Today is Shrove Tuesday. Shrove is the participle of "shrive" which means to be absolved. Traditionally on Shrove Tuesday, people went to the priest to be absolved and have a penance given, which they were to do over the period of Lent. This practice came from when excommunications were more common and Lent was the final step in preparing to receive communion again for the ex-communicants. "Traditionally" Catholics do not eat meat on weekdays of Lent. Orthodox eat no meat, oil or animal products during Lent. In England, usually the last animal product in the house before Lent began was the lard, and so they cook pancakes to use up the lard. Shrove Tuesday pancakes in England are more like crepes, and are (were?) sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice and then rolled up.
Mardi Gras in French, is fat Tuesday for finishing off the fat, and Carnival (Carni=Carne (meat) for finishing off the meat.
We will have our great Forgiveness Service tonight at 9:00 PM and our Lent shall begin tomorrow at 6:30. Please feel free to come to one or both.
Showing posts with label Shrove Tuesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shrove Tuesday. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Ash Wednesday
Please excuse me for not putting in today's readings. Several in the family are sick and one cousin wrecked her car so my attention was diverted.
Ash Wednesday is the fast day which begins Lent in the west. Lent is 46 days to allow for 40 days of fasting. (We do not fast on Sundays because they are days in which we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Yeshuah haMoshiach and so are feast days)
Lent was originally the final time of preparation to prepare catechumates for baptism, the end of a three year process. In time it also became a time in which people who were excommunicated were prepared to renter communion with the church. Eventually it became a time in which all Christians made special restitution for their sins.
Traditionally, Lent follows Shrove Tuesday. On Shrove Tuesday, Christians would go to their priest or anamchara for confession and receive absolution (In Old English, the priest would "Shrive" them, hence the term Shrove Tuesday, "Shrove" being past tense of "Shrive"). As part of the process of absolution, the person would receive a penance assigned to them by the priest or Anamachra. The penance would begin on Ash Wednesday and end on the Saturday before Easter.
Traditionally we refrain from meat and animal products during Lent, and those who wish to follow a stricter practice will abstain from food on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. We have no fixed rule, but we do encourage our congregation to abstain from pleasures during Lent, whether they be food, television or whatever. Time or money saved should go to charity or to the church. Many who fast use the money they save to contribute to the local food bank. Time saved by not watching TV might be used to study ones Bible, or take some time out to visit your neighbours and tell them about Christ. Lent should not be just about restrictions, but about doing positive things for Christ ans well.
Readings:
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 103
Epistle 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Gospel Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made, and you forgive the sins of all those who are penitent. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness of our sins. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, now and forever. Amen.
Ash Wednesday is the fast day which begins Lent in the west. Lent is 46 days to allow for 40 days of fasting. (We do not fast on Sundays because they are days in which we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Yeshuah haMoshiach and so are feast days)
Lent was originally the final time of preparation to prepare catechumates for baptism, the end of a three year process. In time it also became a time in which people who were excommunicated were prepared to renter communion with the church. Eventually it became a time in which all Christians made special restitution for their sins.
Traditionally, Lent follows Shrove Tuesday. On Shrove Tuesday, Christians would go to their priest or anamchara for confession and receive absolution (In Old English, the priest would "Shrive" them, hence the term Shrove Tuesday, "Shrove" being past tense of "Shrive"). As part of the process of absolution, the person would receive a penance assigned to them by the priest or Anamachra. The penance would begin on Ash Wednesday and end on the Saturday before Easter.
Traditionally we refrain from meat and animal products during Lent, and those who wish to follow a stricter practice will abstain from food on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. We have no fixed rule, but we do encourage our congregation to abstain from pleasures during Lent, whether they be food, television or whatever. Time or money saved should go to charity or to the church. Many who fast use the money they save to contribute to the local food bank. Time saved by not watching TV might be used to study ones Bible, or take some time out to visit your neighbours and tell them about Christ. Lent should not be just about restrictions, but about doing positive things for Christ ans well.
Readings:
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 103
Epistle 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Gospel Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made, and you forgive the sins of all those who are penitent. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness of our sins. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, now and forever. Amen.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Shrove Tuesday & St. Matthias
Little is known of his actual life. We know from the Book of Acts that he was one of the 120 followers of Jesus who were in the upper room. He was selected by lot to take the place of Judas Iscariot as on of the twelve apostles. He preached the Gospel in Juday, and is said to have preached the Gospel in Ethiopia (remembering that when the Christians scattered from Jerusalem because of persecution, they usually sought out Jewish colonies of which there was an ancient one in Ethiopia.), and also preached the Gospel in Colchis (modern Georgia) where he was crucified for his faith. We not in passing, that Georgia, together with Armenia is home of one of the more ancient churches which existed outside the Roman Empire.
Collect: Dear Lord, you raised up Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot as a witness to your name amongst the twelve. Grant that your church would not follow false teachers, but in this and every generation their would be faithful men to lead us in your ways; This we ask through Yeshuah haMoshiach, who livers and reigns with you and the Ruach haKodesh, one God in glory everlasting. Amen.
Shrove Tuesday
Today is also Shrove Tuesday. Shrove is the past tense of “shrive” which is to be absolved from sin. Traditionally on this day, people went to the priest to confess their sins and would be given a penitence which they would keep for Lent. Also on this day it was traditional in England to consume pancakes in order to use up the lard (the last of the meat) in the house as well as the last of the eggs and milk so as to fast from milk and dairy products during Lent. The same idea is held in the term Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday) reflecting that all the fat (lard) was to be finished off this day. Carnival in Portugues and Spanish reflects the same idea, as “carne” is meat, and Carnival was the time to finish off the meat.
Unfortunately, in many times and cultures Mardi Gras or Carnival instead of reflecting the religious nature has become a time of doing everything that one would not do in Lent, and has often become a time of drunken revelry.
Tonight we will have our Shrove Tuesday Service, in which we all confess our sins to one another, and is a time we concentrate on our individual responsibility. Tomorrow at the 6:00 AM Ash Wednesday Service, we will be confessing our corporate sins as a community and church.
Collect: : Lord, grant that we should make such a true confession, that we would truly walk in love and peace with one another that the light of Yeshua would truly shine through us. This we ask through Yeshua haMoshiach who lives and reins with you and the Ruach haKodesh, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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