DOZENS of young Catholic school students are lining up on the lawns of St Stephen’s Cathedral for the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake races.
A pancake race is a team medley.
While running down a stretch of 10 metres or so, the students have to continuously toss the pancakes in the air and catch them on their paper plate, before passing it to the next racer on their team.
Techniques vary – some students toss their pancakes low at a steady pace, others take more risks to go faster.
It makes for some great photos.
It makes for even greater fun.
For Andrew Knife, Caritas Australia director for Brisbane archdiocese, he loves kicking off Project Compassion on Shrove Tuesday at the cathedral every year.
“My favourite part about today, honestly, is watching the kids interact,” he says.
He says he loves seeing students from different parts of Brisbane engage and encourage each other in what they do to help others in their own school communities.
Mr Knife says it is a privilege to see young people talking about things they are passionate about – and even better to facilitate those discussions.
He says Project Compassion is all about being responsible members of the “one human family”.
Getting together to encourage that – whether through pancake races or learning about Caritas’ work overseas – is “something special”, he says.
The Project Compassion was launched as part of a liturgy in the cathedral.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who led the liturgy, said compassion was all about stepping inside another person’s experience and trying to see the world through their eyes.
He said the compassion of Project Compassion went to the core of the Christian duty to give alms.
“Giving is all about relationships,” he said.
He said just giving money to those who need it and walking away was not enough.
He said you had to throw yourself into a relationship with the person in need, and stay there, where Jesus is.
Archbishop Coleridge commissioned representatives from each of the schools to go out and lead Project Compassion in their communities.
Shrove Tuesday marks the last day before Lent and the Lenten fast begins.
Historically, Shrove Tuesday was a day when Christians would clear out all their stores before the 40-day fast by cooking up an enormous feast.
The word shrove comes from an archaic word, “shriven,” which means confession.
Along with the pancake feast, Catholics went to confession on Shrove Tuesday.
