is incorrect and too simplistic. It’s perfectly reasonable to believe that Mary gave the Holy Rosary to Saint Dominic. Here’s why…