On Various Matters..

• We were blessed to be able to attend two-thirds of the Triduum in the traditional rite this year, Holy Thursday in the basement, er, "lower church" of the Cathedral in Boston; and Good Friday at Holy Name in Providence.  Good Friday was especially moving and evocative, the three Deacons of the Passion did a magnificent job: one, a Trappist priest who's now in the Diocese of Fall River, the second a priest who serves on the tribunal in Providence who came to us from Nigeria by way of Italy, and the third a Dominican who teaches at P.C.  And Father Santos of Holy Name is a Rhode Island native who spent nearly two decades in the Archdiocese of Braga in Portugal.  Talk about the Universal Church!  And the schola - all amateur, all volunteer, was utterly magnificent.  They sang Tomás Luis de Victoria's setting of the Improperia which literally brought tears to my eyes.
• On baseball, it was very odd - disconcerting, even - to have the Sox opening at night - a Sunday night - Easter Sunday - all for the sake of the ESPN contract.  They lucked out with the weather, part of me was hoping that the last torrential downpours of the last three weeks would return at gametime just because of the incongruity of it all.  Monday we were treated to the spectacle of the President throwing out the first pitch for the home opener in D.C.  No matter what you think of his politics (you probably know my opinion) you have to admit it's embarrassing to have a president who throws like a girl! (excuse the expression - actually I've known girls who threw better!)
• For years I was forced to endure* ham for Easter.  I'm really not sure where that "tradition" originated.  Perhaps it was a way to differentiate ourselves from our elder brothers in the Faith, whose paschal meal was a lamb; or even a bit of epicurian triumphialism at their expense: "nyah, nyah, we can eat ham!"  No matter the cause, as long as the Archlady and I have hosted Easter dinner we've had lamb.  And to me there's nothing better than a leg of lamb cooked properly, with some spring vegetables, and a good red wine.  We did the Easter lamb with garlic and rosemary, and it was perfect with the superb claret which one of our guests brought.  And last night we had some leftovers, equally tasty with a $5.99 petite syrah from Trader Joe's.
• The MSM has taken curiously little note of it, but Pope Benedict has appointed a coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose Gomez, most recently of San Antonio, Texas.  Unlike an auxiliary, a coadjutor has the right of succession, which means that Abp. Gomez will become the Archbishop of Los Angeles when Cardinal Mahony (finally!) reaches the age of 75 next year.  To the extent that the media has covered it they've focused on it as the appointment of a Hispanic archbishop in Los Angeles, which is incidentally the most populous archdiocese in the U.S.  Some stories have noted that Abp. Gomez belongs to Opus Dei and as such ought to be considered "conservative", but the real story here is that this huge archdiocese is getting an solid, orthodox archbishop whose thinking in inline with the pope's.  Sadly, that has not been able to be said during Cardinal Mahony's archepiscopacy, which had endured for nearly 25 years.  One might see it as a pointed repudiation of Mahony, but I prefer to see it as another gift from Pope Benedict, not only to the long-suffering Catholics of Los Angeles, not only to Americans of Hispanic extraction, but to the Church in the entire United States...

*Not that I dislike ham per se, but I say "why would you eat ham when you can eat lamb?"  Did I mention that I love lamb?

A Tasty Take on the Ember Days

You know the Japanese style of frying vegetables and seafood, lightly battered, known as Tempura?  According to my dictionary the word is derived fron the Portuguese tempêro (seasoning).  Sounds a bit dubious, I mean to batter and fry something isn't to season it, and it's not like the Portuguese language lacks for words describing various methods of preparing foodstuffs, is it?

As usual, the real story is much more interesting.  Portuguese and Spanish missionaries in the mid-Sixteenth Century introduced this style of cooking meatless meals on days of fast and abstinence.  Apparently the locals loved it and it caught-on bigtime.  It took its name from a Latin name for the Ember Days, Quatour Tempora, i.e. "Four Times".  How's that for a little inculturation?

So you can tell that story to your friends next time you enjoy some shrimp or vegetable tempura at your favorite Asian restaurant and they'll marvel at your mastery of odd knowedge!

I meant to include this little tidbit in Wednesday's post but completely forgot.  Fortunately Fr. Z. had a mention of it today so I'm posting it now while it's still timely.