Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday begins with an entreaty from God, one that has been heard down through the generations. It is an appeal from the very heart of God. He is calling his wayward children to come back to him. Promising us that he is rich in mercy and compassion.

God calls after us again and again, wanting to be given the opportunity to bind up our wounds and to heal our sorrows. The only problem we have is the question: are we going to let him?

Ash Wednesday  is a day for us to decide to turn back to God and re-commit ourselves to this
relationship. The problem for many is so often we feel we don’t know how to do this. But as with any relationship we need to invest our time and energy into it. We know that those relationships that are the most successful are the ones in which we have invested time and energy.

So how do we do this with God? Well, a good place to start is to begin by spending time alone with God, whether this is in the quiet of your home or in Church or elsewhere. What’s important is that we are committed to it.

If we want to know what God has to say then we must read his ‘letters’ to us in the form of Scripture. If you are not sure where to start you could follow the Church in the readings she selects for the readings at Mass each day.

We need to be honest in our reflection about how much time we give to God. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our everyday necessities that we push God into a short space on Sunday and maybe a extra few minutes now and then. But God wants to be the centre of our lives; he wants to fill us with
good things, bringing healing and freedom into our lives; in fact he wants us to share in the fullness of his own life.

God promises us that every wound, all our faults and sins, all those things that hold us back from him, will be dealt with in kindness and compassion – because he is slow to anger and rich in graciousness, and ready to relent.

In the readings for Ash Wednesday we hear that we must “let our hearts be broken not our garments torn”. In days past the tearing of garments was an outward sign of repentance; think of the Ninevites when they heard Jonah’s call to repentance. Our “outward sign” can be found, for example, in the things we give up this Lent, the chocolate, the alcohol, etc. But God asks more of us.

Yes, these small sacrifices please him, but he is more interested in the heart that makes the offering. He wants to touch and heal us, and our little acts of self denial will be meaningless if we do not allow God to change our hearts; this is what Lent is all about.

If over the next forty days we drawer closer to God and allow him to heal our hearts, then when we arrive at the day of resurrection at Easter we will allow ourselves, as C.S Lewis said, to be “surprised by joy."

Shrove Tuesday /Mardi Gras/ Pancake Day

Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is known by many names throughout the world. The most popular name globally, perhaps, is Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras, which literally means Fat  Tuesday,  is a carnival celebration which has its roots in the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a festival that honored the Roman deity Lupercus. When Christianity began to spread the early Church decided to adapt and incorporate certain festivals into the new faith rather than just banning them.

The English terms “Shrovetide” and “Shrove Tuesday” come from the old English word “shrive”. “To be shriven” means to go to confession and receive absolution.

Not only was Shrove Tuesday a day of self examination, it was the last day in which people could feast before their Lenten fast kicked in. Shrove Tuesday’s menu was designed to use up all the fats, eggs and dairy products left in the kitchen and storerooms. Hence the name Fat Tuesday. Nothing was allowed to go to waste. Families often ate up to twelve times over the course of the day.

Pancakes, which are the traditional meal in England on Shrove Tuesday, came about because of the need to use up the eggs, butter and milk. Although the pancakes we have now came about in the 18th Century due to the influence of French cooking, we used to make a smaller more fatter pancake probably like a pikelet – a type of crumpet.

So as we enter into this season of fasting let’s enjoy our pancakes and look forward to the greatest of feasts.

Here is a simple pancake recipe which will have you flipping and tossing pancakes much to your children’s delight:

110g/4oz plain flour.

2 eggs.

200ml/7floz milk mixed with 75ml/3oz water.

50g/2os butter.

Pinch of salt.

Sift flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break in eggs and begin to mix milk and water. Whisk until you have a smooth batter.

Melt a small amount of butter in a 7in frying pan. Put 2 tablespoons of batter in the pan and swill around. It will cook quite quickly. When you can lift a side up and it looks golden flip over and cook for another few seconds. Top with your favorite topping, lemon and sugar, golden syrup, maple syrup, Nutella – the combinations are endless. Enjoy!

Candlemas

Today we celebrate the feast of Candlemas which incorporates two feasts, the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. Both rites were obliged by Jewish law. You can read about them in the book of Leviticus, where chapter 12 deals with the purification of a woman after childbirth.

When Our Lady and St. Joseph brought Christ to the temple, Simeon embraced the Child and prayed what has become known as the Canticle of Simeon: “Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

Over time the custom developed in the West of blessing candles on this feast day. Christ is the light of the world, “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles”, and by the 11th century this custom was gaining popularity. The blessed candles were lit and a procession took place through the darkened church whilst the canticle of Simeon was sung. Hence the name “Candlemas”.

Usually the priest blesses the candles that are going to be used in the coming year. If your priest is open to the idea, you could ask if you can bring your own candles and then take these blessed candles home to use during your family prayer time. When celebrating some of the special feast days these can be used on the family dinner table. If you cannot get them blessed by a priest the head of the house can pray this lovely simple blessing over your candles:

Let us pray. God our father, source of all light, today you revealed to Simeon your light of revelation to the nations. Give us your blessing as we light these candles. May we who carry them to praise your glory walk in the path of goodness and come to the light that shines forever.