As a general rule, the obligation of abstinence from meat on Fridays of Lent is an important element of the Church’s observation of the penitential nature of this holy season.
This year, St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, falls on the Friday of the Third Week of Lent. Having taken into consideration both past practice and present circumstances, Bishop J. Mark Spalding has granted to the faithful of the Diocese of Nashville, as well as to any visitors or travelers who may be physically present in the diocese, a dispensation from the obligation of abstinence from meat on March 17, 2023.
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 Third Week of Lent.
