Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and the 363 Days That Follow

When I moved to South Louisiana back in the mid-eighties, I knew nothing of Catholic traditions. I grew up in the northern part of our state which is drastically different demographically. I only knew of one Catholic family in my entire High School growing up. Everyone else was Baptist or some other form of Protestantism. Much of south Louisiana is predominantly Catholic, so when I arrived here over twenty-five years ago I soon became familiar with the ways of the Catholic church. Up until that point of my life, I was clueless of the differences between north and south Louisiana, let alone Catholicism and what I knew as the Christian faith.

For instance, no one practiced Mardi Gras where I grew up (That has changed and there are some parades and whatnot in the Monroe area now). I knew nothing of Fat Tuesday, Krews or King Cakes and I sure didn't know anything about Ash Wednesday! I'll never forget walking into a bank the first year I was here in Lafayette on Ash Wednesday. I was just about ready to be a nice guy and let some lady know she had something on her forehead when I realized, everyone did - Except me!


For those who are unfamiliar with the tradition, Fat Tuesday is basically the party you throw in preparation for Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the initiation of forty days of fasting leading up to Easter. The sign of the cross is made on one's forehead with ash as a sign of consecration. The day before (Fat Tuesday) you do all the sinning you can possibly get in, because for the next forty days you intend to prove how devout you are. How ridiculous is that? I'm not bashing Catholics. We Protestants have our own rituals we go through that are nothing more than superficial ceremonialisms!

This is the problem with religion! It's all about the show. It's why Christianity doesn't wear well simply as another one of the world's religions. You see, true Christianity isn't a religion at all, it's a relationship with the God who created us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and He isn't interested in our religious practices - He wants our hearts! As C.S. Lewis once said, He is either Lord of all or He isn't Lord at all. He refuses to be acknowledged in superficial ways for forty days once a year or once a week for an hour on Sunday morning! He is Lord on Fat Tuesday and He is Lord on Ash Wednesday and He is Lord on the 363 days that follow or we are just wasting our time!