Shrove Tuesday and the Holy Face of Jesus devotion

Before Ash Wednesday are two days, Monday and Tuesday, called Shrovetide. As I mentioned under Housewives Corner that this is a time for spring cleaning but more important than cleaning our homes is a time for cleaning our souls.

The word shrove comes from the word shrive meaning, to confess. Now and during the time of Lent is a time for confession, a time to make our hearts and souls right with God. A time to even clean out those venial sins that can grow into something bigger.

Besides confession a little known tradition Catholics would do before Lent when cleaning their homes, would be to do their best to use up foods that they were not able to eat during Lent. Lent used to be a lot stricter than it is today, a lot stricter. 

Of course, the Tuesday before Lent is most well known as Mardi Gras. We all know about Mardi Gras, so I won't go into that here but a couple other names for this day are Fat Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday. Traditionally on this day, Catholics, in preparing for Lent would use up the butter, eggs and fats in their homes.  Having pancakes or waffles for meals were a great way to do that.

In some places in England they would have pancake races, sort of like races where one runs with an egg on a spoon but in this race women would run flipping pancakes. Not sure I could do that.

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Something more serious that is an important and  interesting part of Shrove Tuesday I just recently heard about is devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. 

In the 1800's Our Lord appeared to Carmelite nun, Sister Mary of Saint Peter. Our Lord revealed to her the devotion to His Holy Face, saying, “Those who will contemplate the wounds on My Face here on earth shall contemplate it radiant in heaven.”  Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus is meant to make reparation for the sins of modern disbelievers and to combat Communism. Our Lady of Fatima has warned us that Communism would spread it's errors and it certainly seems like we are seeing a lot of evidence of this in our society today. 

The prayers dedicated to the Holy Face of Jesus are acts of reparation. Reparation for the outrages enacted upon Jesus and His Holy Church.

On April 17th, 1958, His Holiness Pope Pius XII approved the observance of the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus on Shrove Tuesday.  


There are many prayers dedicated to the Holy Face but one in particular that Our Lord revealed to Sister Mary of St. Peter is called the Golden Arrow prayer. It is a powerful prayer by which a person can "shoot directly into the Heart of God" to heal the wounds inflicted on it by the malice of sinners. She was given a vision in which she saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus wounded by this "Golden Arrow" and streams of graces flowed from It for the conversion of sinners.

"May the Most Holy, Most Sacred, Most Adorable, Most Incomprehensible and Ineffable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the alter. Amen.


Links with more information:

http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/golden-arrow.htm

http://fisheaters.com/customsseptuagesima2.html

https://carmeloftheholyface.com/sr-mary-of-st-peter

Step by Step Explanation of the Mass

Father Goodwin's spiritual commentary on the Mass.

https://fssp.com/commentary-on-the-mass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moEZuCa5SyU

Septuagesima Sunday

This past Sunday is Septuagesima Sunday. It is a tradition that has been in the Catholic church since about the 500's.  I, myself, am just coming to understand the meaning and importance of this Sunday and the next two in helping us prepare for Lent.

It was typically a time to "bury the alleluia".  Also, it was a time when the "Gloria" was no longer said during Mass, preparing ourselves for penance, a time of preparation.

Lent used to be a lot harder than it is for us today. We are a generation that finds it difficult to give up, to sacrifice, to do acts of penance because things and food do come easier for us today than they did for our ancestors. We have to work harder to become holier due to the fact that the temptations are much greater for us to slack off in this pursuit.

I hope these links help you understand also, so we all can become holier and closer to Our Lord this Lenten season.

https://www.fisheaters.com/customsseptuagesima1.html

https://liturgyguy.com/2017/02/12/why-we-need-septuagesima/

https://liturgyguy.com/2017/02/12/why-we-need-septuagesima/

Saint Anne and our pursuit to be be godly homemakers.

Saint Anne, the blessed Mother's mother, is the patroness of homemakers and those who love to sew. As a homemaker, it is a good idea to know some of how to sew. I am not saying one needs to be making their own clothing, unless you like to and have the time. Nor am I saying that one who has very small children at home will have a lot of time to do much sewing but as time goes on and children get older or children go off to school it is a good idea for the homemaker to know how to sew. There are many videos and online lessons that are available to partake in today that will help you to know how to become more proficient in this part of homemaking.

Many times today we find ourselves on the computer, spending most of that time on Facebook or Twitter, which can lead to being a waste of time. I am not saying you should not be on either of those at all but it is important to watch our time and use our time productively. It seems today that Facebook and Twitter are becoming more and more of gossip and complaint pages rather than places of social enjoyment.

I, myself am choosing to stop using the computer and internet as a way of wasting my time on Facebook with all of its gossiping and arguing or spending my time hearing all the horrible news out there but instead to improve myself in my care of my home and family.

In Proverbs 31 the godly woman is instructed to:   "put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle." Douay Rheims Proverbs 31:18

Also we read in Titus 2:  Women are to be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house...

So,  you see it is a good thing, according to Scripture for women to care for their homes and families. It is very lovely to pursue the arts of homemaking, one of which should be having the ability to sew, at least some of the basics. At times it will be more difficult than others because we are always to remember that the people in our homes come first. Their spiritual and temporal needs are most important and should be our top priority.  

Sewing and creating are beneficial endeavors. It is a rewarding and uplifting feeling to make something beautiful. Just as God created the world and then said, "it is good", we too can lovingly create and then step back and say, "it is good". 

Prayer to Saint Anne: 

Dear Saint Anne, we know nothing about you except your name. But you gave us the Mother of God who called herself handmaid of the Lord. In your home you raised the Queen of Heaven and are rightly the model of homemakers. In your womb came to dwell the new Eve uniquely conceived without sin. Intercede for us that we too may remain free from sin. Amen. 

God bless you in your roles as homemakers. I pray that with the help of our Lord and the intercession of Saint Anne you find joy in this endeavor as you work to maintain godly Catholic homes.