March 2, 2014

Shrove Tuesday

This Wednesday, March 5, is the start of Lent. Many parts of the world have extravagant celebrations preparing for Lent. Whether it’s called Carnival, Mardi Gras, Fastnacht, Fettisdagsbulle, Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday the day is devoted to getting rid of all the fun in life before entering the penitential season of Lent.

Originally the day was set aside to use up all the fat and eggs in the house in preparation for fasting in Lent. One traditional way to use up all the goodies is pancakes, of course. That’s why many of us have pancake suppers on Shrove Tuesday.

The word ‘shrove’ is from the old word ‘shrive’ meaning to prescribe (as in prescribe a cure or penance) or to write. (I’m reminded of Moses’ prayer in Exodus 32:32: “But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written”). Like we clean out the pantry of butter and sugar and eggs, we clean our souls by confessing and leaving the sins behind for Lent. Of course, the partying that goes on is a way of getting all the ‘sins’ out of the way before Lent! If you don’t do confession on Shrove Tuesday, you might want to consider a time of confession and absolution sometime during Lent.

So, full of pancakes and shriven of our sins, we come to Lent when we are supposed to ‘give up’ something. A friend recently sent me this story, “I was in San Francisco, and our priest was Nedi Rivera-Moore, who is now the bishop of the northwest states.  She was giving a class during Lent which was attended mainly by women.  She asked us to think of the one thing we did that put us into overload. Then she said that's what we were to give up for Lent.” (Thanks Johanna!)

Alternatively, emphasis has been on ‘taking on’ a new spiritual discipline during Lent instead of just giving up chocolate or smoking. Certainly there are lots of Lent devotionals around, available online and in stores and from your church. An interesting list of ideas for things to do for Lent can be found on the Busted Halo website includes things like ‘make a commitment to read the Sunday readings before Mass’, ‘turn off your car radio during your commute’, ’fast from cruel comments’, etc.

Below is a short list of some online resources that you might find helpful during Lent.

Daily devotions: http://www.d365.org
Forward Movement publications for Lent: http://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/CategoryCenter/FMEAS/Lent_Easter.aspx
Forward movement daily devotions: http://prayer.forwardmovement.org/forward_day_by_day.php?d=25&m=2&y=2014
Lent Madness: http://www.lentmadness.org/

Feel free to comment and add your own ideas and resources you find useful to help us all along. As we prepare for Lent, here is the concluding prayer of the Great Litany from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the petitions of those who ask in thy Son's Name: We beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ear to us who have now made our prayers and supplications unto thee; and grant that those things which we have asked faithfully according to thy will, may be obtained effectually, to the relief of our necessity, and to the setting forth of thy glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

During Lent we will consider what Psalm 34 can teach us about preparing our hearts for Easter. 

Palm Sunday

 We are almost at the end of Lent. We’ve traveled through the 40 days and through the promises of the Baptismal Covenant found in the Episco...