Lent: Not if It's Too Tough

Fat Tuesday in Hawaii: malasadas and King Cake

Because its roots are in the Catholic Church, Episcopalians abide by its strictures unless they're too tough, for example, priestly celibacy or memorizing the catechism (yes, we say we have theological rationalizations for our differences). Another example--the strict rules of fasting and abstinence during Lent, which started today:

The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste...During Lent abstinence from meat on Fridays is obligatory in the United States as elsewhere...

The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Thank goodness I'm not Catholic.