Thursday – Third Week of Lent
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion?” They said in reply, “He deserves to die! Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him saying, “Prophesy for us, Messiah; who is it that struck you?”(Mt. 26:65:68)
During Jesus’ ministry, there were failed attempts by the religious leaders to trip him up in speech. Now they’ve got him. Jesus just incriminated himself by claiming prerogatives that belong only to God.
The rest of the Sanhedrin agrees, and a death sentence is rendered.
It’s done today in just about every sector, and not by extremists but by the regular folk. For example, studies show that “in your face” rudeness is rampant in the U. S. workplace.
But it’s also present in homes, and in parishes. When there is disagreement on a parish or school issue, righteous rudeness easily erupts.
To be on the receiving end of insulting taunts, to be heckled, is an awful thing. Yet, Jesus took it in silence.
To be on the giving end is worse. It is the deliberate torture of another human being, and it poisons our soul.
We’ve all got excuses to justify it. But they fly in the face of everything Jesus taught . . . . . . and everything Jesus did.
Spend some quiet time with the Lord.
March 16, 2007
Meat on Friday?
In 1966 Pope Paul VI declared that abstinence from meat on Fridays was no longer universally binding. Each national conference of bishops could decide whether or not this was to be a Church law in their country.
Cardinal John Dearden was then president of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. A delegation from the fish industry came to see him, asking that the restriction not be lifted in the United States. It would they said, bring them to ruin. In the end, the U. S. bishops voted to lift the ban on meat on Friday (except Fridays in Lent.)
Little did anyone know that a number of converging factors would make this not a bane but a boon for the U. S. fish industry. Why? Because:
• Fish was no longer seen negatively as a penitential food, mostly restricted to Fridays.
• It was about that time that, because of cholesterol concerns, fish was recommended as part of a healthy diet.
• Airlines introduced daily delivery systems of fresh fish to all parts of the country. No longer was a meatless meal limited to macaroni and cheese, fish sticks, canned salmon. Fish was now a treat – red snapper, Dover sole, white fish, Alaskan king crab, and grilled or smoked salmon.
However, many Catholics still do adhere to the abstinence from meat on Friday. That practice, in fact, is still approved by the Vatican.
