How are You Spiritually Feasting this Mardi Gras?

How are You Spiritually Feasting this Mardi Gras?

By Rietta Parker, Contributing Writer

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday. The day before Lent starts: “the last hurrah” where Catholics feast and celebrate before the long weeks of fasting, reflection, and penance. 

This year, I was thinking about Jesus’ forty days in the desert and wondering how he prepared for His “Lent.” Did he have some sort of Mardi Gras-esque approach? Did he gather with friends and feast? 

The simple answer is no. Jesus was baptized right before He went into the desert: 

Full of the Holy Spirit, He was led by the Spirit. 

If the Spirit is not in you, how can it lead you? 

I love Mardi Gras just about as much as anyone can love Mardi Gras. I love the parades, the beads, the colors, the New Orleans/French inspiration, the king cake, the beignets, the music, the feasting, the gathering of friends and family—all of it. It’s one of my favorite celebrations! 

But somewhere along the way, “Shrove Tuesday” (“shrove” coming from “shrive,” meaning absolution of your sins following confession), just like every Catholic-originated holiday or holy day, became something it is not: a celebration of the flesh, of debauchery, of sin. 

And if you are participating fully in some of these Mardi Gras celebrations, you could be scandalizing your soul instead of filling it. 

Jesus didn’t feast his physical body. He feasted his soul. I’m not telling you to forego the harmless physical feast. By all means, have at it. I’m just suggesting taking a moment to consider how you can spiritually feast as well in preparation for Lent. 

As much as Lent can be dreaded by Catholics and seen as a somber, suffering time full of penance and difficult reflection, it’s ultimately a time to allow Jesus’ life and sacrifice to transform and renew you so that on Easter you can be born again in Christ, experiencing the fullness of His love for you and the hope of the place He has made for you in Heaven. When contemplating this reality of Lent, ask yourself this question:

How am I allowing my soul to be transformed through Lent if I haven’t given it sustenance to endure the trials of Lent? How is anyone supposed to succeed at something difficult if they did not prepare to achieve it? 

Everyone eats king cake. Everyone wears beads. Everyone makes their list of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. But just doing these things is not preparing your soul to be transformed. It’s not enough to set you up for success in maintaining and achieving your Lenten goals. Knowing your goals doesn’t help you achieve them. 

Example: if you have a goal of increasing your daily prayer, to achieve this goal, decipher what exactly is keeping you from more consistent daily prayer. How can you eliminate these obstacles? What can you do now to help you start and maintain these daily habits? Don’t just give up physical, tangible things like sweets. Self-discipline and denial is a great workout for the soul, but it’s more of a general practice rather than a challenge specific to you. For example, is there a connection between your lack of daily prayer and what you could give up for Lent? If you think spending too much time on your devices is what keeps you from praying, then you could give up some form of media consumption in order to give yourself more time throughout the day to pray. The ways you want to improve your spiritual health could be directly linked to what you could or should give up for Lent. 

By all means, celebrate and enjoy the good, clean fun of Mardi Gras. But, don’t allow your soul to be even more scandalized and emptied by these celebrations. That’s just the enemy purposely setting you up for failure before you’ve even begun. Take a note out of Jesus’ book—you know, the Bible—and fill your soul with the Holy Spirit in preparation for Lent. 

Go to Confession this week. Go to a daily Mass, Go to Adoration. Let all the beads flying around be a reminder of the greatest string of beads there is—the rosary, a great weapon against all temptation and a great spiritual protection for the soul. 

This year’s Mardi Gras weekend was intertwined with Valentine’s Day festivities. A great reminder: when thinking about your Lenten goals, you could contemplate how you can better love Christ and the people He has given you to love. What’s stopping you from loving with a Christ-like love? What’s stopping you from forgiving and forgetting? Whatever it is, see if you can incorporate eliminating those barriers into your almsgiving, prayer, and/or fasting this Lenten season. 

No matter if you’re reading this on Fat Tuesday or long after Ash Wednesday, it’s never too late to start working on renewing your Baptismal promises and re-filling your soul with the Holy Spirit. 

Happy Mardi Gras! 

Prayer for a Fruitful Lent

Via My Catholic Life

My precious and crucified Lord, I offer You this Lent.
I offer it to You with total abandonment and trust.
I offer You my prayers, sacrifices and my very life this day.
Do with me, Lord, as You will.
I pray that this Lent will be fruitful.
I know You have much to say to me and much to do in my life.
May this Lent be a time through which Your mercy is poured in abundance into my soul,
and into the souls of all Your faithful.
Dearest Lord, help me to especially see my sin, this Lent.
Humble me so that I may see clearly.
Give me courage and strength to confess my sins,
and to turn from them with all my heart.
Enlighten me with Your Holy Word, dear Lord.
Help me to come to know You and to deepen the gift of faith in my life.
Show me the plan You have for me,
and place my feet upon the path You have chosen.
My suffering Lord, I thank You for the fullness of Your perfect Sacrifice
I thank You for holding nothing back,
giving Your life to the last drop of blood.
May I offer You my very life as a sacrifice,
trusting in Your mercy with every offering.
Keep me faithful to my Lenten promises,
and bring forth new life through these sacrifices of love.
Strengthen my prayer and make me holy.
Help me to turn to You, each day,
seeking Your sacred and pierced Heart.
Blessed Mother,
you stood by your Son in His suffering and death,
stand by me, I pray, as I journey through this life.
Pray for me and offer me to Your Son,
that He may take me into His loving embrace.
Lord, Jesus, Son of the Living God,
have mercy on me a sinner.
Lord, Jesus, Son of the Living God,
have mercy on me a sinner.
Lord, Jesus, Son of the Living God,
have mercy on me a sinner.
Mother Mary, Mother of our Crucified Lord,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Amen

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Rietta Parker holds a BS in secondary English education and an MA in English-Creative Writing from Auburn University. She writes fiction, poetry, reflections, and prayers. Her work has been published in Bridge: Bluffton University’s Literary Journal, Quiet Lightning, and Poet’s Choice. In 2020, her reflection on being at home in the Church was featured in The Catholic Woman’s “Portrait of a Catholic Woman” social media campaign. She’s a member of the Catholic Writers Guild where she serves as an anthology and blog editor. When she isn’t teaching or writing, she loves to sing, dance, and act.