Mardi Gras' Catholic Roots [Shrove Tuesday]

American Catholic ^ | 02-23-04 | American Catholic

[Salvation]

Here's another great thread on fasting!

Reclaiming roots – Catholics need to rediscover fasting, author says

[Salvation]

The Holy Season of Lent -- Fast and Abstinence

[NYer]

Yum, I can taste the delicious baked fish, baked potato or macaroni, cole slaw, rolls and dessert cup. I may even get a takeout of pierogies.

This is fasting?

[NYer]

Long time no see, howdy Dr. Steve!!

Uh ... did you look at the date on his post? It's from 2004. Dr. Steve left FR last year.

[Salvation]

Our Wednesday Night Faith Formation 101 classes for adults has a menu of
Soup
Bread
Beverage.

No dessert during Lent!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Meatless minestrone for us tomorrow...

[Salvation]

Sounds good to me. What time is supper?

[Knitting A Conundrum]

After the CCD's Ash Wednesday mass at 5....

We eat a lot of that during Lent. I sort of feel we ought to restrict fun festive meals to Sundays during Lent, and I don't serve a lot of meat.

[Salvation]

Here are some other recipes (at the bottom).

Catholic Culture

Preparing for Lent
No Lent is worthy of the name without a personal effort of self-reformation, of leading a life more in accordance with God's commands and an attempt by some kind of voluntary self-denial to make reparation for past negligence. But the Church, together with the personal effort which she requires of all of us, her children, sets up in the sight of God the cross of Christ, the Lamb of God who took upon Himself the sins of man and who is the price of our redemption. As Holy Week approaches the thought of the passion becomes increasingly predominant until it occupies our whole attention, but from the very beginning of Lent it is present, for it is in union with the sufferings of Christ that the whole army of Christians begins on the holy "forty days", setting out for Easter with the glad certitude of sharing in His resurrection.

"Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation." The Church puts Lent before us in the very same terms that formerly she put it before the catechumens and public penitents who were preparing for the Easter graces of baptism and sacramental reconciliation. For us, as it was for them, Lent should be a long retreat, one in which under the guidance of the Church we are led to the practice of a more perfect Christian life. She shows us the example of Christ and by fasting and penance associates us with his sufferings that we may have a share in His redemption.

We should remember that Lent is not an isolated personal affair of our own. The Church avails herself of the whole of the mystery of redemption. We belong to an immense concourse, a great body in which we are united to the whole of humanity which has been redeemed by Christ. The liturgy of this season does not fail to remind us of it.

This, then, is the meaning of Lent for us: a season of deepening spirituality in union with the whole Church which thus prepares to celebrate the Paschal mystery. Each year, following Christ its Head, the whole Christian people takes up with renewed effort its struggle against evil, against Satan and the sinful man that each one of us bears within himself, in order at Easter to draw new life from the very springs of divine life and to continue its progress towards heaven.

Excerpted from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

---

Shrove Tuesday
Here are a few suggestions to help you celebrate the final day before Lent.

• Today is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras! Try some of the traditional recipes linked here. When eggs were among the foods that were forbidden by the Church during Lent, people would use them up on Fat Tuesday by mixing up large quantities of pancakes or doughnuts (also known as fastnachts).

• Read Maria von Trapp's explanation of the traditions associated with Carnival, or Fat Tuesday here.

• Sing this American favorite, Turkey in the Straw, with your children as part of your Mardi Gras celebrations.

• Discuss Jesus' Gospel teaching for today, He who would be first must be last, with your children and ask them how they can put others in the family before themselves. Keep it simple and practical — setting the table, washing the dishes, folding laundry, watching the littler ones, doing homework right away.

• What does it mean to become a child spiritually, that we may enter Heaven and be received by Christ Himself? We can learn much from St. Therese of the Child Jesus about spiritual childhood. Begin reading her Story of a Soul.

• Read Fr. William Saunder's article, Shrove Tuesday and Shrovetide, from the Catholic Culture Library.

Recipes:

• » Boxty Pancakes
• » Buttermilk Pancakes
• » Creme Brulee Creole
• » Faschingskrapfen

more

• » Fastnacht Doughnuts
• » Gateau au Rhum
• » Perfect Pancakes
• » Polish Shrove Doughnuts
• » Shrove Tuesday Buns
• » Strawberry Cream Crepes

less

Activities:

• » Carnival
• » Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans
• » Pre-Lent, or Carnival in the Home

Prayers:

• » Shrove Tuesday Prayer
• » The Golden Arrow
• » Novena in Honor of the Most Holy Face of Jesus
• » Prayer of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus to the Holy Face

more

• » Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus

less

[SuziQ]

I never heard it called "Shrove Tuesday" until we moved to MA, and that was where I first learned about the pancake thing. It was always just Mardi Gras, when, growing up in MS, my Aunt used to take my sister and me along with her 7 kids to New Orleans every year. When we were younger, we'd go on Sunday, but when we were in high school, we started going on Fat Tuesday.

I think the first Mardi Gras parade in the US was held in Mobile, AL.

[Bosco]

Yes, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, thanks.

[SuziQ]

Remember when EVERY Friday was no meat? Our Catholic School's cook treated us on Fridays; since our lunch was usually fish sticks or something equally bland, she made homemade Cinnamon rolls for us. SO GOOD that my mouth still waters when I think of them. I finally got the recipe a few years ago, but haven't reduced it to a manageable number yet. The recipe is for 500 rolls! LOL!

[sockmonkey]

Uh ... did you look at the date on his post? It's from 2004. Dr. Steve left FR last year.

Last week Salvation posted to me.."thanks for the ping, Sockmonkey" I hadn't remembered the ping, and when I looked at it, I had done the ping back in May or June..

These "resurrected" threads can be confusing at times.

[trisham]

Lenten recipes:http://www.catholicmom.com/lent_recipes.htm

[trisham]

We have fish sticks in our freezer. :)

[SuziQ]

I do not like fish sticks. I'll buy frozen fish filets, so I can thaw them out quickly, if I need to, but I just don't like fish sticks anymore. The fish inside is too mushy for me.

[kstewskis]

Obviously not.

I was just hoping that he came back from FReeper purgatory :)

[narses]

A freind of mine who rarely eats sweets of any kind gave up chocolate. It was incredible how often he found himself being tempted into eating chocolate that Lent!

[Salvation]

We can still abstain from meat every Friday if we wish. I usually do.

[Ciexyz]

This is fasting.

Well, it's meatless. And the money goes to support the church.