Why Shrove Tuesday is a day for confession

While many are familiar with food aspect of "Fat Tuesday" (often referred to as "Mardi Gras"), originally it was designed to be a day to confess sins and prepare spiritually for Lent.

A 19th-century writer, in his book The liturgical-class book, briefly explains the history of this day before Ash Wednesday.

One of the precepts of the Church is to receive the Eucharist during the Easter season and so this day provided an opportunity to confess your sins well in time before Easter.

In some places "Shrove Tuesday" is still a primary term to refer to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, though it is not as popular as the term, "Mardi Gras" in secular Western culture.

Confessing sins before Ash Wednesday was the primary practice in the Catholic Church for centuries, until Carnival took over in popularity in European countries. Then it became much more about "feasting" on the last day before the big fast of Lent.

While some aspects of Carnival are innocent and simply focus on consuming healthy amounts of delectable food, other aspects take it to the extreme and almost make it seem like Catholics have a "license" to sin before Ash Wednesday.

In fact, due to these excesses, many priests (and saints) over the centuries began to emphasize even more the need to go to confession while Catholics were participating in Carnival. This is where the "Forty Hours" devotion of Eucharistic adoration was born.

Confession remains an integral part of Lent, as it is a way to break free from the chains of sin and rejoice in the freedom of virtue. Typically many parishes will have special times during the season Lent to confess sins, as opposed to reserving the day before Ash Wednesday.

If you are looking for a way to prepare yourself for Lent on the last day before the season, see if a local parish has confession and prepare your heart to receive the many graces of Lent.