Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday Quiz

Answer: false

Shrove Tuesday is another name for Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, which is the Tuesday before the first day of Lent. It is traditionally a time of feasting in preparation for Lent. Holy Tuesday falls during Holy Week, which is the last week of Lent and is still part of the period of fasting. In Greek, Holy Tuesday is called Megali Triti.

Answer: A bridegroom

The parable occurs in Matthew 25: 1-13, which is also one of the lectionary readings for the day in the Roman Catholic church. The parable is a metaphor for being prepared for the coming of Christ. Ten virgins (or bridesmaids) await a bridegroom, but only five are prepared and have enough oil for their lamps. The other five lamps go out. The unprepared (foolish) virgins ask to borrow oil from the prepared (wise) virgins but are denied:

"But the wise replied, 'No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25: 9-12, NRSV).

Answer: A unit of currency

The idea of "talent" as a gift or skill was inspired by this parable, but in the parable itself, a "talent" is a unit of value used in commercial trade. It was a unit of weight initially introduced in Mesopotamia at the end of the 4th century BC. In the parable, which occurs in both Matthew and Luke, a master entrusts his property to his slaves, dividing his talents among them. Two invest the talents, creating twice the amount they had, but one, fearing the wrath of his master should he lose his talent, buries it. His master replies:

"You wicked and lazy slave! You ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away" (Matthew 25:26-29, NRSV).

Answer: St. Andrew of Crete

Also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, St. Andrew of Crete is a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. According to legend, he was mute until miraculously cured at the age of seven. He was a preacher and composer of hymns and is known for the beautiful phrasing of his discourses.

His feast day is on July 4 in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar. He is credited with introducing the canon (a structured hymn consisting of odes based on biblical canticles) into liturgical worship in the Eastern Orthodox church.

Answer: Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western church, while Holy Wednesday falls during the last week of Lent. Good Wednesday is a term sometimes used in Western churches, while Great and Holy Wednesday is used in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

The name "Spy Wednesday" arises because the day commemorates Christ's betrayal by Judas. In this sense, "spy" is used to mean to ambush or ensnare.

Answer: Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, the day is called "Skaredá středa," or "Ugly Wednesday" because chimneys were traditionally swept on this day so they would be clean for the upcoming holiday. Other names include Black Wednesday and Soot-Sweeping Wednesday. It is also a Czech tradition that everyone is supposed to smile on this day or the year will be a sad one.

Answer: 30

"Then one of the Twelve - the one called Judas Iscariot - went to the chief priests and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over" (Matthew 26:14-16, NIV).

This story is told in all three synoptic Gospels. Judas ends up revealing Jesus to the Roman soldiers by kissing his cheek, thus giving origin to the phrase "betrayed by a kiss."

Answer: Luke

This is either a completely different anointing or a different version of the story in John, where Mary of Bethany (the sister of Martha and Lazarus) anointed the feet of Jesus. The woman in Luke is not Martha's sister, however, but an unnamed woman identified as a "sinner." Pope Gregory the Great identified her with Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene).

In the passage, Jesus is dining in the house of a Pharisee named Simon. An unnamed woman from town comes with an alabaster jar to anoint his feet. She also wets his feet with her tears and wipes them with her hair.

Simon thinks to himself that if Jesus were really a prophet, he would know this woman was a sinner. Jesus then tells Simon a parable of two debtors, one who owed five hundred denarii, and another fifty. Both were forgiven their debts by the creditor. "Now which of them will love him more?" Jesus asks Simon, who replies the one with the bigger debt. Jesus tells him he has "judged correctly." He then turns toward the woman who has just anointed his feet and tells Simon:

"Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little" (Luke 7:36-50).

Answer: darkness

Tenebrae is Latin for darkness. The Tenebrae service is traditionally held on the evening of Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, or Good Friday, or, in some traditions, all three days. The Book of Occasional Services of the Episcopal Church calls for one Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday, while in Lutheran churches the service is more commonly held on Good Friday.

The service features the gradual extinguishing of candles in a candelabra (called a Tenebrae hearse) as well as a "strepitus" (loud noise) that occurs in total darkness toward the service's end.

Answer: Malta

In Malta, Holy Wednesday is called L-Erbgħa tat-Tniebri, which means Wednesday of Shadows. This is a reference to the previously mentioned Tenebrae or "darkness." To make their "loud sound" for the Tenabrae, children in Malta used to drum on church chairs.