By: FraLouie
Excerpted from Annabelle Moseley’s article in Aleteia
The day before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday. Many of us Catholics don’t know the special significance of this day, or if we do, we often overlook it. In New Orleans, USA, a famous Mardi Gras celebration is being held there on this day. But Shrove Tuesday is much more than just that, a famous party. Shrove actually means “to obtain absolution.” There are wonderful ways, both divine and delicious, to faithfully celebrate this day, deepening its significance through ancient traditions. Here are a few, from pancakes to prayer. Choose which ones suit you best.
- Eat Pancakes! Doing so on this day has been popular across much of the UK and Ireland since the Middle Ages, since Shrove Tuesday was a traditional time to use up any stores of butter, milk, and eggs, often given up during Lent. So whether you choose traditional flapjacks, crepes, or gluten-free almond flour pancakes, savor a meal of them today, knowing that in so doing, you’re living out your Catholic heritage!
- Seek Absolution. Remember, Shrove means “to obtain absolution.” As such, this is a great day to go to Confession, helping to prepare for Ash Wednesday. If you can’t make it to Confession, do an Examen of Conscience. Then, finalize your decision on what you will give up for Lent.
- Go to Mass and/or Eucharistic Adoration. Shrove Tuesday is the Feast of the Holy Face. As revealed to Sister Pierina, every Tuesday is a day of reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus, ideally in front of the Blessed Sacrament, but Shrove Tuesday is even more special since it is the Feast of the Holy Face! Marking the day as such will make our Ash Wednesday so much more meaningful.
- Invoke The Holy Face in prayer.
Try The Golden Arrow devotion:
“May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen,”
or The Litany of the Holy Face.
And even if you don’t have much time, you can always manage this great short prayer of reparation to the Holy Face that Jesus revealed to Sr. Mary of St. Peter:
“Admirable is the name of God.”
How does a prayer about God’s name comfort His face? “My Name is everywhere blasphemed,” Jesus revealed, according to Sr. Mary of St. Peter, explaining that by blasphemy the sinner curses Him to His Face. Jesus told her: “O if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, “Admirable is the Name of God,” in the spirit of reparation for blasphemy.” - Share a King Cake with Loved Ones. This one ties with pancakes for the children’s favorite part of the day! A “Fat Tuesday” tradition with strong European Catholic roots, the King Cake is a joyful dessert after a delicious Mardi Gras feast. Did you know that Mardi Gras Season in New Orleans actually begins on Epiphany, January 6, of each year (a day many also enjoy the King Cake) and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the eve before Lent begins? It reminds us to honor Christ the King, just as He was honored by the Three Kings on Epiphany.
Whatever ways you celebrate this Shrove Tuesday, here’s hoping that some or all of the suggestions may make this special day more meaningful and enjoyable for you and your family.