If It's Lent It Must Be Fish Friday

 It's a good thing me I'm a fan of fish. Walleye and cod are tops but I'll take about anything with a fin. The The Queen sent Charlie and I to Giant Eagle this morning to check out the bargains and we(I) found plenty. It's common knowledge among Protestants and Catholics alike that for us 'minnow munchers' fish is a Friday requirement for six weeks leading up to Easter.

Like everything else in life there have been changes down through the decades my church; changes that for the most part have turned us into religious wusses. When I was in high school we'd have Friday night games and when we went out of town the post game meal would be steak except for the Popeites who ate fish sticks. The heathens laughed at us but we accepted our fate with a badge of honor. 

In the 'olden days' before Vatican II when the church became an arm of the liberal party there were 'musts' in the faith. One was no meat on Friday. Then a group of bishops said that law was no more. We only had to do it on Friday's in Lent. Another law was with who were considered the elderly. If and when a Catholic turned 55 they were exempt from the meat thing. I about flipped out. Were they telling me because I was 55 I was feeble and unable to sustain myself due to old age? What a joke. I politely and mentally gave them the middle finger. Now that I'm 75 I still refuse to use the 'get out of jail' free card.* I ask you, how difficult is it to open a can of tomato soup and throw in saltines?

Vatican II also pushed the Latin of the Mass into the dustbin of history. I knew by heart every Latin phrase in the Mass ritual even though I didn't know what the words meant translated into English. It didn't matter to me. It was a part of the God given, (or was it another Pope from 1100 AD,) part of the real Mass.

Being Catholic is very important to me. It doesn't bother me a whit if you practice another faith because we're all looking for the same pemanent destination. It's just that I appreciate the traditions that Jesus put in place at the Last Supper. 

Her Majesty is as I write in the kitchen baking the Cod. Of course, I'll defile the final product with Ketchup and Mustard but so what? The way I understand it this is also a tradition established by Peter and Andrew when Jesus fed the multitudes.