Can I eat meat today?
If you’re facing a dilemma today, you’re not alone. If you don’t normally abstain from meat on Friday because you live somewhere where the local Episcopal Conference has replaced the traditional Friday observance with other penances, then this post doesn’t really matter. However, if you live somewhere or are a member of a community that or have personally taken on the traditional observance of no meat Fridays, then today could be confusing. Canon 1451 states, “Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.” Often 1451 is quoted with that quote ending after the first comma. So, what does this mean? Well, it could mean different things based on which calendar you follow. If you follow the old calendar, Friday in the week of Easter is treated as a 1st Class feast day. The modern calendar tre...