Edition 40, March 2015 Back to Basics This month at a Dear Friends, glance… As our Lenten journey unfolds before He has to begin training with the basics us, we are reminded of the necessity to because before he can do spectacular things spiritually STOP, DROP and ROLL. Not in a sport, he must make sure he is doing Around the World Page 2 merely in the traditional sense inspiring the simple and elemental things well. connotations of ‘emergency’ and The same is true in the spiritual life. Lent is a ‘urgency’, but rather motivated by the Pasquetta Picnic! Page 3 time to get tuned up, to get back to basics, notion of pausing, removing ourselves to remember the fundamentals. This is why from the clutter and distraction of daily the Church asks us to look at the beginning Lunch Room Chat Page 4 life, critically realising the heat of of the book of Genesis, the story of the imperfection and sin which often creation and the fall. Saint of the Month Page 5 envelops us and dashing for an immediate escape…seeking shelter with We’ve heard it often; it’s probably Jesus. I believe the following reflection, emblazoned in our minds—but we need to Nutella Page 6 sourced from Fr. Robert Barron, hear it again: “The Lord God formed man provides a beautiful yet confronting out of the clay of the ground and blew into What is Lent? Page 7 his nostrils the breath of life, and so man truth of the necessity to orient became a living being.” On Ash Wednesday, ourselves to God, who is our all. we heard echoes of this in the words, The Noticeboard Page 8 God Bless and Peace! “Remember you are dust and to dust you Domenico shall return.” LENT - BACK TO BASICS Today we are reminded that our lives come Ben-Detto! is the monthly Fr. Robert Barron from God. Our very existence comes from e-newsletter published by FCI http://www.lentreflections.com/lent-day-1- God. We are owed nothing. We have Friends in Faith, a Catholic Commu- back-to-basics/ nothing coming to us. Every breath we take nity united in friendship and in is a reminder of our dependency upon God; faith and enriched by our Italo- At the beginning of baseball season, the every beat of our heart is a reminder that Australian heritage, bearing wit- coach has to bring his players back to basics. God is the Lord. ness to Christ through the promo- He has to remind them of the correct stance, the mechanics of throwing, the As we begin our Lenten journey, let us take tion and organization of spiritual, timing of a swing, the importance of a few minutes to reflect on the reality that social and charitable activities, in keeping your eye on the ball, etc. It doesn’t without God we are nothing and to give Brisbane, Australia. matter how great of a season a player had thanks that God loved us into being. the year before. BEN-DETTO! Page 1 FCI Friends in Faith Christianity around the world Contribution by Francesca Musumeci A history of “Pancake Day” With our Italian heritage, many of us According to tradition, in 1445 a think of Shrove Tuesday in light of woman of Olney heard the shriving Carnevale, the feast before the fast bell while she was making pancakes where kitchens across the country and ran to the church in her apron, still emit a thousand aromas of fatty foods clutching her frying pan. The Olney that would become a distant memory pancake race is now world famous. for the next 40 days. Trays of lasagne Competitors have to be local rich with ricotta, pizza sfogliata with housewives and they must wear an sausages and pancetta, frittelle (or apron and a hat or scarf. zeppole, depending who you talk to), pasticci, cartellate and cannoli are but Each contestant has a frying pan a few traditional Carnevale delights. containing a hot pancake. She must The pancake has a very long history toss it three times during the race. However, moving off the Continent and featured in cookery books as far and tracing our Australian heritage back as 1439. The tradition of tossing The first woman to complete the across the Channel to our English or flipping them is almost as old: "And course and arrive at the church, serve forefathers, I found out that the every man and maide doe take their her pancake to the bellringer and be widely celebrated Shrove Tuesday has turne, And tosse their Pancakes up for kissed by him, is the winner. a peculiar beginning of its own. feare they burne." (Pasquil's Palin, 1619). “Pancake Day”, excerpts of article courtesy of: http://www.historic-uk.com/ The