Today is the third Embers Days of Autumn or Michaelmas Ember Days. This is also the final Embers Day of the Church calendar year. Only 63 days are remaining in the Church schedule. Cycle A is coming to an end.
Did you know that the Autumn Ember Days are unique in their scheduling? With the 1960 revisions to the breviary rubrics and its newly instituted system of counting Sundays from August to December, Pope John XXIII added that the September Ember Days should not only follow the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross as they had historically done, but also fall after the 3rd Sunday of September. The other sets of Ember Days were already fixed to specific weeks of Advent, Lent, and Pentecost. This stipulation helps the Michaelmas Embertide fall closer to the actual change of season in some, but not all years.
I would explain further, but it’s like a trip down the rabbit hole – one that would surely cause your brain to explode. Calculating this and that within the Church year is nearly impossible, which is why I’m so very grateful for the yearly publication that hangs on the side of the refrigerator. Otherwise, I might never know which end is up or what color veil to place on my head.
As a young girl, I loved all the little things that made Catholics Catholics. I saw veils on women as unique to our faith as a Kippah or Yarmulke is to the Jewish faith. Abstaining on Fridays was like eating kosher. It made perfect sense to me since the first Catholics were once Jewish.
Faith is (or should be) what defines you. I am what I am. I’ve never understood the idea of separation of Church and State. Both are institutions made up of people. How can you park your faith at the door? It’s not a coat that you pull on in bad weather. Like it or not, faith colors our perspectives. And it has a profound influence on some rather serious and complicated matters. Life – when does it begin and when does it end? Purpose – why are we here – can even the most seemingly insignificant among us impact the vastness of the world around us? Love and hate – the strongest of our emotions that can at times blind us to truths and consequences. We are far too complicated and complex to have simply crawled out of pond scum and into existence. I don’t know about you, but I think my brain hurts right about now. Maybe we should just wander into the kitchen and cook instead.
Hey, did you know that today is Pepperoni Day? Yeah, that’s a great place to start.
Pizza Roll Pepperoni Pizza Skillet
2 Garlic Cloves
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
2 teaspoon Parsley Flakes
Spicy Italian Seasoning to taste
Pinch Salt
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons Red Wine
1/2 cup Pizza Sauce
48 to 50 frozen Pizza Rolls
4 oz Mini Pepperoni Slices
Heat oven to 450-degrees.
Peel and mince garlic cloves, place in bowl. Mix in Ricotta Cheese, Parsley Flakes, Spicy Italian Seasoning, and a pinch of salt. In another small bowl, mix Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses. In a third bowl whisk wine with pizza sauce. Set aside.
In a large ovenproof skillet, arrange frozen Pizza Snacks around the outter edge of skillet in 2 rows, leaving a large opening in the center. Place Ricotta cheese mixture in opening in middle of skillet. Top Ricotta mixture with pizza sauce and half of the pepperoni. Top with Mozzarella mixture and remaining pepperoni.
Bake 14 minutes. Top with fresh parsley. Serve immediately, dipping the pizza rolls in warm cheesy pizza sauce center.
Lord, I take delight always
To bow down before You
And give You thanks
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