Results tagged “ashwednesday”

Boston has a rich Catholic tradition. Ash Wednesday was this week and had may Boston residents walking around town with the cross of burnt palms on their forehead (yes, that's what it was – and it was on purpose). The beginning of the Lenten season brings other rituals to many Catholics and other Christians who may be a bit more liberal in following the canon laws the rest of the year. The practice of not eating meat or poultry on Friday's for religious observance was once strong enough to force McD's to start selling the filet-o-fish. In some franchises they offer reduced prices on the sandwiches for the 40 days of Lent. If the canon laws don't strike you, or you're just looking to break tradition today (being the first Friday of Lent), our friends at Gridskipper have put together a solid guide of where to get your meat on (and they're talking everything from goat, rabbit, and buffalo to simply "Large Quantity Beef and Pork").

Yesterday passed without a single major media picture of John Kerry after Ash Wednesday services. The solidarity he showed with his Catholic faith on the election trail might not have been something he needed to flaunt, or wanted to, this year. When in competition with Bush it seemed an important political message to show that he was a bit more moderate than the ‘Massachusetts liberal’ he’d been portrayed as. This year, Ash Wednesday came and went with the spotlight shining instead on the resignations from the board of the Catholic Charities over same-sex-couple’s right to adopt.

Ash Wednesday is here, and with it the start of the 40 days of Lent. The Vatican released the sad news that the Pope won't be well enough to preside over the services. He's still in the hospital, battling the flu. An American Cardinal, James Stafford, will oversee the sevices instead.