Today we stand on the threshold of Lent, a day known by many names such as Pancake Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, and Mardi Gras. Beneath the festivity lies a deeper spiritual meaning. Traditionally, the faithful would use up rich foods like milk, eggs, butter, and other indulgences in preparation for the simplicity and discipline of the Lenten fast. These luxuries symbolize the comforts and excesses that can dull our spiritual hunger and draw our senses toward overindulgence rather than toward God.
The word shrive gives Shrove Tuesday its name. In earlier times, the ringing of the shrove bell summoned townspeople to the parish church to confess their sins and receive absolution. This day was not merely about clearing the pantry, but about clearing the soul.
As we prepare to enter the Lenten season, we are called to examine our hearts with honesty and humility. What attachments, habits, or patterns of selfishness weigh us down? What distractions keep us from deeper communion with Christ? Lent invites us into the wilderness with Our Lord, a desert journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, so that we may shed what is not of God and grow in holiness.
Tomorrow, many faithful on Ash Wednesday will hear the solemn call of the prophet: “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments” Joel 2:12 to 13. The ashes placed upon our foreheads remind us that we are dust and to dust we shall return, but they also mark us as those who desire true repentance.
May this day be more than a farewell to rich food & animal flesh (Carnival – carne). May it be a turning of the heart.
StreetEvangelist 
