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LENT, EASTER, ASCENSION AND PENTECOST Lent, preceded by Shrove
Tuesday, spans forty days and takes us from Ash Wednesday
marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter – the greatest festival in the Christian Church. Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of
to Easter Sunday. Today, Lent is
Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for his ministry by facing the temptations that could lead him to abandon his mission and calling. Christians today use this period of time for self examination and repentance, and attempt to identify with Christ’s time of self-denial in the wilderness by giving something up for forty days.
occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent, and are referred to as the ‘Sundays in Lent’. The number forty is connected with many biblical events, but especially with the forty days
Jesus, the six Sundays that Shrove Tuesday – 21 February
Shrove Tuesday is derived from ‘shrive’ meaning ‘confess as part of a penance’. Its French equivalent, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), has a similar origin. Shrove Tuesday was traditionally the time when all food had to be used up so that people could fast or give something up for Lent as an act of repentance. Since Shrove Tuesday would have been the last chance to indulge oneself, pancakes were often eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were not permitted during Lent – hence Pancake Tuesday or Mardi Gras. (No service).
Ash Wednesday – 22ⁿ February
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent in the Christian Church. For some Christians, marking a cross on the forehead with ash (usually obtained from burning the previous year’s palms) shows their commitment to Jesus Christ and demonstrates their sorrow for the wrong things they have done in the past year. An Ash Wednesday Service will be held at l’Eglise St Martin, Mauroux, at 11.00am on 22ⁿ February (by kind permission of Abbé Sotte) followed by a frugal Lenten lunch (eg soup and cheese) in the Mauroux Salle des Fêtes. All are most welcome to attend.
Mothering Sunday – 18 March
Also known as 'Refreshment Sunday', Pudding Pie Sunday’ and 'Mid-Lent Sunday’, Mothering Sunday is always the middle (4) Sunday in Lent. It is therefore not a fixed day, unlike Mother’s Day in USA which is always celebrated on the 2ⁿ Sunday in May. Tradi- tionally, it was a day when children, usually daughters who had gone to work as domestic servants, were given a day off to visit their mother and family and return to their Mother Church. As they walked along the country lanes, they would pick wild flowers to take to church or give to their mother’s as a small gift and the fast of Lent would be relaxed for the day. Today children give presents, flowers, and home-made cards to their mothers on Mothering Sunday.
The food associated with Mothering Sunday is the Simnel cake. A Simnel cake is a fruit cake with two layers of almond paste, one on top and one in the middle. The cake is made with 11 balls of marzipan icing on top representing the 11 disciples (Judas is not included). Traditionally, sugar violets would also be added. The name Simnel probably comes from the Latin word simila which means a fine wheat flour usually used for baking a cake. Since the fasting of Lent could be given up on Mothering Sunday, every- body was able to enjoy a slice of Simnel cake! All are welcome to our Mothering Day Service at Terre Rouge at 10.00am.
Palm Sunday – 1 April
The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians particularly remember the last week of Jesus's life. Holy Week begins on Palm Sun- day. Palm Sunday commemorates Christ's triumphant arrival in Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowd. The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. A week later they were calling for Jesus to be crucified. In many churches, during Palm Sunday services, large palm branches are carried in processions or small hand-held pieces of palm are distributed. Please join us for the Palm Sunday Service at Terre Rouge at 10.00am.
Maundy Thursday – 5 April
Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday and is marked in UK by the distribution of the Royal Maundy to a number of pensioners. The name 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin “mandatum”, meaning a commandment. Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper, said (John 13:34): “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” During the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. This act has sometimes been followed literally in history as a good way for rulers to acknowledge that they have been there to serve their subjects. Indeed, the custom of washing feet by the Sovereign was carried out in England until 1689 - although the feet were first washed by Yeoman of the Laundry before the Sovereign had to wash and kiss them!
In Britain today, the Queen follows another long- established tradition of giving money (Maundy Money) to a group of pensioners. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the reign of Edward I in the 13th century. Since the eighteenth century, the recipients of the Royal Maundy have numbered as many men and women as the Sovereign has years of age and the amount of money received also reflects the age of the Sovereign. Specially-minted ‘Maundy money' is distributed to pensioners who have been recommended for their service to the Church and to the local community. (No service).
Good Friday – 6 April
The most important events in Christianity are the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. During Good Friday services Christians meditate on Jesus' suffering and death on
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