Mardi Gras: Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday-the first day in Lent) gets its name from the ritual of shriving, when the faithful confessed their sins to the local priest and received forgiveness before the Lenten season began. As far back as 1000 AD, "to shrive" meant to hear confessions. Note: the term survives today in the expression "short shrift" or giving little attention to anyone's explanations or excuses.

Shrove Tuesday also marked the last day before beginning the 40-day Lenten fasting period, when the faithful would not consume meat, butter, eggs or milk. What to do, however, if a family had a store of these foods and they all would go bad by the time the fast ended on Easter Sunday ? An easy solution -- use up the milk, butter and eggs no later than Shrove Tuesday. And so, with the addition of a little flour, the solution quickly became the pancake tradition. Shrove Tuesday pancakes will be consumed throughout Western Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia, but perhaps the tradition is most associated with the UK where it is known best simply as Pancake Day. http://www.chiff.com/a/shrove-tuesday.htm

The word "Lent" comes from two English words -- lengthening days: Le mot "carême" vient du latin quadragesima == quarantième (jour). En ancien français, on écrivait quaresme. Il désigne la période de 40 jours avant Pâques. Un proverbe en ancien français:

February 17, 2010: This past year, Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, fell late in the month (25th). This year Lent begins a week earlier. Dust or ashes, as sign of penitence and mourning dates to the time of Moses and before in the Old Testament (e.g. Genesis 3:19; 18:27 cf. Job 34:15; Job 13:12 "Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes ...."). In Protestant denominations of the Anglican tradition, a custom continues in the application of blessed ashes to the foreheads of congregants in the sign of the cross, with an intonation remember that you art dust and unto dust you shalt return. This is in imitation of the spiritual mark or seal that is put on a Christian in baptism, when he is delivered from slavery to sin and the devil and made a slave of righteousness and Christ (Rom. 6:3-18). It also presages the mark of those belonging to God during the end-time of Tribulation (Revelation 7:3; 9:4; 14.1). See also http://www.intermirifica.org/lent/ashwednesday.htm

And the LORD said to him [one of the four cherubim], 'Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark [literally the letter tav -- which in ancient script it looked like the Greek letter chi, which happens to be two crossed lines (like the "x" of St Andrew's Cross) and which happens to be the first letter in the word "Christ" in Greek, that is christos] upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.' And to the others he said in my hearing, 'Pass through the city after him, and smite; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity; slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.' So they began with the elders who were before the house (Ezekiel 9:4-6).

This passage is also part of the background to the Anglo-Catholic practice of making the sign of the cross, which in the early centuries (as can be documented from the second century on) was practiced by using one's thumb to furrow one's brow with a small sign of the cross, as is done today, for example, at the reading of the Gospel during Mass. Where do the ashes used on Ash Wednesday come from? Traditionally, they are made by burning palm fronds that have been saved from the previous year's Palm Sunday, they are then blessed by a priest -- blessed ashes having been used in God's rituals since the time of Moses (Numbers 19:9-10, 17). from http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/ash_wed.htm

The premier Sunday in Lent (21 février 2010): Crée en moi un cœur pur, ô mon Dieu, renouvelle et raffermis au fond de moi mon esprit. http://missel.free.fr/Annee_A/careme/1_ps.html -- Psalm 51:10 -- This lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms {Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 & 143 (7th century designation)}, asks for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought and seeks a transformation to prevent future wanderings of the soul. The text holds one of the most profound analyses of sin and renewal to be found in the Bible. A somewhat detailed analysis HERE & appropriate hymn: http://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/images/1107892535-2538.html

Many have considered St. John Fisher, martyred by Henry VIII, to be the most holy and learned Bishop in all Christendom during his life. Fisher inspired for fellow martyr, St. Thomas More, who followed Fisher's lead in standing against Henry; and, even a humanist such as Erasmus had the highest regard for Fisher, calling him "the best scholar in his nation, and its most saintly prelate." St. Fisher's commentaries on these psalms, unlike most theological examinations, were not written originally in Latin. They make available powerful as well as inspiring insights in the language of the people. Septem psalmi penitentiales has been translated into Latin and modern English. http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/DAILYF/2001/06/daily-06-12-2001.shtml

St. Thomas More: As a youth he served as a page in the household of Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton -- a well-educated son of an MP, a Barrister trained at Lincoln's Inn, himself a Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons, a Knight, the Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII, an author, a martyr executed at Tower Hill, 6 July, 1535, and a Saint; The King's good servant, but God's first. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm

The Barrister Saint -- http://www.wwlia.org/uk-more.htm -- “My neck is very short. Therefore, take careful aim and do not miss lest it tarnish your reputation for honesty.”

