A Shrove Tuesday Dinner Invitation and The Release of Our Burdens
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10
During our Rule of Life class, I shared a spiritual practice I experienced decades ago—one that remains etched in my heart as a powerful symbol of release and renewal. A bishop handed each of us an index card and invited us to write down our burdens—our grudges, our broken relationships, our misgivings, our sins. One by one, we placed those cards into a brazier that he lit, watching as the fire consumed our burdens.
That fire -symbolizing the fire of the Holy Spirit -transformed those pieces of paper into ashes, an outward sign of an inward grace. The ashes could then be used to mark ourselves anew or even to polish silver, reminding us that what feels like destruction in God’s hands is often a process of refinement.
This same act of burning and renewal is at the heart of our Lenten journey.
Burning of the Palms and the Cards of Burden:
On Shrove Tuesday, we will gather outside the Parish House at 6:00 pm for a sacred rite: the burning of palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. These palms—once raised in joy to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem—will be reduced to ashes, which will then mark us on Ash Wednesday, reminding us of our mortality, our repentance, and our hope in Christ.
I am proposing an additional layer:
As we burn the palms, what if we also burn the burdens we carry?
What if we bring before God:
The unforgiveness that weighs down our hearts,
The broken relationships that need mending,
The worries and sins that keep us from fully embracing God’s grace?
I invite you to bring your palms and index cards to lay down what we no longer need to carry, trusting that God’s refining fire will transform our burdens into something new.
The ashes we receive on Ash Wednesday are more than a ritual; they are a sign of our willingness to be refined. They mark our foreheads, calling us to return to God, not as people burdened by the past, but as those freed to walk forward in grace.
This Lent, may we not only burn our palms but burn away what separates us from God—so that, when Easter morning comes, we are ready to rise with Christ, renewed and restored.
With that stated, here are some Lenten Resolves that I received from my mentor and friend, The Rev. Canon Mark S. Anschutz.
Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies;
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on optimism.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on alternatives.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from gossip.
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from worry;
Feast on faith.
Join us after this service of burning palms and cards of burden for a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper in the Parish Hall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Fr. Manoj+
The Rev. Dr. Manoj Mathew Zacharia