ingredients for pancakes can be CultureUK/Pancake-Day/ seen to symbolise four points of significance at this time of year: Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the Eggs: Creation traditional feast day before the start of Flour: The staff of life Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent - the 40 Salt: Wholesomeness days leading up to Easter - was Milk: Purity traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, Anglo-Saxon In the UK, pancake races form an Olney Pancake Race (Robin Myerscough) Christians went to confession and important part of the Shrove Tuesday were "shriven" (absolved from their celebrations - an opportunity for large Many towns throughout England used sins). A bell would be rung to call numbers of people, often in fancy to hold traditional Shrove Tuesday people to confession. This came to be dress, to race down streets tossing football ('Mob Football') games dating called the “Pancake Bell” and is still pancakes. The object of the race is to back as far back as the 12th century. rung today. get to the finishing line first, carrying a The practice mostly died out with the frying pan with a cooked pancake in it passing of the 1835 Highways Act Shrove Tuesday was the last and flipping the pancake as you run. which banned the playing of football opportunity to use up eggs and fats on public highways, but a number of before embarking on the Lenten fast The most famous pancake race takes towns have managed to maintain the and pancakes are the perfect way of place at Olney in Buckinghamshire. tradition to the present day. using up these ingredients. Page 2 BEN-DETTO! FCI Friends in Faith You’re Invited: Pasquetta Picnic! Mark the diary and call your friends… the Annual FCI Friends in Faith Pasquetta Picinic is on again! Event Details: “Pasquetta”, an Italian Tradition, is all about getting the Date: Easter Monday community together to bask in the joy of each others 6 April 2015 company, play games, enjoy the great-outdoors and Where: Mulbeam Park celebrate the good news of the Risen Lord following Easter Cnr Muller and Beams Sunday! Come and join us for a fun-filled day and let FIF Rds, Zillmere be your hosts! We’ll also have lots of fun things for the children to do. Time: From 11.00am What: - Steak Burgers Don’t forget to spread the - Italian Sausage word and invite your friends!! - Cold Drinks - Raffles - Children’s Games For any questions and for catering purposes, please send us your RSVP by Wednesday 1st April: Domenico: friendsinfaith 0406 647 421 @live.com.au Michael: 0403 144 881 Page 3 BEN-DETTO! FCI Friends in Faith Lunch Room Chatter Faith in the workplace Hang on…..What is he trying to tell me? Contribution by Michael Guida Sometimes, like in Bob’s case, we Ring Ring. Ring Ring. I look to the won’t know straight away what it is phone display; it’s a call coming that God wants from us. What is He through from reception: asking of me? “Michael, speaking.” I responded. We have two options. “Hi Michael, it’s Jo here. I have a man 1. The first option is simply to hang on the phone called “Bob”….. He wants up and go back to whatever it to talk to an accountant… can you was that we were doing, assist?” thereby convincing ourselves that we don’t need any help and “Sure, let’s see if I can help”. certainly don't need the extra work because we have enough What followed was one of the most clients already, and God’s needs confusing telephone calls I have He also, bless him, assumed I knew are too difficult. This is the “My experienced. But, just like many other exactly what he was talking about and life is fine….Thank-you-very- experiences in the workplace, there is what his needs were, which, sorry to much” attitude. a lesson to be learned. say, were impossible for me to know given I had no idea who he was. 2. The second option, of course, is The telephone call from “Bob” was a to “stay on the line”, taking the challenging one. Not because of a A couple of times in the conversation, time to listen and have a foreign accent that I wasn’t used to, I simply had to say, “Hang on, Bob, are conversation. This is known as nor because of a static or interrupted you telling me that you need…..”. To discernment. line. The call was challenging because I which Bob responded, “No, not that.” could not understand what Bob I pray that each of us, including myself, wanted, why he was calling an So I listened to more of his stories will always go with Option 2.