What’s more Catholic than fish dinners?
Did you know the fish is an ancient Christian symbol? The word for fish in Greek is ichtus, pronounced ick-toose. The word fish in Greek letters look like:
The first Christians, who were sometimes persecuted for their faith in Jesus, made an acrostic out of this word. In an acrostic, each letter is the first letter of a word.
I Jesus
CH Christ
TH God’s (the Greek word is Theos)
U Son
S Savior
When Christians wanted to show someone else they followed Jesus, they might draw a fish symbol on paper or on the ground. The fish meant the person drawing it believed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior.
So patronize your local fish dinner this Friday. Bring a neighbor or carry fish back to a shut-in person. Do it in the name of Jesus.
Choose an activity each day to keep Lent alive. Add color your your cross.
PLANT
- Work in your yard. Meet and visit with neighbors.
- Plant a tomato in a large pot. Put it in a sunny spot and wait for your first BLT.
SIMPLIFY
- Organize a storage area.
- Turn off the TV for the whole evening.
PRAY
- Thank God for spring. Make a litany of life, using each letter of the alphabet.
- Pray for Pope Francis and the future of the Church.
READ
- Part 6 of the Lent online retreat is on forgiveness. Do you need to forgive or be forgiven?
- Read a Gospel Reflection for March 13.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
- Tell a family member five lovable things about him or her.
- Let go of a grudge you have held on to long enough.
PARTICIPATE
- Go to a fish dinner.
- Contribute to a food shelf at church or in your neighborhood.
Keeping Faith Today 