And it's worse than that I think. A few years ago after business meeting on Ash Wednesday, I went to lunch with six or seven others that work in my office, most of whom are NOers. I ordered first - fish and chips - and I looked at the rest and said something like - "remember, it's Ash Wednesday so no meat today don't forget" - they all laughed, some even said "screw that!" everyone of them ordered steaks or burgers.
They don't fast, they don't do anything - it's part of their lex orandi.
That's the problem with "rare" anything -- you can't make a habit with an interval of once every 6 months or once every 12 months.
If your "habit" is to go to Mass once a year, you will very quickly
round down and go to Mass
never. Same with fasting.
Once a year is simply too big a deal; you have no mental process for remembering, no practice doing it, it seems insurmountable and hard.
I have similar stories to tell. A couple female baby boomers went to a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q on Good Friday -- one of them half-heartedly suggested they had fish. Well, they don't. Just chicken, beef, and pork BBQ. They were both over 60, but abstinence applies to all, unless dispensed by a priest. They both ended up ordering and eating there. The older one said, "Oh well, I'm over 65 anyhow." but that didn't apply to the other. And neither one is exempt from abstinence.
Topic: The Necessity Of The Virtue Of Chasity And How To Attain It (Read 2381 times)