By custom and tradition, Lent is a time of fasting, not only from food but also from the marvelous colors and lights of winter witness that began glowing at Christmas, sparkled through Epiphany and glittered through Mardi Gras.

Some people see the six weeks of Lent as a time to fast, as much as possible, from the world outside as well. They make the effort to draw inward around home altar and table and share the prayers and psalms of the season and conversations that reflect the season and draw us together as family and members of the Body of Christ.

This year’s Lenten recipe series will feature simple soups that are among the seasonal favorites of diocesan clergy and religious. Many of the recipes have appeared in cookbooks produced as fundraisers for various religious orders and parishes.

All are easy to prepare and budget conscious.

We begin with two lovely soups created by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who find gathering around the table a significant Lenten task in itself.

The nine IHM sisters with whom Sister Donna Watson resides, make a real effort to share dinner together every night.

“We sit for dinner every night,” said Sister Watson, diocesan Delegate for Religious. “That’s not an easy thing to do anymore because over the years, our ministries have changed, our jobs have changed. We don’t share the same schedule.”

Where once the Sisters gathered for breakfast, lunch and dinner before, between and after their duties as teachers and administrators for generations of Catholic school students, their schedules vary too much to do that today.

But, they always make it to the table for what Sister Watson refers to as “a formal dinner.”

The communal table is such an important symbol that it’s always invitingly set with placemats, nice dishes, cutlery and candles, she said. “It’s a sign of hospitality, a signal that we are always ready to meet each other and a way of saying to the stranger that they are welcome to the table.

“All ten Sisters sit at table for an hour each night,” said Sister Watson who noted each shared meal at table brings the spiritual feast of the Mass into the home.

“From altar to table,” she said with a smile. “There’s a spiritual and social element about sharing the food, a sense of coming to the table of the Lord at home. We value our meal. It’s a very important part of the day.

“We may not eat until 6:30 p.m. because the Sisters get home at various times,” she said. “We wait until we are all together.”

All meals begin with grace and the conversation focuses on the events of the day with a conscious effort to share memorable and humorous moments. “We don’t talk about problems,” she said. “We try to see the humor in the day that has passed.”

Often, the menu will reflect selections from a cookbook – Culinary Gems a lá IHM’s – the Sisters produced as a fundraiser some time back. Unfortunately it is no longer in print but those who have copies, regard them as treasures, Sister Watson said.

Two recipes for soup, one plain and one fancy, appear below:

House of Prayer Minestrone Soup

• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 quarts water
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 4 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 16-oz. cans whole tomatoes
• 1 16-oz. can kidney beans
• 1 tsp. each: basil, oregano, Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup sugar

Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Directions: Slice onion and sauté in oil in a large soup pot until tender. Add 4 quarts of water and begin to heat. Meanwhile, add cut up vegetables, kidney beans and juice from tomatoes. Dice tomatoes and add tomatoes and rice, season to taste and cook over medium heat until rice is tender. Makes 16 servings.

Rosemarie’s Oyster Chowder

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 3 cups clam juice or fish stock
• 2 large potatoes, diced
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
• 1 pt. fresh oysters, strained (reserve liquid)

Directions: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery and shallots and cook until soft. Stir in flour until blended, then stir in clam juice and reserved oyster liquid. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are very tender. Stir in milk, salt and pepper. Add oysters and simmer until just cooked through. Serve with oyster crackers or toasted pita pieces. Makes 8 servings.

Here’s a grace before meals to use during Lent:

Lord Jesus Christ, may our Lenten fasting turn us towards all our brothers and sisters who are in need. Bless this table and our good food, and ourselves. Send us through Lent with good cheer, and bring us to the fullness of your Passover. Amen.