Going out for a meal on a Friday night is a bit of a wake-up call for me these days. I usually eat pasta of some description, and I don't find it that difficult to maintain the Friday abstinence rule... even though I loathe vegetables, I like cheese and eggs and can usually rustle something up (despite what I said in my last post about not cooking!)
However, going out for dinner is rather a different kettle of fish... in more ways than one! As well as not eating vegetables (potatoes don't count, especially if they're chipped!), I'm not particularly fond of fish. This limits my choices somewhat, especially if, like tonight, I have to pick something from a set menu.
I know that the abstinence rule on Fridays has been relaxed. However, I also know that the requirement to perform some alternative penance on a Friday has not. And quite frankly, hunting around for something I can do each week is a hassle - which generally means that the penance is forgotten completely.
At first I was worried that not eating meat on Fridays didn't seem that much of a penance. My spiritual director reassured me on that score: it isn't the difficulty that makes it a penance, it's the fact that I have to stop and think about it: a reminder that it's Friday and I need to make a special effort, for the love of God.
I wish we were given more encouragement and reminders about the voluntary penance on a Friday. I like fish so don't feel the penance - perhaps I should do something like the Stations of the Cross. You have given me "food" for thought.
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