“To become holy, to become saints, we must of course try as hard as we can to do God’s will as it comes to us in a general way that is valid for everyone: through Scripture, the Commandments, and so on. It is also indispensable, as has just been said, to go further: to aspire to know not only what God demands of everyone in general, but also what he wants more specifically of us individually.”
— Fr. Jacques Philippe
Stop #2 of the 2017 Fish Fry Tour took us to St. Matthews and Our Lady of Lourdes parish.
I didn’t take many photos this time around, but this week’s fish fry was a little more relaxed. The line to the food was quick, a wait of only 3 minutes. For the second straight week, applesauce was a choice for a side. I went with the traditional sides, but can you guess based on this picture?
The French fries are visible, but the Mac and cheese are in the bowl. The fish sandwich? Also under wraps! Much of the food was kept wrapped for freshness. Shrimp dinners were also offered. Looked pretty good.
As I mentioned before, I didn’t take many pictures this time, so not much from here. However, there was one unique feature to this fish fry: a book sale. Not surprising given we were at another suburban school fish fry. I didn’t get a chance to look at the selection, but from what I heard, there was quite a variety to choose from.
March 12th
“When we fail to practice penance, very soon a love of luxury creeps into our hearts. We start to make excuses for ourselves and become less generous as the spirit of penance relaxes. Through penance, we expiate our faults, make the body more submissive to the will, and obtain abundant graces. The saints did many great penances. We are not called to the extraordinary ones but to the small daily ones that draw the soul to God and God to the soul.”
— Bl. Mother Theresa of Calcutta
March 13th
“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
— St. Therese of Lisieux
“Think well. Speak well. Do well. These three things, through the mercy of God, will make a man go to Heaven.”
– Saint Camillus de Lellis
“God is your Father, and you are his son! Alas, this voice is too intimate, and too few people hear it….The Holy Spirit does not give everyone this secret testimony. As to him, he wishes to give it to all, but all are not worthy. O God, make us worthy of it! This is a good thing to ask of God, for in truth it is he who gives it. And he responds: Act with me, work by my side, open your heart to me, let every created thing be silent, and say to me often in secret: Our Father, our Father.”
– Fr. Jacques B. Bossuet
“The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.” — St. Thomas More
“Labor without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still have the time.” – Saint John of God
Normally, I would do a big announcement each Sunday on our next fish fry stop, a la College Gameday. However, it seems just setting the tour schedule right away allows for some planning. So, here you go! Note schedule is subject to change.
March 10th: Our Lady of Lourdes (6:15)
March 17th: St. Rita (6:45)
March 24th: Guardian Angels (6:15)
March 31st: St. Martin of Tours (5:20)
April 7th: St. Aloysius, Pewee Valley (6:15
April 14th: St. John Paul II (6:00)
“In our self-centered culture and classic American emphasis on work, we often feel we have to accomplish something during our times of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We rate our experience by how ‘good’ our prayer was, how heartfelt our devotion was, or how focused we could remain. Yet prayer and contemplation are fundamentally God’s work, in which we are invited to participate. We need only to give Him the opening, and He will do the rest. By coming to adoration, we are handing Him the keys to our hearts, allowing the rays of His love and grace to bathe our souls in the light of His Presence, as the rays of the sun bathe our bodies in light. If we can take the time to pull away from the busyness and distractions of life and just sit at His feet, He will lead us.”
— Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration
“To commence many things and not to finish them is no small fault; we must persevere in whatever we undertake with upright intention and according to God’s will.”
– Blessed Henry Suso, OP
“He that sacrifices to God his property by alms-deeds, his honor by bearing insults, or his body by mortifications, by fasts and penitential rigours, offers to Him a part of himself and of what belongs to him; but he that sacrifices to God his will, by obedience, gives to Him all that he has, and can say: Lord, having given you my will, I have nothing more to give you.”
— St. Alphonsus Liguori
Fish Fry Chronicles 