Jonathan Kieran

Basically, the old farts are allowing Catholics to consume the beef portion of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day staple on March 17 so long as some special prayers, reflections, and acts of charity are incorporated into the mastication of the juicy, cured cow meat. This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls upon one of the Lenten days of carnivorous abstinence.

I guess it’s a good compromise, particularly since there ain’t no way that millions of Catholic, devout or not, are going to forego the yummy dish and the chance to wash it down with beer until they’re knocking each other’s head’s together inside and outside pubs across the Western world.

If a Roman Catholic bishop told me to do ANYTHING, I would flout his authority on principle and possibly do the exact opposite at this stage in my existence. Roman Catholic Lent is a fairly wussified Lent, anyhow, as this episcopal corned beef proviso may prove in an ironic way. Would it not be a greater sign of humble devotion and ascetic determination to abstain from the dish on those years the liturgical feast falls on a “no meat” day of the week? I mean, come on—it’s good stuff, but it’s only brined beef and squeaky boiled cabbage.

I have rejected everything about Roman Catholic Christianity except Christ, the Eucharist, the Creed, the general Gospel message to “do unto others” and Mary. Most of the rest: priests; Bible infallibility; hierarchical prelates; the Vatican; the papacy; papal infallibility; purgatory; monks; indulgences; blind obedience; the vast majority of feast days; and Lenten fasting cycles. As to this last, it would appear that Christ himself underscored that it was pretty lame to perform your religious sacrifices and devotions in public for the purpose of showing off and Lent, imho, is one big show-off enterprise.

I could get into Eastern Orthodox Lent, however, mainly because it’s super hard-core and makes Roman Catholic Lent look like just one turn around the overloaded menu attractions at any reasonable dim sum.

I agree, it makes no sense. I chiefly don’t like it when a Roman pope—any Roman pope—tells me what to do and when to do it. I believe that the Roman Catholic claim to unique jurisdictional status has gone hellaciously overboard since, oh, the Eighth Century, at least.

So I’m going to have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, but not because some bishop gives me “permission.” Rather, ‘cuz I like it and it’s keto as hell.

———————-

#Lent #SaintPatricksDay #CornedBeefAndCabbage #RomanCatholicBishops #SpecialProvision #AuthorJonathanKieran #JonathanKieran #WriterJonathanKieran #CaliforniaLife #OnTheEdge #NewNovel #JonathanKieranTheAuthor #JonathanKieranMusic #JonathanKieranArtist #Jericho #JonathanKieranJericho #JerichoAlbum #WritersOfInstagram #ArtistsOfInstagram #AuthorsOfInstagram #PopCulture #RandomCommentary #SatiricalAttitudes