I remember fasting. Sucked bad. I grew up Greek Orthodox and fasting for them is much strickter than the Catholic version. It was 40 days without meat. I never would follow that crap though. My mother would try to get me to fast at least on Good Friday. I don’t think I ever made it past noon without eating some type of meat or dairy.

St. Patrick’s Day celebrants in Saint John are relieved to know some U.S. Catholic bishops are saying it’s okay to take a break from the Lenten fast.

Many Catholics refrain from eating meat on Fridays during the Lent season between Ash Wednesday and Easter. But the bishop of Saint John says no special pardon is not necessary. “It’s not a strict discipline except for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday,” said Bishop Faber MacDonald.

Joseph Kennedy is relieved to hear that the bishops are softening their stance on fasting. St. Patrick’s Day has always been his favourite day on the calendar. The Nova Scotia Chief Justice is speaking Friday at the St. Patrick’s Society dinner in Saint John, Canada’s most Irish city.

Kennedy likes to celebrate St. Paddy’s with a plate of corn beef and a few pints of Guinness, and he hates to think other people would have refrain from eating meat. He was glad to hear some U.S. bishops were seeking dispensations from the rules.

“Oh, gee, I hope they get it,” he said. “It’d ruin the day if you have to eat that that banquet circuit salmon. I don’t want any of that.”

Bishop Macdonald said the Friday fast is a personal choice. He said he eats only bread and water on every Friday of the year, but he loves St. Paddy’s too. He has been invited to a dinner at a local parish church, so he’s planned ahead. “I started fasting Thursday around five p.m. so at five today I can give in,” he said.

(via CBC)