Feast: Our Lady of Sorrows

(Durer's Seven Sorrows of Mary 1497)

Today is the day we remember the seven sorrows of the Blessed Mother:

1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
4. Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)

We celebrated today by coloring the beautiful drawings by Waltzing Matilda (the dear!) and I made a shrinky dink plaquesimilar to the one I made for Holy Name of Mary.For dessert, we made a crockpot version of the old classic, Espresso Brownie Pudding -- a bittersweet dessert to help us remember that Mary's sorrow is sad but had Jesus not died on the Cross for us ... if she hadn't given us everything she loved ... we wouldn't have the chance for salvation. Besides, anything with chocolate is always a great way to remember the good things in life!

Here's the recipe for Espresso Brownie Pudding:

Batter:
□ 1 Cup all-purpose flour
□ 2 tsp baking powder
□ 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
□ 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
□ 1/4 teaspoon salt
□ 1/2 cup low fat milk
□ 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
□ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
□ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
□ 1/2 cup brown sugar
□ 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
□ 1-1/2 cups very hot water & strong black coffee
□ 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

To prepare the batter, combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, melted butter and vanilla until blended. Spoon the batter into a 4-quart slow cooker.

To prepare the topping, combine the sugars and cocoa in a small bowl with optional nuts. Sprinkle evenly over the batter. Carefully pour water-coffee over the cocoa-sugar mixture. DO NOT STIR.

Cover and cook until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean 1 to 2 hours on high (ours took just about 1.5 hours). Remove lid and let cool a little. The top is the brownie part, and there should be a great, gooey, lovely "hot fudge" syrup underneath -- best served in a bowl with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream!

This does not keep ... it should be served warm and fresh ... so eat up!