My Sisters and Brothers,
Many, many years ago today, I found myself on a bus riding back to school in South Carolina from New Orleans. We had been invited to be the band to precede the King Rex float for the final parade of Mardi Gras. It, and the equivalent Carnival in Rio, days of partying and for some overindulgence, to expend all the excesses of life before observing the abstinence of Lent. What I remember most from that trip was after being in the city for two days prior to the parade, enjoying the libations of the “Big Easy”, spending more time at Pat O’Brian’s than we should have, surviving on beignets and coffee with chicory at the Café’ du Monde, was the last morning of band practice before the parade. Nothing will let me forget the experience of playing the base drum in a bagpipe band along with the whole band, in the hold of a U.S. Navy ship. The paraphrase of the words over the school chapel were apt: “God, remember not the days of our youth.”
The “Fat Tuesday” custom developed out of the believed need to do away with anything that took away from the austerity of Lent. Eggs, butter, fats, alcohol, meat, etc. were to be consumed before Ash Wednesday arrived. With so many being far from rich and the need not to waste food, excesses became the norm. This is where the tradition of our pancake dinners came into being. Pancakes were a great way to use up those eggs and fats. There was more to the day though. Shrove comes from the old Roman Catholic practice of making a confession on the day, to begin Lent absolved, “shriven,” to start anew. I fear that this custom has been forgotten by most since the partying goes right up to the ringing of the bell at midnight.
While today, many think of Lent as a time to “give up everything that is pleasurable.”, Our invitation to a “Holy Lent” in our Ash Wednesday liturgy reminds us it is also a time to take on more Godly practices which we are hopefully already doing. I pray we can make this a time of moving closer to Jesus and the example he set for us.
Peace
Bryant+
