“I am Patrick, yes a sinner and indeed untaught; yet I am established here in Ireland where I profess myself bishop. I am certain in my heart that "all that I am," I have received from God. So I live among barbarous tribes, a stranger and exile for the love of God.”

– Saint Patrick, Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus (c.450?)

“Let the abbot restrain the badly behaved, and the inflexible and proud, or disobedient with blows or chastisements of the body.”

-Saint Benedict, The Benedictine Rule

“When St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday during Lent, we're faced with dining on mash without the bangers. Trust Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley to step in for the Irish.”

“O'Malley granted a dispensation for Catholics to dig into the corned beef today, saying in a Feb. 28 statement: "This year, the Feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of our Archdiocese, falls on a Friday during Lent. Given the importance of this feast in the life of the Archdiocese and in the lives of so many of our families, I am granting a dispensation from the Friday Lenten abstinence on March 17, 2017, to those who wish to take advantage of this opportunity."

‘The Boston Pilot noted that O'Malley similarly stepped in when St. Paddy's last fell on a Lenten Friday in 2006, but refused to grant a dispensation for ballpark hot dogs when the Red Sox home opener fell on a Lenten Friday in 2004.”

“O'Malley suggested Catholics do something to make up for meat-eating today, such as praying the rosary, attending the Stations of the Cross, giving "the gift of your time in a charitable way" or spending time "in devout prayer."

Of course if you’re a really hard-core Irish-American Catholic devotee of the Cult of Patrick and you want to break Lenten fast so you can celebrate by having the traditional meal of corned-beef and cabbage ( yes, I know, corned-beef and cabbage is an American creation, like Chop Suey), then you can do penance by having someone hit you across the back once or twice with a blackthorn shillelagh. If you can’t procure a genuine blackthorn shillelagh, then I’m sure one of those polypropylene faux blackthorn canes from Cold Steel will suffice. Yes, I know the Church establishment doesn’t support that kind of mortification of the flesh for penance anymore. But honestly who listens to those people anymore?  Everyone is looking for a way to stand out and virtue signal these days, aren’t they? So have it at.

Ok, I suppose a double shot of Jameson’s after such an ordeal would be appropriate too. Slainte!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

An acolyte burns incense during the procession prior to Mass on Sunday, March 11, 2017, during the Celtic Cross Ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah, Ga. (Robert S Cooper/Savannah Morning News via AP)

Some Dioceses Allowing Meat on Lenten Friday St. Patrick's Day

By  Bridget Johnson March 17, 2017 chat 12  comments  

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