It's Friday night and you go to friends for dinner having told them, some days beforehand, that you don't eat meat on Fridays.
As the main course arrives on the table you see that it is Beef Wellington (or Boeuf Wellington if you have executive friends).
What do you do?
A) Politely leave the meat and eat the carrots and potatoes making "umm,
delicious" type noises
B) Wait until no one is looking and slide the offending piece of beef into your
pocket or handbag
C) Slip the beef secretly to the family dog/cat/goldfish and hope for the best
D) Pretend you have a black eye and slap the beef over the 'bruise'
ANSWER: You do none of the above - you eat the meat without complaint.
No sin has been committed but a sin might be committed if you gave rise to offence and possible scandal by rejecting the meat. Your intentions were pure, no problem.
HOWEVER.......If halfway through the meal your hostess suddenly screams and says: "Swipe me but I've just remembered you are a card carrying Papist and you don't eat animals of the mammalian persuasion on Fridays"
You then have to go to some lengths to prove that your silence was born out of courtesy and not out of weakness on your part. Over to you.
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| Now the stuff of nightmares for Catholics on a Friday night |
What do you do?
A) Politely leave the meat and eat the carrots and potatoes making "umm,
delicious" type noises
B) Wait until no one is looking and slide the offending piece of beef into your
pocket or handbag
C) Slip the beef secretly to the family dog/cat/goldfish and hope for the best
D) Pretend you have a black eye and slap the beef over the 'bruise'
ANSWER: You do none of the above - you eat the meat without complaint.
No sin has been committed but a sin might be committed if you gave rise to offence and possible scandal by rejecting the meat. Your intentions were pure, no problem.
HOWEVER.......If halfway through the meal your hostess suddenly screams and says: "Swipe me but I've just remembered you are a card carrying Papist and you don't eat animals of the mammalian persuasion on Fridays"
You then have to go to some lengths to prove that your silence was born out of courtesy and not out of weakness on your part. Over to you.
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