Today’s blog falls into the did you know category. Did you know that in the US, the bishops have relieved us of our obligation to abstain from meat on Fridays with the exception of Ash Wednesday and all Friday’s during Lent? I bet you did. But did you also know that if don’t abstain from meat on Friday, you MUST observe another form of penance in lieu of the abstinence? I know I didn’t know that until I heard it mentioned on a program on EWTN yesterday. So all of these Friday’s when I partook of meat and didn’t perform another act of penance, I’ve been sinning? Possibly, but I think it might only be a venial sin because serious/grave/mortal sin requires would require me to know that I was sinning and still did the act anyway. I honestly didn’t know that until yesterday. Now that I do know, I am committing to go back to the practice of my youth and abstain from meat on all Friday’s (with the exception of those that are Solemnities in the Church).
So, what else can I do to enhance my day? Pray a rosary:
Friday – The Sorrowful Mysteries
- The Agony in the Garden
- The Scourging at the Pillar
- The Crowning of Thorns
- Jesus Takes up The Cross
- Jesus Dies on The Cross
Reflect on the Stations of the Cross.
Do something great for our Lord today – let’s restore that tradition where Friday is a day of abstinence and penance to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the Cross.
God’s will, not mine, be done.
Be not afraid; just have faith.
Jesus, I trust in You.
P.S.: Why that picture? Because when I mention abstinence from meat, that’s usually the look that I get?
St. Mary Magdalen Men of God 