Alligator OK to eat on Lenten Fridays, archbishop clarifies

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SonCatcher said:
I live in a coastal region where the seafood can be really good (there is one avenue where literally every restaurant has a greeter stationed with a pot of clam chowder to entice customers). I have heard multiple suggestions that Friday abstinence is not penitential here.

Except perhaps for the “pocketbook fast”.
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Fish fries happen every friday where I live, so pope while they follow the letter of the law they don’t follow the spirit of the law I guess you could say.
 
catholictiger said:
Fish fries happen every friday where I live, so pope while they follow the letter of the law they don’t follow the spirit of the law I guess you could say.
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It is “soup suppers” in my parish (though neighboring parishes have fries). I guess we’re on a health kick.

Someone always brings some kind of confection (cookies, brownies, etc) to spoil the penance, however.
 
catholictiger said:
Fish fries happen every friday where I live, so pope while they follow the letter of the law they don’t follow the spirit of the law I guess you could say.
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How is a fish fry not following the “spirit of the law”? :confused:
 
dixieagle said:
How is a fish fry not following the “spirit of the law”? :confused:
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Indeed? Who knows what all the people who have been to a fish fry have given up for Lent of their own accord? :confused: Blanket statements are dangerous.
 
Ill rephrase those who have fish frys espicially in the south aren’t really giving up anything by having amazing fish for a meal. Sure they can give other stuff up but my point is there are lots of people where I live who have large fish frys and that doesn’t really fit into fasting which the church wants us to do in lent
 
catholictiger said:
Ill rephrase those who have fish frys espicially in the south aren’t really giving up anything by having amazing fish for a meal. Sure they can give other stuff up but my point is there are lots of people where I live who have large fish frys and that doesn’t really fit into fasting which the church wants us to do in lent
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But you still don’t know what else those people may have given up. When St. Theresa of Avila (I think?) and her nuns had nothing to eat one day, someone generously gave them some pheasant to eat…on a Friday in Lent.

She had the nun doing the cooking get the bird ready anyway. When the nun said, shocked, “But Sister…it’s Friday!”, St. Theresa replied “Lent is Lent, and pheasant is pheasant.”

You can never tell what other people have given up or are going through. That wonderful fish dinner may be the only bright spot in their week. I’d say, concentrate on your own fasting and sacrifice, and if others feel called to do so by your example, you’ll be accomplishing a lot more than you would by looking down your nose at those who go to fish fries.
 
Lochias said:
But you still don’t know what else those people may have given up. When St. Theresa of Avila (I think?) and her nuns had nothing to eat one day, someone generously gave them some pheasant to eat…on a Friday in Lent.

She had the nun doing the cooking get the bird ready anyway. When the nun said, shocked, “But Sister…it’s Friday!”, St. Theresa replied “Lent is Lent, and pheasant is pheasant.”

You can never tell what other people have given up or are going through. That wonderful fish dinner may be the only bright spot in their week. I’d say, concentrate on your own fasting and sacrifice, and if others feel called to do so by your example, you’ll be accomplishing a lot more than you would by looking down your nose at those who go to fish fries.
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you are correct, but I’ll just say this you should examine your lenten practices and friday’s in Lent should be a day where we fast or abstain from something. IMO when your seafood is better then the meat its not much of a fast to eat lots of great fish, but that doesn’t mean all fish fries are bad.
 
catholictiger said:
you are correct, but I’ll just say this you should examine your lenten practices and friday’s in Lent should be a day where we fast or abstain from something. IMO when your seafood is better then the meat its not much of a fast to eat lots of great fish, but that doesn’t mean all fish fries are bad.
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That’s a valid viewpoint to take. But those who are going to fish fries on Friday during Lent are still following the instructions of the Church, and we can’t just toss a blanket condemnation over them because we don’t think they’re being penitential enough. We have no idea what kind of suffering and sacrifice they may already be going through.
 
Lochias said:
That’s a valid viewpoint to take. But those who are going to fish fries on Friday during Lent are still following the instructions of the Church, and we can’t just toss a blanket condemnation over them because we don’t think they’re being penitential enough. We have no idea what kind of suffering and sacrifice they may already be going through.
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and sorry if my post came off that way. I guess if I were a priest I wouldn’t tell people not to have fish fries but to consider what they are doing when they do it and remind them that Friday’s in lent are a time for fasting and abstinence and the reason we fast from meat is to remind ourselves of the suffering Christ went through.
 
catholictiger said:
and sorry if my post came off that way. I guess if I were a priest I wouldn’t tell people not to have fish fries but to consider what they are doing when they do it and remind them that Friday’s in lent are a time for fasting and abstinence and the reason we fast from meat is to remind ourselves of the suffering Christ went through.
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I would think people could remember that at a fish fry. I gently suggest you give people in general a little more credit.
 
Lochias said:
But you still don’t know what else those people may have given up. When St. Theresa of Avila (I think?) and her nuns had nothing to eat one day, someone generously gave them some pheasant to eat…on a Friday in Lent.

She had the nun doing the cooking get the bird ready anyway. When the nun said, shocked, “But Sister…it’s Friday!”, St. Theresa replied “Lent is Lent, and pheasant is pheasant.”
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This reminds me of an account that came from the Nazi occupation. (I think it was specifically from “The Hiding Place”) where a a Christian family was providing shelter to Jews and one day the only meat that was available was pork. A rabbi happened to be among them. He declared there was a provision in the Talmud for the situation and proceeded to eat it.
 
catholictiger said:
Ill rephrase those who have fish frys espicially in the south aren’t really giving up anything by having amazing fish for a meal. Sure they can give other stuff up but my point is there are lots of people where I live who have large fish frys and that doesn’t really fit into fasting which the church wants us to do in lent
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I would count the Fish Fry at St.Margaret Mary to be an act of almsgiving as they want an arm and a leg.😛
 
Lochias said:
I would think people could remember that at a fish fry. I gently suggest you give people in general a little more credit.
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there is a difference between eating lots of food but thinking while I eat all this food I remember that Jesus barely had any food while being beat to an inch of his life then being sacrificed on a cross.

next to actually abstaining from something and participating the suffering of Jesus Church.

Not going to make any assumptions but you need to make sure that you don’t think that because I’m not eating meat I’m in the clear as far as abstinence and fasting goes.
 
I live in Kansas, but once I was in Saint Joseph, Missouri and I ate at a great Cajun restaurant, which served alligator. I’m an extremely picky eater, but my goodness, talk about delicious. I hate to say it because I hate it when people say this, but it indeed tastes like chicken, which explains why I like it so much. 😉
 
lerapt78 said:
Fridays just got a little better in Florida and Louisiana. 🙂
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I actually ate alligator that had been deep fried in some batter in Lafayette, Louisiana! It was crunchy and yummy. Sadly, we’re a very long way from any calabash. Isn’t that what you call your seafood restaurants in the south?
 
Tigg said:
I actually ate alligator that had been deep fried in some batter in Lafayette, Louisiana! It was crunchy and yummy. Sadly, we’re a very long way from any calabash. Isn’t that what you call your seafood restaurants in the south?
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I’ve never heard of the word calabash and I’m from Louisiana.
 
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