No, not serious. Apologies to all your vegetarian/vegan Catholic friends/colleagues. Are you giving up anything for Lent?
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Yes, sweets and food ordered out, two things Iāve been relying too heavily on recently.
My church was open for Ash Wednesday mass, but thereās no way I was gonna go given how they observe masking and social distancing. 
Theyāre sprinkling ashes on peopleās heads this year instead of the forehead thing.
Better than hot coals.
Hmmm, one of my two [Protestant] churches had an Ash Wednesday service yesterdayā¦ wonder if thatās what they did. I didnāt go for reasons unrelated to Covid, but I havenāt been very comfortable with the level of mask compliance there, so I stopped attending in-person services. They used to do parking lot services, which were great, then eventually switched to in-person, which hasnāt been.
I agreed to participate in the Easter service though, which I regret because Iām nervous about it, but I feel I canāt back out now. Need to buy another N-95 mask for that service.
Yeah, masking compliance is poor at my church located in an elite liberal suburb. Like, everyone wears them, but over half are under their noses. 
I went to a funeral mass at a Catholic Church in a working class area, assuming that it was going to be even worse. I sat in the back, planning to duck out if I was uncomfortable and just wait to pay my respects at the (outdoor) graveside service that happens after the mass.
But out of maybe 70-80 people (in a sanctuary designed for probably 500) not a single one was improperly masked. So I stayed, and it was a really nice service.
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going to a funeral Sunday, totally graveside.
will forego all the other normal visiting
Itās been pretty good here in NY.
Everybody masks around here, and theyāve got the pews marked off.
I still donāt go in on Sunday, because itās too many people for my comfort, but daily Mass has been just fine. Fewer than 100 people.
There are always a few who have masks beneath their noses, but Iām usually far away from those folks (and yes, there are a lot of big noses here in NY and people have trouble keeping their noses covered. Make bigger masks, dammit!)
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Stu told me that. I just got a smudge (instead of the usual cross)
Bigger noses should be easier to keep properly covered as there is more to hold the mask up.
Yes, it works for me. Has a phoenix ever arisen from anyoneās forehead?
I havenāt been to a non-Zoom service in almost a year. There is the option to do socially distanced outdoor services but attendance is limited and since Iām ok with Zoom I donāt want to take anyoneās spot.
Some of my people need to be smited real good!!! 
Some info on āIs Fish Meat?ā
The Jewish religion also distinguishes fish from meat. Observant Jews can eat dairy with fish but not with meat.
Soā¦ sweetmeats are breads, but sweetbreads are meatā¦
Since the rules were set before any Christians spoke English, I donāt really see the point of delving into the English etymology of the word āmeatā, though.
Also, I like Chinese menus, which tend to have separate sections for ābeef & lambā, āporkā, āchicken & duckā, āfishā, and ātofuā.
tofu 
r u rdy for Filet OāFish Friday
I eat lentils. And naan.