Lent Soup Suppers Aim to Nourish Body and Soul

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On Friday nights in Lent, the faith community of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Chehalis gathers as a way to remind themselves of the tenants of their faith.

And they do it with a simple soup supper that is far more than just a meal.

“It is a way to remind people of what Lent is all about,” said John Maniccia, a member of the Knights of Columbus, which hosts the meal.

The season of Lent began Feb. 18 with Ash Wednesday and concludes Easter Sunday. Signifying the Biblical story of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, in most Christian churches the season is a time of reverence and devotion. In some traditions, Christians choose to abstain from something or devote themselves to more spiritual study in order to focus on the meaning of the season and in preparation of the celebration of Easter.

Traditionally, one of the tenants of the Catholic faith was refraining from eating meat on Fridays all year round. After the second Vatican Council in the mid 1960s, that regulation was relaxed, requiring abstinence from meat only Fridays during the Lenten season.

“Our fasting, our penance, let’s us get in touch that we are mortal and we still have things we have to work out,” explained Deacon Loren Lane, of the Catholic Parishes of West Lewis and East Pacific counties, a community of six Catholic parishes including St. Joseph in Chehalis and St. Mary in Centralia.

For many years, the local order of the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal benefit society associated with the Roman Catholic Church, has offered a Friday evening Lenten soup supper to mark the season. Non-meat soups are are made and donated by Knights of Columbus members. Admission to the soup suppers is by a good-will offering that benefits Operation Rice Bowl, an international philanthropic fund through Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency for Catholic communities throughout the United States. Maniccia said the idea is to mark the Lenten season as a community of faith and all are welcome.



“If you don’t have any money, come in and eat with us,” Maniccia said. “If you can spare some, put it in the pot.”

For some reason no one can account for, attendance at this year’s Lenten soup suppers has been to about 30-40 people each week. With only one more week to go, the Knights of Columbus members hope for a larger turnout. The suppers are followed by a Stations of the Cross prayer service, which walks attendees through a series of stations reflecting on Christ carrying the Cross through his Crucifixion. Lane said taking part in a community gathering during Lent is an important part of the season’s intent, which is to truly ponder the nature and meaning of forgiveness.

“Forgiveness is not just something we do one on one,” Lane said. “It’s something from and between the whole community.”

Another initiative taken on by the Knights of Columbus furthering the idea of Lenten sacrifice is the challenge “40 cans in 40 days.” Every parishioner has been challenged to donate one can of food per person per day during Lent, which will be donated to local food banks. Maniccia said the initiative was started a few years ago and the national Knights of Columbus counsel offers a matching monetary donation by weight of food brought in. And it’s just one more way for Christians to remind themselves of the good they are called on to do in the world, he added.

“Forty cans per person it’s not that expensive and yet what it can do for people who don’t have anything is amazing,” Maniccia said.