Fat Tuesday

Today is Fat Tuesday and Lent starts Wenesday. I may be a pretty raucous and raunchy gal with a potty mouth and an out-of-control libido, but when it comes to my faith I am pretty devout. The Easter season is one filled with wonders and blessings beyond belief. It is a reminder of the sacrifices Christ made for us and a learning experience as we deny ourselves small pleasures to appreciate Christ giving his life for us. We've all seen the email that goes around telling the story of a pandemic that infects everyone and that one child holds the cure for the world, but he has to die so that the cure can be distributed to the world. The little boy is willing, but his parents are torn. Who of us is loving enough to give up our own child so others can live? I don't know that I would be willing to do it.

Fat Tuesday *which is Mardis Gras in French* offers us a last chance to celebrate one last time before we mark Lent with Ash Wednesday.

As Pickle gets ready for his first confession and communion in anticipation of his officially joing in the church at the Easter Vigil, this season is especially meaningful for me. Pickle is a candidate, since he has been baptized. Those who haven't been baptized are catechumens, just FYI as you read the next part. Those who haven't been baptized and want to join the Catholic faith, will get baptized, too, during the Easter vigil.

I found this info and thought it was good background on Lent and the Easter season:

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called for the renewal of Lent, recovering its ancient baptismal character. This recovery was significantly advanced by the restoration of the catechumen mandated by the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (1972). As Catholics have increasingly interacted with catechumens in the final stage of their preparation for Baptism, they have begun to understand Lent as a season of baptismal preparation and baptismal renewal.
Since Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, it naturally is also beginning to recover a baptismal focus. One hint of this is the second formula that is offered for the imposition of ashes: "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel." Though it doesn't explicitly mention Baptism, it recalls our baptismal promises to reject sin and profess our faith. It is a clear call to conversion, to that movement away from sin and toward Christ that we have to embrace over and over again through our lives.
As the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday calls us to the conversion journey that marks the season. As the catechumens enter the final stage of their preparation for the Easter sacraments, we are all called to walk with them so that we will be prepared to renew our baptismal promises when Easter arrives.

I think Pickle is just happy to know that he gets to miss soccer practice so we can go to mass Wednesday evening. He's 11 after all.