During early February, as the Georgia colonists began their second week at Yamacraw Bluff (the future site of Savannah), each family was issued an iron pot, a frying pan, three wooden bowls, a Bible, a Common Prayer Book and a copy of The Whole Duty of Man. The previous day, a work crew of colonists had begun cutting down trees to clear an area for laying out the new town of Savannah. Today, another work crew began splitting the tree trunks into sheets of wood for use on the sides of clapboard houses.

The first complete English Book of Common Prayer was produced, mainly by Thomas Cranmer, in 1549 under Edward VI. It was a selection and translation from the breviary and the missal, with some additions from other sources. It was essentially that book with a few changes in liturgy that the Georgia Colonists would use. The U.S. 1928 Prayerbook retained Cranmer's translation of the Psalms. More detail can be found here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02678c.htm Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was declared a heretic on February 14, 1556.

The wording of the Psalms by Cranmer differs from and is more poetic than the version that appears in the Authorized version of the Bible {we know it as the King James Bible}, which the Colonists received. The Whole Duty of Man was a work by Samuel von Pufendorf, (first published in Latin in 1673) translated into English in 1691 by Andrew Tooke, based on Ecclesiastes.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

The Colonists would have had the 4th edition, which was significantly revised—by anonymous editors—to include a great deal of the very important editorial material from Jean Barbeyrac’s French editions. Jean Barbeyrac (1674–1744) was a Huguenot refugee from religious persecution in France.
 
The Orthodox Paschal season starts with The Great Lent, beginning on a Monday (Clean Monday) seven weeks before Paschal Sunday. The Greek Orthodox Faith follows a modified Julian calendar to establish the date of Easter each year, and this date does not always coincide with the date of Easter in the Roman Catholic or Protestant faiths. In the Orthodox Church, Lent is also called the season of Bright Sadness, because it is a time of both celebration and mourning. In year 2009, the Eastern rites observe the outset of the Lenten Season beginning Monday, March 2nd. The weeks of the Great Lent are named:

It would be safe to say that there are somewhere between 2 and 3 million Orthodox Christians in North America in roughly 2,000 parishes. http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=52&SID=3 It is the preparation for the "fulfillment of Pascha, the true Revelation," whch we must begin by trying to understand the connection between Lent and Pascha, for it reveals something very essential, very crucial about our Christian faith and life. http://www.monachos.net/great_lent/schmemann_intro.shtml Daily Readings see generally http://www.monachos.net/great_lent/index.shtml

Psalm 103: 1-4, 9-12 (A Psalm of David) -- Bible, King James Version (KJV):

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven is a historic hymn filled with reminders (from Psalm 103) of the ways the Lord has blessed us. Hear it here: http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/p/p058.html

Henry Francis Lyte wrote Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven for his congregation at Lower Brixham in Devon, England. The hymn was first published in 1834, among a collection of three hundred hymns titled "Spirit of the Psalms." from http://community.gospelcom.net/Brix?pageID=7558

The 3rd Sunday in Lent (07 Mars 2010): Saintes FÈlicitÈ & PerpÈtue -- Perpetua and Felicity were martyred in Carthage (Amphitheatrum Castrense), on March 7 303, along with with Saturus, Satuminus and Revocatus Secundulus. Death was by wild animals and by sword for those who had not succumbed.

March 17, 389 -- La Fheile Phadraig: March 17th is the traditional feast day in celebration of the life of Saint Patrick (d. 461AD), the patron saint of Ireland. Calpurnius, his father, was a deacon and local official, who lost his son to raiders from Ireland when Patrick was 16. Patrick served as a slave in Ireland, but there is more to the story.

