St. Tammany News

Mardi Gras gives way to Ash Wednesday, the Lenten season

A black cross or smudge on the forehead the day after Mardi Gras was no accident or dirt left over from Carnival revelry. Instead, known as primarily a Roman Catholic tradition, "getting ashes" on Ash Wednesday is a mark of faith for many.

Monsignor Frank Giroir of St. Anselm Catholic Church in Madisonville gives ashes to his mother, Evelyn Giroir. (Staff Photo by Debbie Glover)

Long known as a sign of piety and the Catholic faith, the ashes are derived from the burned palms of the previous year's Palm Sunday. Those little sprigs given out in remembrance of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem are burned the following year to make the ashes distributed on Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of Lent, according to Monsignor Frank J. Giroir at St. Anselm Catholic Church in Madisonville.

In the Catholic faith, Lent is the 40-day period prior to Easter that remembers Jesus' 40 days in the desert. It is 40 days not counting Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Triduum, the three days of Easter.

An old New Orleans tradition, borrowed from the Catholics and transplanted to the Northshore, is "giving up" something for Lent. Sacrifices are made in prayerful remembrance of one's faith. People of many faiths in south Louisiana "give up something for Lent," whether or not they are Catholic, according to the monsignor.

The most popular sacrifices are timeless: give up smoking, a particular food such as chocolate, or perhaps coffee or soda. It has been traditionally a great time to restart those pesky New Year's resolutions to diet or quit an unhealthy habit.

Giroir said a very popular post-Vatican II practice among Catholics is not to "give up" something, but to DO something positive. Many modern Catholics will go to mass every day or do some act of charity every day, helping others. Other popular Lenten practices involve saying the Rosary or a Novena every day.

The stations if the cross, or Via Delarosa, are usually prayed on Friday evenings as well. Many parishioners will go to "stations" and then go eat.

Giroir said Lent is a religious community celebration as much as it is a season of somber prayers. Many churches offer Friday Fish Frys or Friday rice bowls.

Since Fridays during Lent are a day of abstinence from meat for Catholics, many parish churches use this as an opportunity to increase fellowship among parishioners by offering a low-cost seafood meal.

Not intended as a fund-raiser but as a fun-raiser, many churches include a Christian band at the festivities and encourage families to attend. It is a great opportunity for them to get to meet others of their faith and share a good time.

Another Friday practice is to fast or eat sparingly and contribute the money normally spent for meals into a "rice bowl" to be given to the poor or missions at the end of Lent.

Giroir explained that fasting rules for Catholics for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are simple: no meat eaten, and one meal all day, or two meals that together would equal a normal meal. People with chronic health problems such as diabetes are excused from fasting, as are children under 14 and the elderly.

Priests and deacons encourage participation in Lenten customs but remind the devout that fasting and sacrifice should be done prayerfully, not as a badge of honor or boasting.

But remember, this is south Louisiana, and just as Mardi Gras is the feast before fasting, a number of people who aren't Catholic "give up" things for Lent. So when you are asked, "What are you giving up for Lent?" don't be insulted if you aren't Catholic or even Christian.

It's just a Louisiana thing, part of an old tradition.