Parish Life
Saint Francis Eats
Shrove Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, in St. Francis Hall
Flip out and enjoy all the pancakes, applesauce and sausage you care to eat served by members of our Student Ministries. Proceeds will support the summer mission trip. Suggested Donation: adults $6; children under 12 $4; families $15
From the Ecclesiastica Arcana Department:
'Shrovetide' the last four days before the beginning of Lent.
'Egg Saturday' is the Saturday before Shrove Tuesday.
Quinquagesima is the name for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. It refers to the fifty days before Easter Day. It counts quite anomalously both itself and Easter Day in doing its sums, thus making it a favorite among the devout not good at math.
'Collop Monday' is named after the traditional dish of the day in England: collops of bacon served with eggs. A collop is a small piece or slice especially of meat.
'Shrove' derives from the Middle English word 'to shrive'. To shrive was to administer the sacrament of reconciliation to a penitent. The expression 'short-shrifted' comes right out of liturgical practice. Penitents felt short-shrifted on Shrove Tuesday because the priest gave them little time in hearing their confessions what with there being so many demanding his ear. As for the pancakes, the custom of eating them has to do with the tradition of fat, butter and eggs being forbidden for consumption during Lent.