Fillet of Sole Véronique

Along with buttered baby potatoes, this French fish dish makes an elegant and tasty meal.

"Veronique" refers to any dish garnished with seedless "white" (green) grapes. The name probably derives from Verona, Italy because the Garganega grape for dry white wine is grown in that area.

When fresh seedless white grapes are not available, canned ones can sometimes be found.

Ingredients:
Season 6 fillet of sole with salt and pepper to taste and lay them in a large, generously buttered earthenware or glass baking dish. Sprinkle them with 1 generous teaspoon lemon juice and pour in 1/2 cup dry white wine.

Directions:
Cover the dish with a buttered paper and bake the fillets in a moderate preheated 350 degree F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Pour 1 cup cream sauce* over the fillets. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup seedless white grapes. Place the dish under the broiler until the sauce browns and bubbles.

* Cream sauce
Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add gradually 2 tablespoons flour, stirring constantly over a low flame for 3 to 5 minutes. Add gradually 1 cup scalded milk or cream, stirring constantly to blend well. Season to taste and complete the cooking over hot but not boiling water.

Image:
Brekelenkam's "A Woman Scaling Fish" (1666) from the Web Gallery of Art. In the public domain.

Innocence and Penitence

These early days of Lent invite reflection on the theme of innocence and penitence. Last year, there was a good sermon available online that spoke to subject. Unfortunately, the sermon is no longer accessible. There, Father affirmed that innocence is, of course, best. He described penitence as next best, however, and said it is very pleasing to God.

Father went on to talk about how the Blessed Mother is the model of innocence and the Magdalene is the model of penitence. He pointed out that in Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ, the Blessed Mother and St. Mary Magdalene are shown staying together in Jerusalem during Christ's Passion and that this could be a metaphor for the closeness of true penitence to innocence. He said that St. Mary Magdalene was the only saint in the entire canon given the title of "Penitent", which suggests her perfection as a model for all penitents.

In his Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., defines the two concepts as follows:

"INNOCENCE. Freedom from sin or moral guilt. Applied to Adam and Eve before the Fall, to those who have just been baptized, and to persons who never lost the state of grace because they never committed a grave sin. (Etym. Latin innocens: in-, not + nocere, to harm, hurt.)

"PENITENCE. The state of being repentant for having sinned. It is therefore a disposition of soul, arising from a realization of one's sinfulness and includes the willingness to expiate the wrongdoing."

Of course, no one can approach the innocence of the Blessed Mother who was born without the stain of original sin (the Immaculate Conception). Several saints, however, are believed to have preserved their baptismal innocence. These include: St. Dominic de Savio, St. John of the Cross, St. Bernadette of Lourdes, St. Pio, and St. Gemma Galgani.

Most of us, unfortunately, lose our baptismal innocence then regain it for a time through the sacrament of confession, as we struggle to become more like St. Mary Magdalene in penitence. There is a good post at Vultus Christi that speaks of "Innocence Restored".

The image above of St. Mary Magdalene (left) and the Blessed Mother gazing at the Crucified Christ after he was taken down from the Cross and prior to his burial might be useful for meditating on the closeness of true Penitence to Innocence.

May all the readers of this blog make a good Lent!

Image:
Detail from Perugino's "Companto sul Cristo Morto", from Wikimedia Commons. The painting is in the public domain. For compilation copyright free licensing information click on this link.

The Initiative of Greeting & the Benedicite-Dominus Greeting

Those making the transition to Traditional Catholicism soon perceive its richness and learn that nothing is meaningless or escapes integration into the Catholic worldview. Every gesture and movement of the traditional Latin Mass is so replete with symbolism that its study must be inexhaustible, and the same applies to the liturgical year. Awareness of the constant presence of Heaven and the Communion of Saints challenges and enlarges one's perspective. Even the petty annoyances of daily existence are given meaning as opportunities to unite oneself to the sufferings of Christ and to grow in virtue. A blessed child it is who is reared with the fullness of the true Faith.

One small facet of the wealth of Catholicism can be found in a section on greeting in Dr. Marian Horvat's book, The Catholic Manual of Civility.

First, Dr. Horvat explains:

"Crossing the path of a person of authority or higher dignity, it is the younger or less important person who should offer the first greeting."

Then she goes on to say:

"When Our Lady learned that Elizabeth was with child, she did not delay to make plans to travel from Nazareth to Hebron to congratulate her cousin for this high favor from God. At the meeting, the one who initiated the greeting was the Blessed Virgin, who was younger in age even though she was superior to Elizabeth in dignity: And Mary entered into the house of Zachary and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. (Lk 1:40-41)

"Her words were accompanied by a prodigy of grace: the sanctification of John the Baptist, who leaped with joy in his mother's womb. It is to commemorate and imitate the humility of Mary in this greeting that the laws of certain religious congregations impose on the superiors the initiative of greeting."

That is, because of her Immaculate Conception and Divine Maternity, the Blessed Virgin was superior in dignity to St. Elizabeth. Nevertheless, virtuous woman that she was, she humbly initiated the greeting of her older relative, Elizabeth.

The practice of superiors initiating the greeting as described by Dr. Horvat is depicted in the film The Nun's Story. More than once in the film, the mother superior greets Sr. Luke with "Benedicite", to which Sr. Luke responds, "Dominus".

I have read that the benedicite-dominus greeting originated with the Benedictines.  That is, the younger religious would say to the older religious or to the superior, "Benedicite" (Bless me) and the latter would reply "Dominus te benedicat" (May the Lord bless you).   But in The Nun's Story the greeting is shortened and it is the superior who initiates the greeting, asking to be blessed.

With this traditional practice in mind, every "Good morning" or "Good evening" can become a reminder to reflect in passing on the virtue of humility.

Source:
Horvat, Marian Therese, Catholic Manual of Civility (Tradition in Action, Los Angeles, 2008), p. 100.

Image:
Rembrant's "Visitation", from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.