- Feb 5, 2002
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It’s frustrating that more people seem to attend our Lenten fish fry than Sunday Mass, but the Lord can do great things with patient and trusting fishermen.
The third-century funerary stele of Licinia Amias, found near the Vatican in Rome, is one of the oldest Christian inscriptions in existence. (photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen / Baths of Diocletian / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)
Every year since coming to this urban rust-belt parish I have complained about the fact that our fish fry is more popular than Sunday Mass.
I know that some people who won’t make their Easter duty will be at our dinners every Friday without fail. There is a faithful remnant that I see at church, of course, and I know that there are members who come on Fridays from other parishes in the area who practice their religion faithfully in their communities, but many of our clientele are Catholics in the non-active category of their parishes. (Some Protestants who have developed Catholic palates for Fridays in Lent also come.)
It used to upset me walking through the crowded basement cafeteria on the days of our fish fries and wondering how to get people to come upstairs where the real action is, but I have decided not to complain this year and instead to see the phenomenon in a different light — our faithful team of cooks and clean up are engaged in a pre-evangelization with the themes of identity and symbol recognition. I am working on printing a placemat that puts the Lenten fish fry into the context of celebrating identity and pointing out Gospel links.
Recently, I read about a connection between the early Christians and the Essene communities. Both believed in table fellowship. The agapes of the Christians and the community meals of the Essenes were not fundraisers, but the theme of the shared meal is certainly related to evangelization. The highest prayer of our religion, the sacrifice of the Mass, stems from the table fellowship of Jesus and his apostles. Connected to a congregation, a fish fry is in some respects a communal meal. At our parish, it is definitely a neighborhood gathering.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
Every year since coming to this urban rust-belt parish I have complained about the fact that our fish fry is more popular than Sunday Mass.
I know that some people who won’t make their Easter duty will be at our dinners every Friday without fail. There is a faithful remnant that I see at church, of course, and I know that there are members who come on Fridays from other parishes in the area who practice their religion faithfully in their communities, but many of our clientele are Catholics in the non-active category of their parishes. (Some Protestants who have developed Catholic palates for Fridays in Lent also come.)
It used to upset me walking through the crowded basement cafeteria on the days of our fish fries and wondering how to get people to come upstairs where the real action is, but I have decided not to complain this year and instead to see the phenomenon in a different light — our faithful team of cooks and clean up are engaged in a pre-evangelization with the themes of identity and symbol recognition. I am working on printing a placemat that puts the Lenten fish fry into the context of celebrating identity and pointing out Gospel links.
Recently, I read about a connection between the early Christians and the Essene communities. Both believed in table fellowship. The agapes of the Christians and the community meals of the Essenes were not fundraisers, but the theme of the shared meal is certainly related to evangelization. The highest prayer of our religion, the sacrifice of the Mass, stems from the table fellowship of Jesus and his apostles. Connected to a congregation, a fish fry is in some respects a communal meal. At our parish, it is definitely a neighborhood gathering.
Continued below.
For ‘Fishers of Men,’ the Parish Fish Fry Is a Good Place to Let Down Our Nets
It’s frustrating that more people seem to attend our Lenten fish fry than Sunday Mass, but the Lord can do great things with patient and trusting fishermen.
