Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras
FEAST OF THE HOLY FACE-ST. CATHERINE DE RICCI
13 The Lord said: Since this people draws near with
words only and honors me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far
from me, And fear of me has become mere precept of
human teaching, 14 Therefore I will
again deal with this people in surprising and wondrous fashion: The wisdom of
the wise shall perish, the prudence of the prudent shall vanish.
This verse deals with spiritual blindness
and perversity of the Israeli Leaders. The Israelis failed to apply the
standards of God’s covenant in their military and political plans. They failed
to pray and offer to God their concerns and because of their unbelief they
merely made a show of their piety. They rejected the advice of their prophet’s.
Nothing ever changes. The key to living a life fearlessly is to have our hearts
close to God’s. When we do this we will soon discover that the mind is designed
to implement your heart’s desire. Is your heart at peace? What are the desires
of your heart? What should the desires of our hearts be? The old Baltimore
catechism states that our purpose and our desires should be to know, love and
serve the Lord.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic
Church:
1718
The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire
is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man
to the One who alone can fulfill it: We all want to live happily; in the whole
human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before
it is fully articulated. How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in
seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may
live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you. God
alone satisfies.
Shrove Tuesday[2]
Shrove Tuesday occurs the first Tuesday before Ash
Wednesday. It officially ends the season of Epiphany and is the vigil for the
starting of Lent. Traditionally viewed as a day of repentance, Shrove Tuesday
has become the last day for celebration and feasting before the period of
fasting required during the Lenten season. The name "Shrove Tuesday"
is derived from the word "shrive", which means to confess and receive
absolution. The name denotes a period of cleansing, wherein a person brings
their lusts and appetites under subjection through abstention and
self-sacrifice. The concept behind this practice is found in 1 Corinthians
9:27, where the Apostle Paul states: "I buffet my body and make it my slave..."
Ironically, Shrove Tuesday has evolved into a day of frivolity and indulgence,
during which people participate in as much pleasure and self-gratification as
they can before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday originated during the Middle Ages.
As in contemporary times, food items like meats, fats, eggs, milk, and fish
were regarded as restricted during Lent. To keep such food from being wasted,
many families would have big feasts on Shrove Tuesday in order to consume those
items that would inevitably become spoiled during the next forty days. The
English tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday came about as a way to
use as much milk, fats, and eggs as possible before Ash Wednesday began. In
France, the consumption of all fats and fatty foods on this day coined the name
"Fat Tuesday" or Mardi Gras. Originally beginning on Sunday,
Shrove Tuesday was a three-day celebration that culminated in large feasts on
Tuesday night. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the event was
restricted to the Tuesday observance. Carnival became associated with
Shrove Tuesday, in part from the Spring Equinox celebrations that were
practiced by the Romans and the ancient tribes of Europe. The word
"carnival" comes from the Latin carnem levare, meaning
"to take away the flesh". However, in the New Orleans and Rio de
Janiero celebrations, public revelry and carousing have become the tradition
for Carnival around the world. It was mostly as a result of the Carnival
celebrations that the Church restricted the observance to a single day.
Shrove Tuesday has a variety of customs that have derived from different regions around Europe and the Americas. As previously mentioned, England began the tradition of serving pancakes, and for this reason the day is known as "Pancake Day". In addition, there are the annual Pancake Day Races, where contestants dress in aprons and scarves and race down a course flipping a pancake in a frying pan or skillet. In Eastern Europe, the Carnival celebrations include boisterous processions where people in large masks parade around and play jokes on bystanders. The masks are often caricatures of individuals from traditional folklore. Men and women will dress as one another and engage in gendered mimicry. The day is filled with eating, drinking, fortune telling, and practical jokes. Perhaps the most prominent customs are the balls and pageants in New Orleans and Rio de Janiero. Like Eastern European celebrations, participants wear masks and costumes, many of which are quite flamboyant and elaborate. Rio has a parade of multi-colored feathers, which include hundreds of dancers dressed in costumes decked with feathers, all dancing the samba. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras includes a variety of parades featuring grand floats and giant effigies of eccentric characters. There is much eating, drinking, and dancing, as well as practical jokes and humorous street plays. For many Protestant believers, Shrove Tuesday holds no particular significance. For Catholics and Anglicans, however, the day is still observed with confession and absolution, in addition to modest feasting and rejoicing.
