rather humility
prayer of saint ephrem
Lord and Master of my life, give me not a spirit of sloth, idle curiosity, love of power, and useless chatter. Rather grant to me, Your servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience , and love. Yes, Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother; for You are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.
lamp to my feet
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my paths.
(Psalm 118:105)
“Like candles, so our souls must stand upright before God.
The narrow way, my brothers, leads to the Kingdom of God. Only in restraint of mind, heart and will can the candles of virtue be lit, the flames of which rise up before God. We must, under the image of burning candles, understand the Christian virtues.”
The Prologue
18 January
homemade hummus
No matter how many different varieties of hummus there are on the market, your own will taste better than all of them. People always ask for this hummus recipe, so it’s written down here for all. This is a basic recipe, and you can make it your own by adding roasted red peppers, ground olives, roasted eggplant or caramelized onions. This is a garlicky recipe. You can reduce the amount of garlic to your taste.
[box]
Ingredients
2 cups cooked chickpeas. Preferred are chickpeas that have been soaked over night and cooked, but canned are fine too. Put some of the cooking water aside, in case you need to thin out your hummus.
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini (this is a sesame paste )
salt to taste
Optional : extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Add chickpeas, peeled garlic, salt, tahini, lemon juice to food processor or very heavy duty blender. Turn on for about 1 minute. Scrape down sides if necessary. Check consistency of the hummus. You can add some of the water that you used to cook the chickpeas to get to desired texture. If you do not have any of that water, use tap water.
Taste for saltiness. Our experience is that the hummus requires a fair amount of salt.
[/box]
Enjoy with whole wheat pita or naan bread. Hummus is also great dip for veggies, like carrots and red peppers.
When I was younger and in college, I spent a fair amount of time in the home of my Jordanian Palestinian very good friend. Her mom made (and still does) the best hummus. She would drizzle a very good amount of olive oil atop of the hummus and scoop it up in fresh pita. This a fond memory for me, and despite how great this hummus tastes… hers tastes fantastically better.
And of course that could have everything to do with their great company and friendship.
great lent and renewal
“We must always pray. But Lent is the time of an increase of prayer and also of its deepening. The simplest way is, first, to add the Lenten prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian to our private morning and evening prayers. Then, it is good and profitable to set certain hours of the day for a short prayer: this can be done “internally”—at the office, in the car, everywhere. The important thing here is to remember constantly that we are in Lent, to be spiritually “referred” to its final goal: renewal, penitence, closer contact with God.”
Father Alexander Schmemman
Great Lent: A School of Repentance
Its Meaning for Orthodox Christians
know your friends
“Let him be your father who is able and willing to labour with you in hearing the burden of your sins; and your mother contrition, which can cleanse you from impurity; and your comrade who toils and fights side by side with you in striving toward the heights.”
Saint John Climacus
minestrone soup
This is another great Lenten recipe, relatively simple and easy to prepare. Everyone likes it, and in a family of five, that’s a good thing! This is such a simple soup, most of it’s flavors derived from the spices. Usually we make a big batch of northern beans ahead of time and take out what we need during the week.
[box]
Vegetable Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 zucchini squash, cut small
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 cup cooked great northern beans
- 1 red pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 6-1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Place onion in large stewpot and sautee until translucent – about 10 minutes over low heat. Add carrots, red pepper, celery and let simmer until soft.
Add water, tomatoes and water, salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 30 – 45 minutes. If you have a pot with a light loose fitting lid, this will be more on the 30 minute range, because steam will escape. With a heavier dutch oven, you can let it cook a little longer.
Plate. Serve. Enjoy.
[/box]
The picture below is the leftover version of our soup. We added some brown rice to it, and made it a heartier stew.
As usual, ample sirachi sauce is on hand at all times.
lenten pantry
“it is important to know that the Church considers
the psalms to be an essential spiritual food
for the Lenten season”
Father Alexander Schmemann
Great Lent: A School of Repentance Its Meaning for Orthodox Christians
“…no soul can exist without God, without His Son,
without His Spirit. God is my being, my breath,
my light, my strength, my drink, my food.
He carries me as a mother
carries her infant in her arms.
More than this. Carrying me, my soul and body,
He dwells in me, and is united to me.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
My Life in Christ
This post is dedicated to Libby, a wonderful woman who has
been inspiring and organizing the Psalter Prayer Group
with an amazing group of women, for the last ten some years.
Wishing everyone a blessed and spiritually profitable Lent!
pure repentance
“Like as the potter gives life to his clay, Thou hast bestowed upon me Flesh and bones, breath and life; Today, O my Creator, my Redeemer and My Judge, Receive me a penitent…”
Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete
Great Lent
gladsomelife.com 