Faith at St Joseph's...

Our theme for Week 4 and 5  is respecting the dignity of every human being and building safe and supportive relationships. What a perfect theme for us this week!

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This week in the Church Calendar we celebrate the beginning of Lent.  We would normally come together as a faith community to celebrate the Ash Wednesday Mass.

This means that Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday where the tradition is to make pancakes.

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. The name Shrove comes from the old middle English word 'Shriven' meaning to go to confession to say sorry for the wrong things you've done. Lent always starts on a Wednesday, so people went to confession on the day before. This became known as Shriven Tuesday and then Shrove Tuesday.

The other name for this day, Pancake Day, comes from the old English custom of using up all the fattening ingredients in the house before Lent, so that people were ready to fast during Lent. The fattening ingredients that most people had in their houses in those days were eggs and milk.

Ash Wednesday begins a holy season for many Christian religions. It marks the start of the 40 days leading up to Easter (not including Sundays). This 40-day period is known as Lent..

Ash Wednesday is, of course, always on a Wednesday but it falls on different dates every year because its date is based around Easter. Easter is generally celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that comes after March 21 (the Spring equinox)..

The name Lent is a shortened form of an Old English word that means 'spring' - fitting, because it always comes during the springtime. ( Northern Hemisphere)

Meaning Behind the Ashes

You are probably wondering why people mark their foreheads with ashes on this day every year. What exactly do the ashes represent, and where do they come from? The ashes symbolize several important things: the dust that God created humans from; the 40 days Jesus spent praying and fasting in the desert, according to the Bible; sadness over the sins and mistakes people have made; and a visible sign of penance.  Penance is an act that a person takes to show regret and to earn forgiveness.

The source of the ashes is also symbolic. Burning the palms used at the previous year's Palm Sunday service (held the Sunday before Easter) makes the ashes used on Ash Wednesday. Most Christians receive the ashes during a church service. They are given by a priest or another trained person and are placed in the shape of a cross.