Shrove Tuesday has a variety of customs that have derived from different regions around Europe and the Americas. As previously mentioned, England began the tradition of serving pancakes, and for this reason the day is known as "Pancake Day". In addition, there are the annual Pancake Day Races, where contestants dress in aprons and scarves and race down a course flipping a pancake in a frying pan or skillet. In Eastern Europe, the Carnival celebrations include boisterous processions where people in large masks parade around and play jokes on bystanders. The masks are often caricatures of individuals from traditional folklore. Men and women will dress as one another and engage in gendered mimicry. The day is filled with eating, drinking, fortune telling, and practical jokes. Perhaps the most prominent customs are the balls and pageants in New Orleans and Rio de Janiero. Like Eastern European celebrations, participants wear masks and costumes, many of which are quite flamboyant and elaborate. Rio has a parade of multi-colored feathers, which include hundreds of dancers dressed in costumes decked with feathers, all dancing the samba. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras includes a variety of parades featuring grand floats and giant effigies of eccentric characters. There is much eating, drinking, and dancing, as well as practical jokes and humorous street plays. For many Protestant believers, Shrove Tuesday holds no particular significance. For Catholics and Anglicans, however, the day is still observed with confession and absolution, in addition to modest feasting and rejoicing.
Forty Hours' Devotion[3]
Here are a few suggestions to help you celebrate the final day before Lent.[4]
·
Today
is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras! 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.
Mardi Gras marks the end of the Carnival season, a period observed by many Roman Catholics that starts at Epiphany on January 6 and ends on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Mardi Gras). Since Mardi Gras is the last day before lent (a solemn period observed by prayer, repentance, fasting, and moderation), it is often associated with lavish Carnival-like celebrations.
Mardi
Gras Facts
·
Some families eat a festive King Cake on Mardi
Gras. Although it is traditionally served on Epiphany, many cultures,
especially the people of Louisiana, savor the sweet cake the night before Ash
Wednesday. Mardi Gras cakes are often decorated with a toy baby to represent
the baby Jesus.
·
Although the holiday is rooted in the Christian
calendar, not many churches observe it with a worship service. Most observances
include festive parties, balls, and parades.
·
Green, gold, and purple are the official colors
of Mardi Gras, and they all have roots in Christianity. Green represents faith,
while purple symbolizes justice. Gold stands for power.
·
Mardi Gras is not celebrated as an official
church holiday, but is celebrated because the following day starts Lent, a
40-day period of preparation and penitence before Easter. Ash Wednesday marks the
beginning of Lent, so Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday", is often
the last day that people may indulge before beginning dietary restrictions. In
Roman Catholic tradition, the faithful refrain from eating meat during Lent
except on Sundays. Fish is acceptable in some Latin American countries.
Mardi
Gras Top Events and Things to Do
·
Attend the largest Mardi Gras celebration, in
New Orleans, Louisiana.
·
Make your own King cake and serve it to your
family and friends.
·
Wear purple, green, and gold beads to celebrate
the day.
·
Attend a local Mardi Gras event. Many local
communities organize street fairs and celebrations for this day.
"I
firmly wish that My Face reflecting the intimate pains of My Soul, the
suffering and love of My Heart, be more honored! Whoever gazes upon Me, already
consoles Me"...
Principal reasons why we must honor the Holy
Face of Jesus
Catholic churches, religious families, Catholic families have nice human pictures of Jesus. Why not have the miraculous Holy Face of Jesus given to us on Easter Morning by the risen Jesus, just as St. Pius X recommended? When I have to choose between a picture made by a man or by Jesus, the choice is easy for me. I have The Holy Face of Jesus in my office, in my living room, in my room, in my Bible, in my Breviary, in my many books. The result: I am always walking in the presence of Jesus, thinking, loving, adoring and speaking of Jesus. Then it is also impossible not to live in the presence of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus' Mother and ours.
