I ranted once before about St. Patrick’s Day—how St. Patrick did not bring Christianity to Ireland so that a bunch of stupid Americans can get falling-down-drunk on his feast day.
There was some additional foolishness this year, as St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Friday during Lent. Observers are supposed to not eat meat on Fridays during Lent, but a lot of Irish people are going to insist on corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, and so we have to decide what’s more important: A fast honoring Christ Jesus, or a day honoring one of his disciples.
I remind everyone that Lent is also not mandatory. If you’re going to practice it, you get to choose how to practice it. In my case I simply give up something; I don’t include the meatless Fridays because I didn’t give up meat this year. I also understand that fish is meat, and everyone who says fish is an exception is a hypocrite; if you’re giving up meat, then you’re giving up meat. I don’t care what the bishops say.
It is in that spirit that I object to the several local bishops who decided to give everyone a free pass to violate it for St. Patrick’s Day. I found this article particularly disturbing, mainly because of the sloppy theology throughout.
Bishops claim they can give dispensations so the church can lift Lent’s “rules.” I remind you if it really is a rule, handed down by God, no human-produced dispensation can lift jack squat. You can’t get a dispensation to blaspheme, worship idols, murder, adulter, and refuse to love others. Any bishop who says otherwise should be defrocked.
Lent is voluntary. It is a tradition, handed down by the church. As such, we can practice it, or not. God didn’t say the church as a whole has to practice it. God might order individuals to fast, or give up things; but he never ordered his people as a whole to fast every year at any other time than the High Holy Days—which Christians violate all the time.
Bishops can order their congregations to fast for Lent, but the people have the freedom to ignore them if they don’t feel their consciences are violated by ignoring. Bishops can also determine the rules for their versions of Lent, and the congregations can agree, or not. But if they didn’t order the practice, they have no business ordering a change in its rules.
The practice of Lent is between the worshiper and God, and no bishop should get in the way of that unless God orders an intervention. And I hardly think that God would make a special exception for corned beef.