The Fifth Century A.D. saw the cultivation of the Celtic Christian rite, memorialized in the life of Saint Patrick  §). Patrick, born into a Christian patrician's family at the sunset of the Western Roman Empire's control over Britain, kidnapped and enslaved by raiding Irish; toiled in Ireland as a herdsman for six years before having his vision and escaping. Thereafter educated in France, he returned as the Bishop of Ireland. His mission was conversion. He had success, by incorporating pagan motifs (bonfires, the shamrock, the image of the sun imposed on a cross) into the Roman {Catholic} style of worship. On the outpost of "civilization" he would help establish an Ireland that preserved western (greek-based) culture during its most bleak years on the continent. The Celtic Church would accompany the Irish (Scotti or Scots) on their eastern conquests of areas never converted by Rome. So indeed, many would argue, the Celtic Church kept Christianity alive in England. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm

So what makes Patrick a mystic? First, as recounted in the Confession, most of the major events in Patrick's life are preceded by a dream or vision. The visions were usually simple—almost self-explanatory—but they were also very vivid and carried enormous emotional impact with Patrick.

The first vision, which he received after six years of servitude in Ireland, came by way of a mysterious voice, heard in his sleep. "Your hungers are rewarded: You are going home," the voice said. "Look, your ship is ready." Indeed, some 200 miles away, there it was. (Patrick was nothing if not tenacious.)

The second vision—the one that came to him after he'd returned home and that called him back to Ireland—was equally straightforward. Victoricus, a man Patrick knew in Ireland, appeared to him in this dream, holding countless letters, one of which he handed to Patrick. The letter was called "The Voice of the Irish." Upon reading just the title, he heard a multitude of voices crying out to him: "Holy boy, we beg you to come and walk among us once more." He was so moved by this that he was unable to read further and woke up.

But the dream recurred again and again. Eventually Patrick tells his dismayed family of his plans to return to evangelize Ireland and soon begins his preparations for the priesthood. What is interesting about this dream calling Patrick to his lifelong mission to the Irish is that it comes not as a directive from God, but as a plea from the Irish.

It is also significant, O'Donoughue says, that "the voices in the dream do not ask for preaching or baptism but only that Patrick as one specially endowed should come back and share their lives, come and walk once more with them." In other words, at least according to his recollections decades later, Patrick wasn't commanded to bring civilization or salvation to the heathens. He was invited to live among them as Christ's witness. http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Mar1997/feature1.asp

You may find St. Patrick's Breastplate, the traditional hymn of confirmation and dedication in the Anglican Tradition at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/t/stpatric.htm

I bind unto myself today The virtues of the star lit heaven, The glorious sun’s life giving ray, The whiteness of the moon at even, The flashing of the lightning free, The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks, The stable earth, the deep salt sea Around the old eternal rocks.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

The music for the fourth Sunday in Lent at St. Barnabas normally underscores the Epistle for the day, which comes from the 4th Chapter of Galatians, centered on verse 26 -- about the heavenly Jerusalem (King James Version) and discusses the promise to Abraham of an heir by Sarah. Paul points out that the interpetation of the passage can be allegorical.

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar.
For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not:
for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath a husband.
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. [Galations 4:21-28]

Rome observed a mid-lent sabbath with a note of rejoicing and festivity. The ancient custom included the distribution of bread to the poor. The medieval custom included a pilgrimage to the mother church of the diocese. Blessed city, heav'nly Salem is the Sermon hymn (#383 in the 1940 Hymnal), documented to the 9th Century and possibly as old as the 6th. It has been used for the dedication of a Church, which is relevant for our current building program. The last verse is the Doxology

The Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Commonly Called Passion Sunday (U.S. Book of common Prayer, p. 132 (1928)), originally, in the Sarum Missal, was retained by Cranmer, appointed for the Fourth Sunday in Easter; but it was moved (1662) to replace a Gregorian Collect about protection that was not well-suited for the Season:

We beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all glory and honour, world without end. Amen http://cranmercorner.blogspot.com/2006/04/collect-for-fifth-sunday-in-lent.html

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, died as a heretic at Oxford (March 21, 1556). Upon the accession (1553) of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I, he had been tried for treason, convicted of heresy, and condemned. Before his death he had recanted, however he refused on his day of death to repeat his confession of error. He then proceeded to place the hand that had written it into the fire.

The inspiring rites and ceremonies of ancient times have long since disappeared, only the sacred texts of the liturgy are still preserved. Today the blessing of palms and the procession (if any) are performed within the churches preceding the Mass. In America, Catholic and some Anglican churches will distribute palms to all the congregation.

