Dear Parishioners,

         This past Tuesday I celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Patricia Fedorowicz. Pat was baptized & received First Eucharist & Confirmation at the Easter Vigil in 1976. She was married to her husband Steve for 42 years and sadly had a son named Royal who lived only one day. She was a friend of the Lord & was devoted to him, especially as she volunteered at a soup kitchen. She enjoyed cooking & loved to make people laugh & smile. She loved maintaining her house & yard & enjoyed being outdoors. Please remember her in your prayers that she may receive God’s mercy and be welcomed into eternal life.

        This Friday is the feast of St. Patrick. Your mouth is probably watering now for some good corned beef. However we are faced with a dilemma which takes place every 7 years: how do we enjoy the feast of St. Patrick when it falls on a Friday of Lent? Well, our good Bishop has answered that question. So let me quote him: 

“Throughout the season of Lent we are invited to participate in the opportunity for prayer, fasting and almsgiving in order to deepen are awareness and better appreciate the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us on Good Friday. This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday in Lent, and several have inquired about the possibility of a dispensation from the obligation to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in Lent. After prayerful consideration, I am granting this dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat for those who feel it absolutely necessary to be dispensed in order to celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick. I ask that those who exercise this dispensation and eat meat on the Feast of St. Patrick to select another non-Friday day during Lent to abstain from eating meat or to make some offering on behalf of the poor, whether by prayer, fasting or almsgiving. Be assured of my prayers for all the faithful who continue to strive to imitate the joy of the saints and follow their example with the same seriousness and commitment with which they practiced their faith.”

        So, while the Bishop is granting a dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat on that day, he says that it is “for those who feel it absolutely necessary” (the Irish? Those who have nothing else in the house to eat? Those who are being held at gunpoint to eat it?) He also asks that those who do eat corned beef on this day should choose another day during the week to abstain from eating meat or make some offering on behalf of the poor. 

While on this topic, I’ll also mention that from time to time, people ask if it is really true that we can dispense from our Lenten goals on Sundays since every Sunday is really a “little Easter” when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, especially at Mass. So if you choose to give up raviolis during Lent as part of your fasting sacrifice (a true sacrifice!), can you eat raviolis on a Sunday of Lent? I would answer this by saying that the Church only requires us to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and to abstain from meat on Fridays of Lent. This does not apply to Sundays. Also, deciding to give something up during Lent (other than the above) is voluntary so you are free to determine what your Lenten sacrifice(s) will be. You can therefore decide for yourself whether you will continue to make that sacrifice on a Sunday of Lent or dispense with it on that day to remember the joy of the resurrection. Personally, I don’t know that I would be able to dispense with raviolis for 40 days, should that be the sacrifice I choose for myself during Lent (you’ll never know). So I hope that answers (vaguely at least) that question I sometimes get asked. 

 Fr. James P. Schmitz