Meatless Fridays

I may not observe all the religious obligations mandated by the Catholic Church but there is one, that no matter what, I respect. I keep Fridays meatless during Lent. I believe it is a small sacrifice. Abstaining from meat every Friday reminds me that Jesus sacrificed much more than that.

There is a burger/beer/hot wing restaurant that I enjoy very much up on Williston Avenue. My husband and I go there with some regularity. It is also a restaurant some friends of ours also enjoy. So last weekend we made plans to all go together. The other couple is not Catholic—their gastronomic wants are therefore unbound.

And our friends wanted to know whether we wanted to go out Friday or Saturday night. I preferred Friday. And then the Catholic guilt kicked in. Going to a burger and hot wing place on a Friday during lent meant that either I would cheat or I would have no burger and hot wings.  Not eating a burger and hot wings at a restaurant that specializes in burgers and hot wings seemed like a sin—perhaps justifiable cheating? Likely not. I would have to abstain. I would have to be like an alcoholic at happy hour drinking ginger ale.

And then I thought about it some more. Maybe if I went to the burger/hot wing restaurant on a Friday night and chose not to eat their specialty it might elevate my sacrifice—maybe I would get heavenly brownie points. Eating fried calamari rings and a nicoise salad at the burger/hot wing place might move me in the afterlife to the head of the line ---St Peter would flag me in like being on the A list at a hot trendy club.

But then I decided martyrdom should be left to the martyrs.

We went out on Saturday night. And my hot wings and burger were perfect—as was the company.