Traveling home with ashes on my head is always interesting.

[hrmjustin]

Most people know why, but you always get someone that says you got dirt on your head. Peace to all of you!

[Historic NY]

1. I ate fish......

[hrmjustin]

2. I ate meat.

I forgot and when I remembers I just did not care. Episcopalians are not as picky about that.

[No Vested Interest]

3. Eating fish, or just abstaining from meat , is not difficult

for me. I enjoy fish and mostly order it when I go out for a meal. Rainbow trout is my favorite.

I'll look forward to the greater availability of fish during Lent.
I've even enjoyed McDonald's new Fish Bites, with tartar sauce, which I've had twice before the start of Lent.

Then again, if I should forget and have meat on a day of abstinence, I don't let it bother me. In fact, our church bulletin this past Sunday said eating meat on said day is not a serious matter. In fact, it's likely worse to be scrupulous in such an instance than to have eaten meat, which I maintain is not serious at all.

[Dorian Gray]

5. I made scallops

for dinner last night. YUM!

[Historic NY]

10. Really...the haddock was good...

but the dirty looks from my friends (pets) was so incriminating...I ate some sardines today to reassure them.... that they aren't in cans......

[goldent]

12. It's not a big deal

My understanding (directly or indirectly from nuns!) is that it is not a big deal. Here were some scenarios I've heard over the years:

1. If you forget, don't worry about it, just try to observe for whatever remains of the day.
2. If you order meat at a restaurant, and then remember while waiting, eat the meal. Respecting the value of food ("which earth has given and human hands have made&quot is more important. And if you are American you have the option of taking a doggy bag
3. If you are a guest and are served meat, go ahead and eat it - the feelings of your host are more important.

[hrmjustin]

13. I fast during some day in Lent, but it will not be a day that I have to do things.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday i am very busy at church and I can not go without food. As for meat that is more of a Roman Catholic rule. Episcopalians who also have nuns by the way are not as big on no meat.

[goldent]

14. Abstaining from meat is not a big deal for me

as I eat very little of it any more.

[hrmjustin]

15. Well there are other ways of self denial during lent.

By the way welcome to DU.

[No Vested Interest]

16. I agree

[No Vested Interest]

20. I was reminded today

by a newspaper article of the popularity of Friday fish fries in our area.

Many RC parishes, but also some Protestant and secular organizations, sponsor these dinners, and the menus have become quite diverse, including baked fish, chicken fingers, cheese pizza, cole slaw, etc., and desserts, often homemade by the ladies in the organizations.

They're supposed to be fundraisers, but also offer the sociability of enjoying the meal together.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. It's always struck me funny that even though Catholics haven't been required to abstain from meat

on Fridays for about fifty years now, so many restaurants still serve clam chowder as their soup of the day on Friday. I bet many of the restaurant workers don't even know why.

[Dorian Gray]

4. I live in NYC

so there are a lot of people here with ashes. Yesterday nobody said anything to me. But in the past, I've been asked about the ashes. Last year I went to Chinatown (Flushing) after receiving ashes, and I got a lot of strange stares. But, usually, people don't notice or look too closely.

[EvilAL]

6. You don't wash it off after church?

Is there a rule or something, that you have to leave it there?

[hrmjustin]

11. No you keep it on the whole day.

[Dorian Gray]

17. You leave it til the end of the day

usually.

Unless I work out after church. Then I'd wash it off.

[No Vested Interest]

8. It was interesting to see

a few Congress people on TV last evening with ashes on their forehead.
Mostly with Irish surnames.

[ButterflyBlood]

7. Literally every single person I saw with ashes yesterday was Hispanic

And not a single person at my work had any. Catholicism is pretty much near dead in my age group except for some ethnic groups it seems.

[cbayer]

9. Depends on where you live.

In New Orleans, catholicism thrives among younger people. I think it has a lot to do with the prevalence of catholic schools (K-!2) and the emphasis on family. When people ask where you went to school in New Orleans, they mean high school, lol, and the ties to whichever order runs the school run deep.

[Renew Deal]

18. This year I noticed fewer people with ashes than any prior year.

Don't know why. I'm in NYC. There's usually lots of people.

[hrmjustin]

19. I noticed that as well.

[ZombieHorde]

22. I had to do that when I was a kid.

So embarrassing. I got in trouble my last year for washing it off too early.