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Good morning.

In the rhythm of life there is, to paraphrase the Book of Ecclesiastes, a time to feast and a time to fast. Today, before the beginning of the Christian Lenten fast, is a day set aside by tradition for feasting. It’s a time, historically, for emptying the cupboards of every perishable delight that won’t keep until Easter and making sure nothing goes to waste. In this country, pancakes - lathered with butter, jam, or chocolate to taste – unofficially give their name to this Tuesday. In Italy, meanwhile, today is ‘°ä²¹°ù²Ô±ð±¹²¹±ô±ð’, a celebration which bids farewell to meat – forbidden during Lent - with processions, dancing and feasting. The French-speaking world knows today as ‘Mardi ³Ò°ù²¹²õ’, loosely translated as ‘fatty Tuesday’, named for the rich, calorific fare on the dinner table.

But these were not solitary comfort binges: in the Middle Ages, they were community celebrations, in which businesses would shut up shop, school was cancelled and everyone would make their way through the city streets and congregate in the public squares. Just as the Lenten fast was a communal undertaking, involving everyone, so too the high-spirited celebrations that preceded it. We might pray, fast and do works of charity in private: but when we feast, whether with sugary pancakes or juicy steaks, we ought to do it together with those we love in a spirit of gratitude.

Generous God, you give us food and drink not only to nourish our bodies but also to establish communion with one another and with you. As we give you thanks for the good things we receive from your hand, may those who are in need always find a welcome at our table and a generous share in our feasting. We ask this, through Christ our Lord. Amen.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

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