Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Roman Catholic Church. Shrove Tuesday reminds us taht Christians are entering a season of penance and is a solemn day. Shrove is the past tense of shrive, which means hearing a confession, assinging penance, and absolving from sin.

From the earliest days of Christianity, Lent has always been a time of fasting and abstinence. While the Lenten fast today is confined to Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all other Fridays of Lent. the fast was quite severe in the previous centuries. Christians abstained from all meat and items from animals, including butter, eggs, cheese, and fat. That is why Shrove Tuesday is also known as '“Fat Tuesday” por Mardi Gras (simply french for fat tuesday) Over time, Mardi Gras extended from a single day to the entire period of Shrovetide, the days from last Sunday before Lent through Shrove Tuesday. Shrovetide is also known as Carnivale, literally, “farewell to meat”. In english-speaking countries, Shrove Tuesday became known as Pancake day because christians used up their eggs, butter, and milk to make pancakes and other pastries.

The Liturgical season of lent begins on Ash Wednesday. On this day, we are marked on our foreheads with the ashes taken from the previous year’s leftover palms on Palm or PassionSunday. The palms are burnt, crushed, and blessed. The priest or celebrant reminds us of our mortality. He states, ‘“Remember from the dust you came, and to the dust you shall return.”

He can also call us to ‘Repent and return to the Gospel”

Lent lasts for 40 days mirroring the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying.

Fasting- Limiting the amount of food we consume, Only those above the age of Fourteen are required to fast.

“ On Shrove Tuesday we feast and on Ash Wednesday we fast”

Abstinence - means to do without. Catholics abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent.

Almsgiving - Giving financial or material assistance to those who are less fortunate. The money we would typically spend on trivial things is used instead as a donation to a worthy cause or organization for those in need.

Acts of Penance- Doing acts of Penance by putting our faith into action. (corporal works of mercy) i.e, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the incarcerated, giving drinks to the thirsty, burying the dead, visting the lonely, etc.

Holy Week: (begins the Monday before Easter Sunday)

Our religious practices are iintensified

We abstain from meat the entire week as a form of sacrifice and penance.

Easter Triduum:(Three days before the Resurrection)

A. Holy Thursday:

Jesus shares his last meal with his disciples

Catholics relive this moment in Masas when they share in the Eucharist.

Catholics re-live this moment in Mass when they share in the Eucharist.

Jesus breaks bread and drinks wine, symbolic of his Body and blood.

He informs his disciples that one will betray him, and another will deny him three times. Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane in the Mount of Olives to pray if this cup must spiill over him, and he Accepts his fathers will.

Jesus washes h0is disciples feet that he came to serve, not to be served. Then he calls them to do as he has done, to serve others.

B. Good Friday:

Jesus is arrested and taken before the Jewish leadership (Pharisees, Sanhedrin, the High Priest, Caiphas).

Jesus is charged with blasphemy in the mock trial held where they ridiculed, and spat, and beat him.

Jesus is taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea and procurator.

Pilate does not find fault with Jesus and sends him to the king of Judea, Herod the great.

Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate because Jesus is out of his jurisdiction.

Pilate sends Jesus to be scourged, thinking that it will suffice the crowd, Pilate washes his hands and gives the crowd gathered the choice of freeing one prisoner to show compassion on the eve of the Jewish Passover feast.

The crowd selects Barabbas, a notorious criminal, to be released.

Pilate asks the crowd what they want him to do with jesus, the galilean, and the people respond, Crucify Him!

Jesus is condemned to death, a decree that only Pilate has the authority to.

Catechumens- are Adults who underwent a preparation process to receive the sacraments of Initiation ( baptism, confirmation, Eucharist. )

The program that formed part of the process RCIA, (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)

They underwent a probationary called quarantine (40 in latin)

Lent concludes on “Spy Wednesday”

Spy Wednesday is the day before Holy Thursday.

It is called Spy Wednesday because Judas Iscariot sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver.

Holy Saturday is also known as the Easter Vigil