It is the day before Ash Wednesday, commonly called Fat Tuesday. There is quite a history to this Mardi Gras (French for “Fat Tuesday”), one that involves confessing sin and eating pancakes. As soon as these two practices are set side by side, the debate is on. One side takes up confessing sin and insists that pancakes will not grace their lips. The other side takes up the pancakes and insists that confession will not grace theirs. Most want to settle down and live on the feast of Fat Tuesday, and a small, unusual lot wants to settle down and live on the fast of Ash Wednesday.

Even worse, most people see the folly in both positions, so they decide to go through both days in the wrong way. They feast and fast apart from faith, turning Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday into pedals on a bicycle that they pump all the way to hell. The only way to avoid this future is to get off the bicycle and kneel before the Lord, your Maker. Confess your sin. Eat your pancakes. But do it all face down before the Lord. It’s Flat Tuesday.

The introduction to this series of exhortations: https://jaredrlongshore.com/2026/02/17/flent-faced-a-cavaliers-guide-to-lent/