Today our family will celebrate Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras (which is French for "Fat Tuesday) which is "the last hurrah before the Catholic season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday."
We are going to share Mardi Gras with some dear friends and for dinner we will serve pancakes, bacon, fruit and the yummy king cake dessert. (Maybe this year my son will find the Baby Jesus in the cake AGAIN!) Fat Tuesday is also known as "Shrove Tuesday" and a traditional meal for Shrove Tuesday is pancakes. Why pancakes? Great question! Here's the interesting answer! Did you know one day could have so many different names? :)
So what is Shrove Tuesday all about? As stated at About Religion: "Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Roman Catholic Church. "Shrove" is the past tense of the word "shrive," which means to hear a confession, assign penance, and absolve from sin. Shrove Tuesday is a reminder that we are entering a season of penance."
IF I can get my act together it will be fun to print out some of these masks as suggested by Kendra at Catholic All Year.
Our guests and our family will enjoy the delicious dinner and dessert before fasting tomorrow on Ash Wednesday and every Friday in Lent.
A Day of Repentance:
The
distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to
repentance. In the early Church, Ash Wednesday was the day on which
those who had sinned, and who wished to be readmitted to the Church,
would begin their public penance. The ashes that we receive are a
reminder of our own sinfulness, and many Catholics leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility.
In this article, Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent, it states the following:
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).
Here is a great 2 minute video about Ash Wednesday:
Our family will attend an Ash Wednesday Mass to help us remember that, like the Advent season, Lent is also a time of preparation and a call to conversion. It's funny to have people tell me that I have "dirt" on my forehead after we attend Ash Wednesday Mass. When this is said to me, it gives me a great opportunity to share my faith.
Jennifer at Catholic Inspired has this great Ash Wednesday Printable Activity Page that I hope to do with my own children.
In this article, Ash Wednesday Our Shifting Understanding of Lent, it states the following:
When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).
Here is a great 2 minute video about Ash Wednesday:
Our family will attend an Ash Wednesday Mass to help us remember that, like the Advent season, Lent is also a time of preparation and a call to conversion. It's funny to have people tell me that I have "dirt" on my forehead after we attend Ash Wednesday Mass. When this is said to me, it gives me a great opportunity to share my faith.
Jennifer at Catholic Inspired has this great Ash Wednesday Printable Activity Page that I hope to do with my own children.
We plan on making our annual crown of thorns out of salt dough and you can find the link at Catholics United for the Faith (CUF). Click HERE to find recipe and other Lenten resources from CUF.
Here is a picture I took a few years ago while my kids' hands mixed the salt dough ingredients:
Each time our children and my husband and I make little or big sacrifices during Lent, we will pull out a toothpick to remove Jesus' thorns from his crown. I would like to add this free Lenten Sacrifice Printable from Lacy at Catholic Icing to our crown of thorns and bean jar.
So many opportunities to think beyond ourselves, hence the many, many, many "thorns" !
Then just before Easter, our children will paint the thorn-less (we hope!) crown gold and glue jewels on the crown to represent that Jesus our King has risen! The decorated crown looks lovely on the Easter table. Above is a picture of our decorated crown a few years ago.
Besides the Lenten Love Links that we did last year, this year I plan to print out this printable Lenten Calendar to help us count down the days until Easter!
If you missed my post with some more of our Lenten traditions through Holy Week/Good Friday, be sure to go HERE.
Have a blessed week!
May you have a fruitful Lenten journey this year!
ReplyDeleteThank you Patty! You too!
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