pancake Tuesday

Feb 16, 2021

Today, the day before Ash Wednesday, is commonly known as  ‘shrove‘ or ‘pancake’ Tuesday.

This day is more widely known in many parts of the world as Mardi Gras (ie fat Tuesday), or ‘Carnival‘ (literally ‘goodbye meat’). These celebrations began years ago when the fasting really was tough: 40 days without meat or dairy products hence the bingeing on pancakes to empty the larder.

I recall at this time last year a friend who lives above the equator Facebooked: “Spring is in the air and it is GOOD!”  That may be true for the northern hemisphere, but here in the south the leaves are beginning to turn and fall: it’s almost Autumn for us. ‘Lent’ as ‘spring’? That doesn’t sound right.

But the word Lent is actually derived from the Old English word meaning spring – as in ‘lengthening of the days’.

This made sense for the people who first celebrated the Christian feasts a couple of thousand years ago. Lent coincided with the season of spring so that Easter would come right at the time when the world of nature was springing into new life.

When we see Lent as an opportunity to spring-clean the life of the soul, wonderful possibilities of new life open up for us.

We realise that in the busy-ness and demands of daily life, we accumulate many thoughts, routines and practices that may not deliver the happiness that they promise.

To the extent that these accretions become habitual, our freedom is limited. To the extent that our freedom is limited, happiness eludes us.

And this is the kind of ‘spring-cleaning’ that is the purpose and heart of Lent: a letting go of all that limits us, restricts us, and therefore prevents us finding the happiness we seek.

No longer are we satisfied with the masks and disguises of Mardi Gras, but the reality of our sin being transformed by the risen Jesus who is God-in-love-with-us.

An Invitation

  • Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a daily commitment or discipline for Lent which will help you to grow in maturity of relationship with Jesus.
  • Share this link with others inviting them to sign up to receive these daily email reflections: www.foodforfaith.org.nz.   Or if you are chatting with a friend today just invite them to search Food For Faith and sign up, or you can sign them up by following the link and adding their email address.

11 Comments

  1. nice to have you back again Fr J

    Reply
    • Amen looking forward to receive your daily Prayers Father John

      Reply
  2. Will have to make my famous pikelets today and share with family to celebrate Pancake Tuesday.
    Enjoyed your post follow on from you homily on Sunday at. St Thomas.

    Reply
    • So love your posts and excited as we move into Lent waiting for the Holy Spirit to do his springcleaning in me !

      Reply
  3. Spring cleaning is a better focus than doom and gloom it is proactive and life giving

    Reply
  4. Pancakes with mushrooms and pancakes with maple syrup for dinner tonight-yummmmmmy

    Reply
    • Spring cleaning our souls and letting go as we head into winter sounds like a good challenge. I missed out on the pan aces but finished off the Christmas scorched almonds! Nice to be back to your reflections Fthr John

      Reply
  5. Pancakes with lemon and sugar, or nutella, for dinner tonight here!

    Reply
  6. Chatting to my grandchildren tonight about what to give up for Lent … 11 yr old granddaughter is giving up dessert, the 8 yr old grandson thought showers might be a good thing!!

    Reply
  7. Just spoken to cousins in the Netherlands who always celebrate carnival but for them this year it’s not just goodbye meat, it’s goodbye carnival – no celebrations at all with total lockdown. We have it easy!

    Reply
  8. Great to have you back fr John, paddy and I look forward to your daily reflections food for our souls , and time to be together to pray, and reflect and share with each other thankyou

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts

my word your home

my word your home

The heart of the home in years past was the hearth.
It was at the hearth that the family gathered for the warmth and light of the flame and the food that was prepared there.
The fire was treated with respect since the same flame which provided energy for the home could just as easily destroy it.

stand up look up

stand up look up

The Israelites in their forty years in the desert were journeying from captivity to freedom, but the struggle of their desert years made them vulnerable to attack from every temptation as today’s first reading continues

confident in God

confident in God

I’m not sure if children today are told the great story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, but if not let’s make sure that the parable is taught at all schools of higher learning.

the teenagers

the teenagers

A few years ago I discovered the wonderful way that God uses my imagination in my prayer.
Such openness to imagination when seeking God does not take us away from reality into fantasy but instead brings me into what is most real and inescapably personal and intimate.

Annunciation

Annunciation

A couple of thousand years ago, a young Jewish woman was going about her normal morning routines, perhaps with a mixture of house and garden work, chatting with parents and neighbours, aware of the local drought, the sickness of a neighbour and annoyed by the neighbourhood’s lack of sleep caused by the Romans’ noisy party the night before, when God broke into her routine and entered her life in a new and powerful way.