We have lovely customs in our wonderful Roman Catholic Church, including special blessings on certain feast days, often tied to the changing of the seasons… in Rome, that is. It’s the Roman Church, after all.
Today, the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, was and is decorated with the opportunity to bless beans.
In Rome at this time of year the “broad beans” are usually at their peak. Broad beans are best enjoyed simply with pecorino cheese and cold white wine. The combination of which is a material proof of God’s love.
The connection of this time of year in the Roman calendar with beans is ancient indeed. Remember: I am not talking here about a certain attention seeking, bomb-throwing, hopped-up would-be-theologian sociologist. I mean the vegetable. Although… the two often produce similar “after effects”.
During May in ancient Rome the master of the house would walk around the dwelling on the nights of the Lemuria (9,11, 13) waving beans to ward of evil spirits. On the Kalends of June (1 June) there was a pagan feast of the Sacrum Carnae Deae when beans and bacon were offered in sacrifice and consumed. In fact, the June Kalends were called Kalendae Fabariae. Latin faba is, of course, “bean”, and the Italian is still the same, “fave”. The essentials don’t change much. For this feast the ancient Romans ate a mess of beans and bacon. Any excuse, right?
In his Fasti the poet Ovid writes of beany blessings:
Pinguia cur illis gustentur larda Kalendis
Mixtaque cur calido sit faba farre, rogas?
Prisca dea est, aliturque cibis quibus ante solebat,
Nec petit adscitas luxuriosa dapes.
I enjoy Ovid… it just rolls and rolls out so effortlessly. In any event, beans and bacon were as big back then as they are now. It’s amazing how consistent we are. You get much of the same effect with your fave and pecorino cheese (salty fat).
And don’t forget the awe inspiring fave in tegame.
The the ancient Roman cookbook complied in the 4th c. and attributed to Apicius (US HERE – UK HERE), there are various bean and pea recipes. A good one. HERE and HERE
Pisam Vitellianam sive fabam (Peas or Beans à la Vitellius)
Pisam coques lias. teres piper, ligusticum, gingiber, et super condimenta mittis vitella ovorum, quae dura coxeris, mellis uncias III, liquamen, vinum et acetum. haec omnia mittis in caccabum et condimenta quae trivisti. adiecto oleo ponis ut ferveat. condies pisam, lias, si aspera fuerit. melle mittis et inferes.
Peas or beans with yolks are made thus: cook the peas, smoothen them; crush pepper, lovage, ginger, and on the condiments put hard boiled yolks, ounces of honey, also liquamen, wine and vinegar; mix and place all in a sauce pan; the finely chopped condiments with oil added, put on the stove to be cooked; with this flavor the peas which must be smooth; and if they be too harsh in taste add honey and serve.
If you don’t have a lot of liquamen, use garum (or substitute colatura or even Vietnamese fish sauce, which is similar).
A Bean Blessing is not, alas, in the Rituale Romanum, but another blessing, for any sort of food, can be used. Bring lots of beans, perhaps along with bacon, to Father and ask him to bless them. Remember that the Rituale says that blessings are to be done in Latin or they are invalid. Sorry…I’m not making that up.
I’ll give the Latin below. The intro is familiar. In the bean blessing I made plurals and used an adjective rather than genitive.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
Bene+dic, Domine creaturas istas fabales, ut sint remedium salutare generi humano: et praesta per invocationem tui sancti nominis; ut, quicumque ex eis sumpserint, corporis sanitatem et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
Lord, bless + this creature, [beans – “beany creatures”)], and let it be a healthful food for mankind. Grant that everyone who eats it with thanksgiving to your holy name may find it a help in body and in soul; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
There is a separate blessing for bacon (“lard”… ascension of the lard?):
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
Bene+dic, Domine, creaturam istam laridi, ut sit remedium salutare generi humano: et praesta per invocationem tui sancti nominis; ut, quicumque ex eo sumpserint, corporis sanitatem et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
Lord, bless + this creature, lard, and let it be a healthful food for mankind. Grant that everyone who eats it with thanksgiving to your holy name may find it a help in body and in soul; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
I hope you will all be “full of beans” for this Feast of the Ascension of the Lord!
Fr. Hunwicke once had a fun post about Ascension Beans! HERE
He includes the blessing for grapes… “Benedic +, Domine, hos fructos novos vineae…”.
The Ritual has blessings for all sorts of food items, such as bread and pizza or cake, beer, cheese and butter, birds, eggs, lamb, oils, whatever other food (ad quodcumque comestibile).
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And of course, contemporary with Ovid we have Horace:
“o quando faba Pythagorae cognata simulque
uncta satis pingui ponentur holuscula lardo?
o noctes cenaeque deum, quibus ipse meique
ante Larem proprium vescor vernasque procacis
pasco libatis dapibus. prout cuique libido est…”
Ah beans, the Pythagorean kin! I love the subtle implication that Pythagoras thought they were somehow ensouled, as he thought of animals and men, and so forbade them. While I’m quoting the poem, might as welll quote more! The topic turns to the dinner conversation:
“sermo oritur, non de villis domibusve alienis,
nec male necne Lepos saltet; sed, quod magis ad nos
pertinet et nescire malum est, agitamus, utrumne
divitiis homines an sint virtute beati,
quidve ad amicitias, usus rectumne, trahat nos
et quae sit natura boni summumque quid eius.”
Shades of Plato. Or the recently deceased Cicero, whose dialogues, especially the Disputationes Tusculanae, are worthy of imitation among your friends. Fine food, draughts of good wine, a fine evening (or afternoon) surrounded by greenery. Sit down, and as Samuel Johnson says, fold your legs and have your talk out. This is when philosophy really takes on the flavour of a foretaste of eternal bliss.
[Outstanding. Dat’s’whad’I’m’talk’in’bout.]
Sounds like a lovely antipasto dish. This short YouTube video shows the simple preparation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5ebfzuB4M
FrZ, do the beans need to be rinsed off after peeling them?
I didn’t know until this year that Horace was the son of a freedman, and has some lines in one of his poems about his lack of shame that his dad had once been a slave.
His dad struck it rich in business as a “coactor,” which is explained in scholiast sources as a “coactor argentarius.” He would auction things off on spec, and then pay a share of the auction to the seller and a share to himself.
He was successful enough to earn ownership of an estate in their town of Venusia, but left town for Rome in order to give Horace a really good education there. His father died when he was still young, and Horace was able to use his inheritance to travel to Greece and study there.
Horace explains in his poem that whatever virtues he has, he owes them to his father. Therefore, he is all gratitude and praise to him, and is not ashamed of him. (This is in Satires 1.6, lines 65-92.) I think that’s a really nice thing to hear, with Father’s Day coming up.
Unfortunately, in Greece he got recruited as a tribune for Brutus’ illfated army, which not only gained him the jealousy of others (because he was promoted over the heads of people with better birth), but also made him stay out of public life after his lucky amnesty.
So we see a picture of Horace enjoying friendship and private life, but it’s not necessarily his whole feelings. Even his beans are haunted by ghosts.
[Excellent comment. Thanks. Horace is a favorite of mine.]