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The Catholic Homeschool -- February 2002
New Magazine Embraces Family Life
by Evann Duplantier
Becoming Family is a new full-color quarterly magazine dedicated to promoting, celebrating, and strengthening American family life. It is filled with inspiring stories and timely subject matter, all presented in a crisp and modern graphic format.
“Not so long ago, the media supported and reflected the country’s most respected values. But not anymore. Today, marriage and family are under a sustained media attack,” says Publisher Tom Mammoser. “The media have promoted a ‘radical individualism’ that insists freedom is constrained by relationships – especially ones requiring commitment like marriage and family.”
The aim of Becoming Family, according to Mammoser, is “to raise morale and impact the culture. We support and encourage the values and deeper commitments that lead to stronger families. We want to tell stories of families who exhibit these values, because they are the living proof of where happiness is found.”
Editor Peg Short says Becoming Family strives to convey the message that “strong families don’t just happen. They require help, support, and real-life heroes. They also need a sense of mission that helps make the day-to-day challenges of family life meaningful and rewarding.”
Regular departments cover topics including family activities, parenting tips, web site reviews, and household management ideas.
There aren’t many magazines today, including those billed as “family fare,” that don’t contain articles or advertisements that Catholics find objectionable. Becoming Family is not a Catholic magazine, but it is a quality publication presenting good, clean pro-family values.
Subscription price per year (4 issues) is $9.95. Order at www.becomingfamily or by mail at P.O. Box 21656, St. Paul MN 55121.
Evann Duplantier is a homeschooling mother of six and editor of The Catholic Homeschool.
Lent and the “Pretzel”
by Francis Xavier Weiser, S.J.
Lent is a period of fasting, self-denial and prayer, in imitation of our Lord’s fasting, forty days and forty nights, and in preparation for the feast of Easter. It comprises forty days, not including Sundays, from Ash Wednesday to the end of Holy Saturday. The term “penance” should be made clear to children. It means a “change of heart,” a victory over sin and a striving for holiness. The sacrifices of fasting and self-denial are only means and signs of this spiritual penance.
A traditional means of reminding the family that it is the holy season of Lent is the Lenten foods which are served only this time of the year. Thus parents and children realize, even at their meals, that prayer and penance should be practiced during these days.
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, ©1964) p. 89, pp.93-94.
Soft Pretzels
1 cake yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water.
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar.
4 cups of flour, (1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 unbleached)
Dissolve the yeast into the warm water, then add the salt and sugar. Blend in the flour mixture.
Knead dough until smooth. Cut into small pieces. Roll into ropes, and twist into desired shape. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Brush pretzel with 1 beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake immediately at 425º for 12 to 15 minutes.
(For hard pretzels, use only 1-1/4 cups water, and add 1/4 cup melted butter. Make pretzels smaller and bake until brown. These keep well over a period of days.)
Prayer for Ash Wednesday
Heavenly Father, Let us enter the season of Lent in the spirit of joy, giving ourselves to spiritual strife, cleansing our souls and bodies, controlling our passions, as we limit our food, living on the virtues of the Holy Spirit. Let us persevere in our longing for Christ, so as to be worthy to behold His most solemn Passion and the most holy Passover, rejoicing the while with spiritual joy. Amen
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