The various names for the Sunday before Easter derive from the plants used--palms (Palm Sunday) or branches in general (Branch Sunday; Domingo de Ramos; Dimanche des Rameaux). In most countries of Europe fresh palms have been unobtainable through most of history, so in their place people have used many other plants: olive branches (in Italy), box, yew, spruce, willows, and pussy willows. In fact, some plants have come to be called palms because of this usage, as the yew in Ireland, the willow in England (palm-willow) and in Germany (Palmkatzchen). From the use of willow branches Palm Sunday was called Willow Sunday in parts of England and Poland, and in Lithuanian Verbu Sekmadienis (Willow-twig Sunday). The Greek Church uses the names Sunday of the Palm-carrying and Hosanna Sunday. The term Pascua Florida, which in Spain originally meant just Palm Sunday, was later also applied to the whole festival of Easter Week. Thus the State of Florida received its name when, on March 27, 1513 (Easter Sunday), Juan Ponce de Léon first sighted the land and named it in honor of the great feast. http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=105

Tenebræ: Some denominations connect the Tenebræ service (one which emphasizes the loss and abandonment at the time of betrayal) on Wednesday evening after sunset. Technically, the observance occurs on each evening prior to the last three days of Lent. Always done after dark ("about the twenty-first hour" in the Catholic Church), so that it may be carried out in the shadows -- walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it begins with the church in candlelight, as many candles as there are readings. In addition a white candle stands burning to represent the Lord. Readers read assigned selections, and extinguish one of the candles, until only the Christ candle remains. Then someone reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the Cross (eli lama sabachthani). The Christ candle is extinguished, leaving the congregation in near total darkness (putting out of lights dates from the fifth century), near total devastation. At this point, the service ends. There is no benediction and the people leave in silence. The service appears incomplete because the Resurrection has not taken place; the tone of the whole Office, which seems hardly to have varied in any respect from that now heard in modern times, is most noticeably mournful -- the beginning lessons (readings) taken from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. In England the Sarum Ordinal (the Salisbury tradition from which the Book of Common Prayer was drawn) prescribed twenty-four candles, and this was at first the general number in the Anglican Service, variously explained as symbolizing the twenty-four hours of the day, or the twelve Apostles with the twelve Prophets. A twenty-fifth candle was allowed to remain lighted and hidden, as may be done today, behind the altar, when all the others had been gradually extinguished.

Maundy Thursday -- John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had arrived ... Holy Thursday is called Maundy Thursday from the old Latin name for the day, "Dies Mandatum," i.e. "the day of the new commandment." 13:34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Grün in the German name for this time, Gründonnerstag (literally green-Thursday) does not derive from the name of the color but from "greinen" (modern-weinen, to weep).

A popular assumption is that on "green" Thursday people should consume green vegetables on this Fast day, spinach being a favorite. Called "Grien Dunnersdaag" by the traditional-Germans of Pennsylvania, a tradition is to eat a big fresh salad. Some insist that Gruendonnerstag has nothing to do with greinen; rather, it is a translation of the Latin dies viridium -- Tag der Gruenen, or in English: day of the green ones. This phrase refers to those who have done forty days of penance and are therefore fresh, innocent or green. One should also remember that new converts were traditionally received into the congregation at this time in the year. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10068a.htm. More about all of this in German is HERE.

In England, the sovereign takes part in the Ceremony of the Royal Maundy, where specially minted Maundy coins are distributed. This ceremony, held at a great cathedral, involves the distribution of Maundy Money to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age), usually chosen for having done service to their community. In the 17th century, and earlier, the King or Queen would wash the feet of the selected poor people as a gesture of humility, and in remembrance of Jesus's washing the feet of the disciples. The last monarch to do this was James the Second. The practice of the monarch giving money on this day dates at least back nearly 700 years to Edward I. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/holyweek_2.shtml

 
One of the suggested readings for the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter is Psalm 130, one of the seven Penitential Psalms.

This is not the Easter Vigil reading, which is really part of the Easter celebration. This Saturday is the time between the observed death and the unexpected renewal. As a matter of tradition, would-be adult members ended their time of instruction and were baptized, in time to celebrate The Resurrection with the rest of the Congregation. Today, as the verse suggests, we think of it more as a time for reflection, a waiting period; but, on that first full day of the Lord's absence his followers experienced despair, afraid for their own well-being, simply unable to take any act in faith. For them the past was painful, the future uncertain, the present agony. They had not yet understood that their Lord was always with them. May we suggest that Psalm 139 would be a better focus for the day.http://www.wf-f.org/HolySaturday.html