Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Oh my , Oh my!!!

A week already since we started our season of Lent and here I am just typing this up.

Oh well such is my life these days.

Our preparations for lent usually start the day before Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday in what we call Madi Gras

This year we did not actually have any celebrations for Madi Gras that we participated in like we have in the past {last years post......still partially complete in drafts :) ,}  however we did get a list  prepared of what we needed to cover for Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.

First off is always the 'Hiding of the Allelua' and reminders to the children that we do not say this again in the Mass or at home until the Easter Vigil,
A little reminder about not tricking younger siblings  or other people into saying 'the forbidden word' is reiterated too.

Traditional food for us is pancakes and bacon and eggs.
This year we also added a Trim Healthy Mama desert for those of us who are eating this way too.
Yummy chocolate Strawberry Trifle.

Next up is the making of our Crown of Thorns for those sacrifices and extra prayers we do during Lent to draw us closer to Christ.

This is usually an activity for at least one of our little ones as they love putting in the 'thorns' just prior to baking.
Of course we tend to have a large number of 'thorn pulling' activities in the next few days as the excitement of this activity takes place.

Ash Wednesday begins with Fasting and Abstinence from meat as we start the Lenten season. It is especially poignant after the celebrations of the day before in which we indulge in lots of food and excitable celebrations.

 Each year we try to burn our Palm Crosses from previous years. This does not always happen but we managed to complete this again this year.
Of course the beautiful Ash Wednesday Mass is the highlight of this day in which the Priest makes the sign of The Cross on our foreheads  with the blessed Ashes of last year's palm crosses.

And thus began our Lenten journey this year!
I pray your own journey ma be truly blessed and fruitful.

Blessings to you and your homes,