As a general rule, the obligation of abstinence from meat on Fridays of Lent is an important element of the Church’s observance of the penitential nature of this holy season.
This year, however, Friday of the second week of Lent corresponds with Saint Patrick’s Day (March 17), which has traditionally been an occasion for joy-filled celebrations in this diocese. Having taken into consideration both past practice and present circumstances, and having judged that it would serve the
spiritual good of the faithful, Bishop Burbidge has granted to the faithful of the Diocese of Arlington, as well as to any visitors or travelers who may be physically present within the territory of this diocese, a dispensation from the obligation of abstinence from meat on March 17, 2017.
Those taking advantage of the dispensation, however, are exhorted to undertake a work of charity, an exercise of piety, or an act of comparable penance on some other occasion during the Second Week of Lent.
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