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ALT's avatar

Which code does sushi fall under? Technically meatless, also definitely feast-like and not penitential...

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Evan Cowie's avatar

The code is written in Latin, with a Latinate frame of mind. Fish =/= meat (carnem) in that framework. So, eating a fancy fish meal wouldn't violate the letter of the law. But it obviously wouldn't be ideal, would it?

For an analogy, the Church specifies that at a minimum, you must confess at least once a year, and receive communion at least once a year in the Easter season. If you do at least thar, you're not breaking the law. But clearly, you ought to be doing more than the bare minimum.

At least in current practice, the law sets the bare minimum, not the expected norm.

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ALT's avatar

Sure... but my point was that for a feast day, sushi shouldn't violate the spirit of the law either.

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Evan Cowie's avatar

Fair point! That overlap of penance and festivity is an odd thing, but it does have precedence. Christmas Eve was a day of fasting and abstinence, which is why so many cultures have the tradition of a fish dinner on that night.

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ALT's avatar

Indeed! I think the juxtaposition is particularly appropriate for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, since reparation for sins has always been part and parcel of that Feast, and devotion to the Sacred Heart in general.

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