Homemade Pizza during Lent

Dear Friends and Family,

As I sit down to write you this email it is the beginning of St. Joseph's Feast Day. A day full of graces! I'm looking forward to praying matins for his feast day, to the Mass tomorrow, and to invoking St. Joseph's assistance for so many things. It seems that, after the Virgin Mary, he was the next holiest saint in the entire history of the Church. He is the official patron of fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants, unborn children, a happy death and--for good measure, to make sure everything was covered!--of the universal Church. Here at the monastery I'll be asking him to watch over in a particular way the sisters and their contemplative life, as well as the physical needs of the monastery; also to watch over and guide my priesthood, all the families I am serving or have served--including you all and my own family--and a whole list of intentions...

And though Lent is a serious time of sacrifice and prayer, of conversion and grace, it is also a time of particular joy. At least Jesus would like to grant us some share of His joy during this season. While that joy is usually spiritual, this weekend brought a more temporal joy: homemade pizza.

John, the young man spending a year here for spiritual formation, turned 21 this weekend and his family hosted a birthday celebration. And since the family also runs a bakery, we made good use of it to make.... homemade pizzas. There were about 20 children and a bunch of adults who filed into the bakery, where an assembly line was awaiting them... First I was asked to bless the food. Then, the assembly line... first you picked up the little batch of pizza dough that was ready to be cooked, then you added sauce (or ketchup, which I'd never seen before on pizza!), then the option of various cheeses, tuna fish, onions, peppers, corn, and various other items...

The pizzas were of varying types: some were neat and tidy with just a few ingredients. Others were more artistically done, others were piles of various ingredients (mine fell in that category), and then one won the prize of the tallest stack, the "leaning tower of pizza." Though when it came out of the oven it had been reduced to the same basic height as the other pizzas. It simply had an overflow of toppings, flowing out over the sizes.

Once your pizza was assembled the 30 some odd pizzas were placed on large trays (with your name written in pencil next to it on the baking sheet, so that even after the pizza melted you might be able to find yours), and then they went into the oven. About 30 minutes later.... what you see in the photo above took place.

It was a nice way to celebrate a birthday. Now we charge into the third week of Lent, with its beautiful feasts of St. Joseph and of the Annunciation, and then of Laetare Sunday. Hope your week is blessed. I will be praying for you here.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Tony Pillari