Wednesday, March 18, 2009

To Eat Meat On Lenten Wednesdays

During these Lenten Wednesdays some people are forgoing even eating meat. Is it part of the church tradition or rule? Is it possible to ignore this and just omit meat from our Friday diets?


Yes, any Catholic can eat meat today. It's The Greek Orthodox who usually give up meat on both Wednesdays and Fridays. We're OK with this unless it happens to be Ash Wednesday. However if you want to give up meat entirely and adapt a vegan diet for Lent , that's your choosing. The Greek Orthodoxy usually declares its' members to also give up any dairy products , from milk to butter along with eggs during Lent. Karpathian friends of mine usually adhere to a very Spartan (no pun intended here) diet in which they exist on vegetable broth, fresh produce and tea. It's part of the culture and tradition and leaves room for the big lamb centered feast on their Easter.

Don't feel guilty if you're eating that roast beef sandwich right about now. Go ahead. It's allowed. Just remember not to eat it on Friday. That's the day reserved for fish.