The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales last week decided “to re-establish the practice of Friday penance in the lives of the faithful as a clear and distinctive mark of their own Catholic identity.”
In practice, this means a return to “no meat on Fridays” for British Catholics.
From the resolution:
The Bishops have decided to re-establish the practice that this should be fulfilled by abstaining from meat. Those who cannot or choose not to eat meat as part of their normal diet should abstain from some other food of which they regularly partake.
Nice nod to vegetarianism. As a long time vegan, I always fret about what “some other food” I should give up Fridays in Lent. Soy seems an obvious one, but has tended to be more annoying than helpful. I’m curious to see if UK veg Catholics develop any traditions and practices around “some other food.”
I’m having a hard time at the moment (as I sometimes do, just worse), and I’m drawn to the idea of re-establishing weekly penance in my life. Prayer and fasting are always my last resort when I’m having a hard time, despite the fact that they most always work. One of the great blessings of going to mass with the late Father Bernie every Friday was that every week he’d encourage us to pray, and every week I’d think “Oh yeah, forgot about that,” and then I’d pray for a day or two, and many issues would be resolved. And then by the next Friday I’d already be out of the habit and in need of another reminder.
