Well today is Mardi Gras. Or if you prefer, Carnivale, Faustnaut Day, Kinkling Day, Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday or whatever else you may call it. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday when all good Christians are supposed to use up their leavening supplies, lose their effing minds and go absolutely wild with the intention of getting all that sinful behavior out of their systems in preparation for the pious abstinence of Lent.
I was always taught that you were supposed to give up something during Lent. It was supposed to be something that you liked so that it would be a sacrifice to do without it. I went to a Catholic college that had a Catholic Seminary. I learned from the Priests and some of the Seminarians that there is a Lent loophole. There’s always a loophole. Lent is supposed to represent the 40 days that Christ disappeared into the desert to fast and to endure and ultimately overcome the temptations of Satan as well as the days during Holy week ending on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. This is the reason that the dates for Easter, and by extension Ash Wednesday move around every year. They have to fall on a Wednesday and a Sunday that are 40 days apart. However (and here is the loophole), Sundays don’t count. Don’t believe me? Get out a calendar. This was straight out of the mouths of Priests and Priests-in-training (who happened to regularly drink with us). If you like that it gets even better. The Sabbath, or for our purposes – Sunday, according to the Church officially begins after sundown on the evening before. Yes. That would be Saturday night. Think for a moment how important this information (directly from a Church official) would be to a college student. Can I hear an Amen!? Like I said, there’s always a loophole.
I’d like to take a moment to mention that the planet Mercury is in retrograde. If you’re not into Astrology that probably doesn’t mean much to you. What it means to me is that my friggin’ laptop died yesterday. You see, Mercury rules communication among other things and under that falls things like electronic devices and the internet. Which reminds me, the internet was down here at work this morning. I researched the problem and I think it’s going to be something I can (attempt) to fix myself. I just need to run down the parts. In any event, whether it is Mercury in retrograde, a design flaw in my Dell, or a three year old computer just going kaput, the point is…my communication from home will be spotty for a while.
I’ve got my supply of beads ready in case someone yells “Hey Mista, throw me somethin’!” Happy Mardi Gras!
I was always taught that you were supposed to give up something during Lent. It was supposed to be something that you liked so that it would be a sacrifice to do without it. I went to a Catholic college that had a Catholic Seminary. I learned from the Priests and some of the Seminarians that there is a Lent loophole. There’s always a loophole. Lent is supposed to represent the 40 days that Christ disappeared into the desert to fast and to endure and ultimately overcome the temptations of Satan as well as the days during Holy week ending on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. This is the reason that the dates for Easter, and by extension Ash Wednesday move around every year. They have to fall on a Wednesday and a Sunday that are 40 days apart. However (and here is the loophole), Sundays don’t count. Don’t believe me? Get out a calendar. This was straight out of the mouths of Priests and Priests-in-training (who happened to regularly drink with us). If you like that it gets even better. The Sabbath, or for our purposes – Sunday, according to the Church officially begins after sundown on the evening before. Yes. That would be Saturday night. Think for a moment how important this information (directly from a Church official) would be to a college student. Can I hear an Amen!? Like I said, there’s always a loophole.
I’d like to take a moment to mention that the planet Mercury is in retrograde. If you’re not into Astrology that probably doesn’t mean much to you. What it means to me is that my friggin’ laptop died yesterday. You see, Mercury rules communication among other things and under that falls things like electronic devices and the internet. Which reminds me, the internet was down here at work this morning. I researched the problem and I think it’s going to be something I can (attempt) to fix myself. I just need to run down the parts. In any event, whether it is Mercury in retrograde, a design flaw in my Dell, or a three year old computer just going kaput, the point is…my communication from home will be spotty for a while.
I’ve got my supply of beads ready in case someone yells “Hey Mista, throw me somethin’!” Happy Mardi Gras!
