Many people have asked if the obligation to abstain from meat on each of the Fridays of Lent is being lifted within the Diocese of Lansing this Friday, March 17, the Feast of Saint Patrick. The answer is no. The obligation remains in place. That is unless you reside within a parish under the patronage of Saint Patrick. For example, Saint Patrick in Brighton or Old Saint Patrick in Ann Arbor. The Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Lansing, Jeremy Priest, now explains. He writes:
“For parishes within the Diocese of Lansing that are under the patronage of Saint Patrick, March 17 is a Solemnity (see Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar 59.4c). For the faithful of those parishes, the Solemnity itself is a day of festive celebration during which the partaking of meat is acceptable. On that day the parishes under Saint Patrick’s patronage will celebrate Mass with white vestments, pray the Gloria and recite the Creed. The readings and the Liturgy of the Hours are those proper to the feast of Saint Patrick.”
“For the remainder of the Diocese of Lansing, March 17 is a Lenten weekday with the optional commemoration of Saint Patrick. Because it is a weekday of Lent, all such commemorations of saints are celebrated in a limited way (cf. General Instruction of the Roman Missal 355), where parishes may pray the collect for Saint Patrick, but are not obliged to do so. The obligation to abstain from meat remains in place.”