Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

  • Thread starter Thread starter Maximian
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Tis_Bearself said:
Can’t you guys sue for stuff like that over there?
In USA people bring lawsuits all the time when their employer tells them they can’t wear something religious at work (yarmulkes, etc. )
Click to expand...
I doubt it. The country and the law is very anti-religion. Remember, religious congregations fled to North America to avoid persecution after 1905.
 
Last edited:
Maximian said:
I invite you all to try it in Europe. You will be surprised how intolerant people are here, especially in France.
Click to expand...
Maximian said:
I invite you all to try it in Europe.
Click to expand...
I hear you. But, at the same time, I think (I hope?) that “la laïcité à la française” still is an exception. I’m French and live in francophone Switzerland, and there is a huge difference in mindset, without an expectation that public space should be “neutral” and devoid of all religious signs. It seems to be the same in other neighbouring countries - Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and of course Italy.

FWIW, I usually wear my ashes on a long bus commute when I get home from Ash Wednesday Mass, and nobody blinks an eye or says anything.
Tis_Bearself said:
Can’t you guys sue for stuff like that over there?
Click to expand...
Laicity is France’s official religion. When I was about 13 or 14, I already got told off in high school for wearing my baptism medal, and it only got worse since. There were girls banned from attending school because they wore a hijab. People not hired in public administration because they wear “ostensible religious signs”. And so on.
 
No one will see the ashes because my parish follows ethnic cultural tradition which is to sprinkle ashes on top of the head, not put them on foreheads.
 
I work very industrial. Someone would probably just let me know “I’ve got dirt on my head”.
Dominus vobiscum
 
They are more likely to sue you for offending their right to live in a secular world
 
Last edited:
Yes we do. And actually we co operate sometimes. For example Im collaborating with a moslem woman to get abortion removed from the list of company insurance subsidies.

Generally speaking a moslem complaint is more likely to be listened to because in the public mind moslems are victims of colonial oppression whereas catholics are colonial oppressors. Which is ironic, if you think of Ireland or Iraq
 
Last edited:
Phemie said:
You learn something new every day. I had never wondered why Shrove Tuesday was called that - mainly because I tend to call it by it’s French name. But when I saw the word “shriven”, I had to look it up. Around these parts it’s more commonly known as Pancake Tuesday and there’s a pancake breakfast put on by the college and usually a pancake supper put on by one of the churches.

I’m working that day so no opportunity to be shriven but I’ll be at Mass Wednesday evening and will go up for the imposition of ashes. I’ll wash them off before I go to bed.
Click to expand...
FYI: February 25th (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday this year) is National Pancake Day.

Coincidence? I think not! 🙂

https://www.ihop.com/en/national-pancake-day
 
I think today’s French laicity is precisely aimed at Islam first. All the laws banning religious signs from public spaces were clearly directed toward Muslims, but apply to everybody as it would have been discriminatory to single out Islam.

“Communitarianism” is seen as dangerous and detrimental to the unity of the Republic, so anything that implies a higher loyalty than loyalty to the state is a target.

I have heard politicians say things like “we made the Church powerless and harmless in 1905, now it’s Islam’s turn”.

Paradoxically, there is also such a fear of being considered islamophobic that, as @Maximian says, being a Muslim sometimes grants a better tribune than being a Christian.
 
Well, in fact it’s part of the dumbing down. Like calling Easter the “spring bank holiday”
 
I was invited to a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper over at with the Anglicans, I plan on going!

Ash Wednesday, I may or may not go to Mass. It is not a day of obligation, it is a crazy busy day for the parish office so I may stay and answer phones for people.
 
A priest friend of mine, speaking of humility put it this way. If you really want to wear the ashes all day, you ought to wipe them off. If you are mortified about wearing your ashes, leave them on.
 
I don’t feel that humility requires me to hide visible signs of my faith.

Catholics spent too much time already doing that, either out of necessity when their Catholicism might get them beaten or killed, or because we have been made to feel ashamed like we’re showing off if we say praise the Lord, wear a crucifix, or have ashes on our face.

I appreciate that the priest may have a different view, but one does not wear ashes out of pride as in “look at me, I’m so holy, I just went to church.” Or at least I don’t. I’m happy that I am once again managing to get myself to church after almost 2 decades of not going, and no priest preaching humility is going to take that from me.

Not to mention, evangelization.
 
Last edited:
Maximian said:
There was a time when that was excellent advice. But now we live in times when witnessing is vitally important.
Click to expand...
Amen. I’ll probably be thinking of how in France, the Catholic country that produced some of my favorite saints, I wouldn’t be allowed to wear ashes to my office, and praying for all y’all.
 
I probably won’t attend Mass.

If I do and wear ashes to work, no one would care. I work at our parish.
 
Typically I attend Ash Wednesday service in the evening. I have never had any issues with going about with ashes. I guess we just haven’t reached that level of hostility just yet in this country (at least not on a broad basis).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top