Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins,

Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday is a day when Christians can reflect on the sins they needed to repent of before the Lenten season begins. 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.

Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day, which comes from the old English custom of using up all the fattening ingredients before Lent, so that people were ready to fast. The fattening ingredients that most people had in their houses were eggs and milk, hence why people began combining them with flour to make pancakes.

Each year, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and is always 46 days before Easter Sunday.  Lent is a 40-day season (not counting Sundays) marked by repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimately celebration. The 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness, where he fasted and where Satan tempted him.  Lent asks believers to set aside a time each year for similar fasting, marking an intentional season of focus on Christ’s life, ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection.

The first Sunday of Lent we are called to mind Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness.  In each of the three Synoptic Gospels, after his baptism, Jesus is reported to have spent forty days in the desert, fasting and praying. In Luke and in Matthew, the devil presents three temptations to Jesus. The devil tempts Jesus to use his power to appease his hunger. He offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him, and he tempts Jesus to put God's promise of protection to the test. In each case, Jesus resists, citing words from Scripture to rebuke the devil's temptation.

On the second Sunday of Lent, we move from Jesus' retreat to the desert and temptation by the devil to the glory shown in Jesus' Transfiguration. The Transfiguration occurs after Peter's confession that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus' prediction about his Passion.

In his Transfiguration, we see an anticipation of the glory of Jesus' Resurrection. In each of the reports of the Transfiguration, the disciples keep what they have seen secret. Not until they also witness his Passion and death will the disciples understand Jesus' Transfiguration. We hear this story of Jesus' Transfiguration early in Lent, but we have the benefit of hindsight. In our hearing of it, we anticipate Jesus' Resurrection even as we prepare to remember Jesus' Passion and death.

Now into the third week of the Season of Lent, the Gospel prepares us to hear Lent's call to conversion and repentance, and describes Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. During this journey, Jesus teaches and heals. He must also respond to those who question and challenge his authority and actions. Throughout his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus has been teaching about the Kingdom of God. In the parable of the barren fig tree, we find an image of God's patience and hopefulness as he prepares his Kingdom. God calls us to repent, and it is within his power to punish us for our failure to turn from our sinfulness. And yet God is merciful. He delays punishment and tends to us so that we may yet bear the fruit he desires from us.

This, then, is our reason for hope: Not only does God refuse to abandon us, he chooses to attend to us even when we show no evidence of his efforts. 

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word that means “rejoice.”

The parable Jesus tells in this Gospel is unique to the Gospel of Luke. Jesus has been teaching the crowds as he journeys to Jerusalem.  As he teaches, the Pharisees and scribes complain and challenge Jesus because he is welcoming sinners at his table.  Today we hear the third of three parables that Jesus tells in response to his critics.  These three familiar parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and today's parable of the prodigal son—invite us to consider the depth of God's mercy and love.

Today's Gospel describes the reason for our joy: God's great love for us has been revealed in Jesus.  Through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, Christ has reconciled us with God and one another.

The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent continues to offer lessons about God's mercy and forgiveness. Last Sunday we heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Gospel of Luke. Today we hear not a parable, but an encounter between Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees, and a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees state clearly that according to the Law of Moses, those caught in the act of adultery were to be stoned to death. Under Roman occupation, however, the Jewish people did not have the authority to execute people.  Jesus offers the response—let one without sin cast the first stone.  Jesus' response to those who accuse the woman is more than a caution to us about making judgment of others.  As sinners, we are all unworthy to judge the sins of others, and we should stand convicted by God for our transgressions.  Redeemed by Jesus' compassion, we are sent to sin no more and to live in God's love and peace.

Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Its name originates from the palm branches waved by the crowd to greet and honour Jesus Christ as he entered the city. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week; in Western Christianity, this is the beginning of the last week of the solemn season of Lent, preceding Eastertide.

Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, during which palm branches were placed in his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.

Palm fronds are blessed with holy water outside the church building (or in cold climates in the narthex when Easter falls early in the year) in an event called the Blessing of the Palms. A solemn procession of the entire congregation takes place immediately after the blessing of the palms, called the Palm procession.

This feast now coincides with that of Passion Sunday, which is the focus of the Mass which follows the procession. The Catholic Church considers the blessed palms to be sacramentals. The vestments for the day are deep scarlet red, the colour of blood, indicating the supreme redemptive sacrifice Christ was entering the city to make, to fulfil his passion and resurrection in Jerusalem.

Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, when he established the sacrament of Holy Communion prior to his arrest and crucifixion.  The holy day falls on the Thursday before Easter and is part of Holy Week. Jesus celebrated the dinner as a Passover feast. Christ would fulfil His role as the Christian victim of the Passover for all to be saved by His final sacrifice.

The Last Supper was the final meal Jesus shared with his Disciples in Jerusalem. During the meal, Jesus predicts his betrayal.

During the Passover meal, Jesus breaks bread and gives it to his Disciples, uttering the words, "This is my body, which is given for you." Subsequently, he passes a cup filled with wine. He then says, "This is my blood..." It is believed those who eat of Christ's flesh and blood shall have eternal life.

Good Friday is the day on which Catholics commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Catholics are joined by almost all other Christians in solemn commemoration on this day. It is also a legal holiday around much of the world.

According to the gospels, Jesus was betrayed by Judas on the night of the Last Supper, commemorated on Holy Thursday. The morning following Christ's arrest, he was brought before Annas, a powerful Jewish cleric. Annas condemned Jesus for blasphemy for refusing to repudiate Annas' words that He was the Son of God. From there, Jesus was sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the province.

Pontius Pilate questioned Jesus but found no reason to condemn Him. Instead, he suggested Jewish leaders deal with Jesus according to their own law. But under Roman law, they could not execute Jesus, so they appealed to Pilate to issue the order to kill Jesus.

Pilate appealed to King Herod, who found no guilt in Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate once again. Pilate declared Jesus to be innocent, and washed his hands to show that he wanted nothing to do with Jesus, but the crowds were enraged. To prevent a riot and to protect his station, Pilate reluctantly agreed to execute Jesus and sentenced him to crucifixion. Jesus was convicted of proclaiming himself to be the King of the Jews.

Before his execution, Jesus was flogged, which was a customary practice intended to weaken a victim before crucifixion. Crucifixion was an especially painful method of execution and was perfected by the Romans as such. It was reserved for the worst criminals, and generally Roman citizens, women, and soldiers were exempt in most cases.

During his flogging, the soldiers tormented Jesus, crowning Him with thorns and ridicule.

Following his flogging, Jesus was compelled to carry his cross to the place of His execution, at Calvary. During his walk to the site of His execution, Jesus fell three times and the Roman guards randomly selected Simon, a Cyrene, to help Jesus.

After arrival at Calvary, Jesus was nailed to the cross and crucified between two thieves. One of the thieves repented of his sins and accepted Christ while on the cross beside Him. A titulus, or sign, was posted above Christ to indicate His supposed crime. The titulus read, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." It is commonly abbreviated in Latin as "INRI" (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum).

During Christ's last few hours on the cross, darkness fell over the whole land. Jesus was given a sponge with sour wine mixed with gall, a weak, bitter painkiller often given to crucified victims.

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