·
St. Pius X expressed the
desire that the image of The Holy Shroud of Jesus be seen around the world and
venerated in every Christian family. When Catholics will
see The Holy Face of Jesus in their churches and hear their priests preaching
St. Pius X's call to devotion to The Holy Face of Jesus, then the devotion to
The Holy Face will be spread all over the world like the devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. If you want to please a father, speak nicely of his son and
publish his picture everywhere. If you want
to please God the Father, speak nicely of Jesus, and publish and show The Holy
Face of Jesus
everywhere. Believe me, doing so is a special way to
have the Heavenly Father shower on you and your family graces and blessings so
abundantly that you will be obliged to say: Heavenly Father, please stop,
because my heart will burst with joy and happiness. Pius XII asked the faithful to spread knowledge
and veneration of so great and sacred a relic. On the occasion of the golden
jubilee of Sister Celine Martin, sister of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus of
The Holy Face (her full religious name!), he sent her his photograph and the
one of The Holy Face of Jesus! He was truly a pope with faith and without fear
of the truth.
·
John XXIII, on
seeing the relic, said, "This can only be the
Lord's doing... There we see the finger of God."
·
Paul VI added
these words: "The Holy Face of Jesus printed on The Holy Shroud of Turin
appeared to us so true, so profound, so human and divine, that we admired and
loved it like no other image..."
·
John Paul I has
been named "The Pope of The Holy Shroud."
·
John Paul II said
"The Holy Shroud is the most splendid relic of the Passion and
Resurrection [of Our Lord Jesus Christ]. People say: `Who will make us see
happiness? Raise the light of Thy Face over us!' We become what we
contemplate... Why don't we contemplate the Icon of Icons: The Holy Face of
Jesus!" Instead of icons made by man, let us venerate the greatest icon of
all: The Holy Face of Jesus!
·
Saint Peter Chrysologus,
Father of the Church, tells us: "A love that
desires to see God may not have reasonableness on its side, but it is the
evidence of filial love. It gave Moses the temerity to say: 'If I have found
favor in Thine eyes, show me Thy face'. It inspired the psalmist to make the same
prayer: 'Show me Thy Face'. Even the pagans made their images
for this purpose; they wanted to see what
they mistakenly revered."
Mass of the
Holy Face
To encourage the faithful to honor the Holy Face of Jesus, Jesus made wonderful promises, just as He did with the twelve promises for those who practice the devotion to His Sacred Heart.
Eight
promises of Our Lord to those devoted to His Holy Face
2. None of these persons shall ever be separated from Me.
3. In offering My Face to My Father they will appease His anger and they will purchase as with celestial coin pardon for poor sinners.
4. I will open My Mouth to plead with My Father to grant all the petitions that they will present to Me.
5. I will illuminate them with My light, I will consume them with My love, I will render them fruitful in good works.
6. They will, as the pious Veronica, wipe My adorable Face outraged by sin, and I will imprint My Divine Features in their souls.
7. At their death, I will renew in them the image of God effaced by sin.
8. By resemblance to My Face, they will shine more than many others in eternal life and the brilliancy of My Face will fill them with joy.
These priceless promises are drawn from the works of St. Gertrude, of St. Mechtilde and from the writings of Sister Maria de Saint-Pierre, a Carmelite, who died at Tours, in the odor of sanctity.
Family
Consecration to the Holy Face of Jesus
O Lord Jesus, we believe most
firmly in Thee, we love Thee. Thou art the Eternal Son of God and the Son
Incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thou art the Lord and Absolute Ruler of
all creation. We acknowledge Thee, therefore, as the Universal Sovereign of all
creatures. Thou art the Lord and Supreme Ruler of all mankind, and we, in
acknowledging this, Thy dominion, consecrate ourselves to Thee now and forever.
Loving Jesus, we place our family under the protection of Thy Holy Face, and of
Thy Virgin Mother, Mary most sorrowful. We promise to be faithful to Thee for
the rest of our lives and to observe with fidelity Thy Holy Commandments. We
will never deny before men, Thee and Thy Divine rights over us and all mankind.
