Any time is the right time for works of charity, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lord’s Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace, for charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins. As we prepare to celebrate that greatest of all mysteries, by which the blood of Jesus Christ did away with our sins, let us first of all make ready the sacrificial offerings of works of mercy. In this way we shall give to those who have sinned against us what God in his goodness has already given to us.  -St. Leo the Great

We complain when we suffer. We have much more reason to complain when we do not suffer, since nothing so likens us to Our Lord as the bearing of his Cross.  – The Cure d’Ars.

Let us therefore, love to quench our thirst at this fountain of living water and go farther all the time along the divine way of love. But let us also be convinced that our souls will never be satisfied here below. In fact it would be disastrous for us if, at a certain stage of our journey, we were to feel satisfied, for it would be a sign that we thought we had reached our goal, and in this we would be deceived.  ~ Padre Pio

The most recent stop on the fish fry tour took us to St. Stephen Martyr near the Audubon Park neighborhood.

This was our first stop on the tour that took place in a school gym, our first of three upcoming stops that are like this.  This is the typical setup that you find in Louisville:  fish fries held in cafeteria gyms.  The most popular fish fries tend to be at parishes where there is a flourishing elementary school, as families will go to those fish fries together.

Our crew was fortunate to make it on a night with a special on side items:  $1 per side item.   As promised, I finally tried the rolled oysters.  Quite tasty, but definitely something I had never tried before.  Inside the rolled oyster was a breading similar to what you’d find in a hush puppy with three oysters.  Add some cocktail sauce, and these are a must have.

As with other fish fries, I also got the chance to participate in some of the side activities.  This week, I tried the cake/cookie wheel.  A popular fundraiser at the St. Joseph’s Orphan Picnic in August, the cake wheel makes many appearances at parish events.  The concept is simple:  place a dime on a number that you think the wheel (this one made from an old bicycle wheel) will stop on.  At the time that I played, you were allowed to place your dime on the corners of numbers you thought would win.  Thus, your chances of winning would improve from 1 in 100 to 1 in about 64.  I played these numbers each time, and eventually won a box of red velvet cookies:

This was also our second straight fish fry with live music, which helped liven up the environment.  There was also a raffle for a “meat basket” (not to be eaten on Friday, of course!) where you could win a basket of fine meats from nearby Frank’s Meat and Produce.  I wasn’t a winner that day, but it might be worth a stop in the future.

“…Repentance which is true and truly from the heart persuades the penitent not to sin any more, not to mix with corrupt people, and not to gape in curiosity at evil pleasures, but to despise things present, cling to things to come, struggle against passions, seek after virtues, be self-controlled in every respect, keep vigil with prayers to God, and shun dishonest gain. It convinces him to be merciful to those who wrong him, gracious to those who ask something of him, ready with all his heart to bend down and help in any way he can, whether by words, actions or money, all who seek his assistance, that through kindness to his fellow-man he might gain God’s love in return for loving his neighbor, draw the Divine favor to himself, and attain to eternal mercy and God’s everlasting blessing and grace.”  – St. Gregory Palamas

The best way not to find the bed too cold is to go to bed colder than the bed is.  – St. Charles Borromeo

We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God´s compassionate love for others.  ~ St. Clare of Assisi

Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ; discipline your body; do not pamper yourself, but love fasting.  – Saint Benedict

St. Bonaventure says that of all the exercises of the spiritual life, one of the most profitable and one which can lead a soul to a high degree of perfection is meditation on the life and death of the Savior. Nowhere else will a man find better protection against the vanities and flattery of the world and against its tribulations and misfortunes. Through frequent meditation on the life of Christ one acquires a familiarity, confidence, and love of the Savior by which he is more easily moved to reject everything outside of Christ.  – Venerable Louis of Granada, O.P.

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these are one, and they give life to each other.  – St. Peter Chrysologus