Lenten KUBE Preparation: St. Cecelia's

Sooooooo....we find ourselves in another Lent but it is not our typical St. Louis Lenten season. The weather has been mild and temeratures being more moderate have moderated our spirits as we enter the season. Lutherans, Catholics, Christians everywhere with our Jewish and even our Muslim brothers share this special season where we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of...The NCAA Tournament!

Wait, that is probably not right. Lent is when we humbly prepare our self for the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is said that “Lutherans Love Lent” by Lutherans and the intimation is that we love to be miserable. We like to file bad. Whether because of our German roots or just a general morose spirit we like to out Catholic the Catholics and grab Lent as out own from Ash Wednesday to Easter. We go to Church every Wednesday and put away our alleluias as we travel through the season. But lets face it, what is Lent without the Catholic parish fish fry? Pretty damn sad is the answer.

So we opened the season with our favorite fish fry and St. Cecelias. St. Cecelias is in a south city neighborhood that is doing anything but gentrifying. It is finding equilibrium with a brand new mix of lower income white, Latinos and blacks and it is finding it’s way. St. Cecilias has done the right and very difficult job of not just surviving but providing the engine of stability for this survival and their ministry in their school and their church is a testimony to the good that can come from organized religion and the catholic church. We all should be paying attention to what they are doing in their parish.

But we come not to speak of serious matter but to celebrate their Lenten tradition. I would guess that the parish picks up a significant portion of it’s annual budget through these fish fries. They are fund raisers and at any one time I would guess they have at least 50 people, students, old people, teachers, Priests and administrators working the event. The first time we went we had to stand out in the rain for a ½ hour before we ever even got into the place. This year we showed up around 6 and were able to walk right into the auditorium where the line snakes around the gym. There are immediately tables that allow you to invest in their ministry. T-Shirts and tchotchkes are available and then at the next table you can buy a beer while you stand in line for $2.00. Tecata, Corona and Corona Lite or pitchers of Bud Light. Then a table where you can by chips and pico de gallo for another couple of bucks to munch on while you wind your way to the back of the gym. You go behind a 1 foot raised stage about 10x10 where they have entertainment in the form of dancers from the school, mariachi bands and sometimes just little kids dancing as they music from south of the border.

It is festive and you reach the far corner of the gym there is another stand where you can buy another beer, at this station there was Tecate, Bud and Busch (so you know it is a nice event). You then go down the far side and eventually end up at the front where a Priest with a large hand held STOP sign directs traffic to the ordering lines and people with trays full of food deliver it to the folks anxiously waiting at the tables. The menu is pretty straight forward. Cod in Mrs Pauls shaped squares, Jack Salmon (on the bone), Fried Shrimp, Chilli Rellenos. That is it I think. Then you get to pick your sides from french fries, macaroni, rice and I don’t remember what else. There is a cart rolling around where you can buy tamales but because of lent they do not have meat. Good masa but unsatisfying.

So you order and they give you a number and you sit. You squeeze in among the people at the tables. The crowd is incredibly diverse. All ages and nationalities and everyone is having a good time talking, drinking and taking in the scene and it is a scene. It is noisy. It is bustling. it is cramped and everyone is bumping into you. There are hipsters there. There are moms and dads. There are folks like us who don’t belong but you don’t feel like you don’t belong because every Friday they build up their own community and it is really a beautiful thing. It really is. You wait a long time for the food because they have a small kitchen and a small deep frier and they are over worked. The chilli rellenos is consistently good and although it always just strikes me as a meatless stuffed pepper it is well done and works well in this type of food service. The cod wqas actually excellent and we lucked out getting some right out of the deep fryer. The shrimp was passable but what do you expect from fried shrimp and the jack salmon (which can be good at local bars) is best avoided. The beer is cold. ll meals are served with a side of home made verde and the green sauce is spicy and satisfying on everything they serve.

But the food really is secondary. Come on down. Plan on spending at least an hour and a half and make an evening of it. Support a great parish and have some fun during this blessed time of preparation... for the NCAA’s. Go Billikens!