Normally Fridays of Lent are penitential days. We are required as Catholics to not eat meat and encouraged to do some form of fasting. This will not be the case this Friday, March 19th though. On Friday we will celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Not only does that mean we can eat meat, but we are encouraged to feast rather than fast. In other words, this Friday is a day to celebrate. This is especially the case because this year is the Year of St. Joseph. How to celebrate? The most obvious way is to take advantage of the opportunity and eat your favorite meat. (I’ll probably fire up the grill if the weather is nice.) Another idea is to borrow a tradition from Sicily. For the solemnity of St. Joseph, Sicilians deck out there tables with flowers, linens, and Italian food. Don’t forget to bring out a picture or statue of St. Joseph if you have one!
Taxpayer Dollars for Abortion
On a more somber note, last Saturday, March 6th the senate voted to pass the COVID relief package with a very concerning omission. The bill was approved without the protection of the Hyde amendment which, for the past 40 years, had protected tax payer dollars from being used for abortion. All five of the previous COVID packages contained this protection. This means that there is nothing preventing any of the $8.6 billion designated for the global response to the pandemic from being used to kill children in the womb. The likelihood of some of this money going towards abortion is high because the UN has said that they consider “reproductive health” (i.e. abortion) essential to their COVID-19 policies. Please continue to pray for our nation.