July 16.  The elderly ladies knew their Bible quite well so Joan did a little quiz with them. “Who knows the 9 plagues that God sent to the Egyptians to try to persuade them to let the Israelites go?”  Veronica knew but added what she thought was more relevant. “How important are the details of religious practices to people these days?   I believe one should commemorate the spirit of an event and then try to relive it in a present-day setting?”  Some agreed that rituals can lose their meaning, others did not.  All accepted that the actual content of a celebration has important symbolic meaning but it is important that people understand it.

“Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of the month they shall take, every man, a lamb according their father’s house, a lamb for a household. Kill the lamb in the evening and eat the flesh that night, roasted with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. From Ex 11:10 to 12:14.

Pope Francis.  We must be bold enough to discover new signs and new symbols, new flesh to embody and communicate the word and forms of beauty which are valued in different cultural settings.  EG167.  Ecological conversion requires an attitude of the heart of serene attentiveness. One expression of this is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals, a beautiful and meaningful custom.  That moment of blessing however brief reminds us of our dependence on God for life, our gratitude for the gifts of creation, acknowledges those who provide us with these goods and reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.  LS227 .