Grant us the grace to never sin again; nevertheless, should we fail, O Divine
Savior, have mercy on us and restore us to Thy grace. Radiate Thy Divine
Countenance upon us and bless us now and forever. Embrace us at the hour of
death in Thy Kingdom for all eternity, through the intercession of Thy Blessed
Mother, of all thy Saints who behold Thee in Heaven, and the just who glorify
Thee on earth, O Jesus, be mindful of us forever and never forsake us; protect
our family. O Mother of Sorrows, by the eternal glory which thou dost enjoy in
Heaven, through the merits of thy bitter anguish in the Sacred Passion of thy
Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for us the grace that the Precious
Blood shed by Jesus for the redemption of our souls, be not shed for us in
vain. We love thee, O Mary. Embrace us and bless us, O Mother. Protect us in
life and in death. Amen.
Glory be to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it
was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Iceman and the Face[7]
Here is an excerpt from my book on my South Pole
adventure and my experience with the Holy Face of Christ.
“I thought about my experiences in Barbados, West Indies where I had a
friendly relationship with a Jesuit Priest on the Island. I was stationed in
Barbados after “A-School;” just prior to my assignment with MCB 71. It was luck
or maybe providence that I got my first assignment to Barbados, West Indies. At
the end of “A School”, I ended up having the highest grade average-probably due
to I studied and drank less than the others drank. The Chief had six orders for
Vietnam and one set of orders for Barbados. I was given the orders to Barbados.
It was while
I was in Barbados that I was examining my Catholic Faith and was considering a
faith change because I was also involved with a non-Catholic Pentecostal
religious group and because my Father had not practiced the Catholic Faith. I
was at a point where I had to decide to be a Catholic or not. I was praying
about it and one night I had a horrid dream where a horribly disfigured face
appeared in white on a dark background. I woke up in a sweat.
I was
disturbed by the thought of this vision. I got on my motorcycle and rode around
the island. At the end of the ride, I passed a church and turned around to go
in and pray. I knew I needed God in my life. After a short prayer, I was
walking out of the church and there right next the exit door in a pamphlet
rack, at eye level was the face in my dream. I was shocked, I pulled the
pamphlet out and trembling read that this was the image of the reported face of
Christ. It was on the burial cloth of Christ and was stored in a Catholic
Church in Italy. I decided God was calling me back to the Catholic Faith. Why
me? Why did he appear to me sinner that I was; I knew not. Yet, because of the
memory of this call from Christ, I knew I had to consent to bring his precious
body to my brother Seabees. The priest also left me a book to read. The book
explained the Catholic faith. As I read it, I knew and understood my faith better.
I was especially taken by an Old Catholic symbol and I drew it on a small red
flag and wore that symbol on my back declaring myself an ICEMAN for Christ. The
symbol means “Jesus Christ Conqueror” Now instead of a blue ribbon of pain. I had a flag for victory. I still was the
same old sinner but the flag reminded me of God’s ever presence; even here at
the bottom of the world.”
St. Catherine de Ricci[8]
The Canticle is chanted in some Dominican monasteries on the Fridays of Lent.
Prayer
~
My friends and My neighbors have drawn near and
stood against Me.
~
I was delivered up and came not forth; My eyes
languished through poverty.
~
And my sweat became as drops of blood, trickling
down and upon the ground.
~
For many dogs have encompassed Me the council of
the malignant hath besieged Me.
~
I have given My body to the strikers and My
cheeks to them that plucked them.
~
I have not turned away My face from them that
rebuked Me and spit upon Me.
~
For I am ready for scourges, and My sorrow is
continually before Me.
~
The soldiers, plaiting a crown of thorns, placed
it upon My head.
~
They have dug My hands and feet; they have
numbered all My bones.
~
And they gave Me gall for My food; and in My
thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
~
All they that saw Me laughed Me to scorn; they
have spoken with lips and wagged their heads.
~
They have looked and stared upon Me; they parted
My garments among them and upon My vesture they cast lots.
~
Into Thy hands I commend My spirit; Thou has
redeemed me, O God of truth.
~
Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants, when Thou
shalt come into Thy kingdom.
~
And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice
gave up the ghost.
V. Have mercy on us, O benign Jesus. R. Who in Thy clemency didst suffer for us.
Look down, we beseech Thee, O Lord, on this Thy family for which Our Lord Jesus Christ did not hesitate to be delivered into the hands of the wicked, and suffer the torments of the Cross.
Daily
Devotions
·
Please pray for me and this ministry
[7]Havermale,
Richard, The Ice is Nice and Chee Chee is Peachy, 2012.
[8]http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1296
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