The news came that the Friendly Knights of St. Patrick were going to hold their annual dinner this Friday night at the Hibernian Hall in Lynn.
It seemed fairly cut-and-dried. The invitation came from Bill McDonald, who was the emcee at last year’s event, and who must have remembered I was the only person there with not a stitch of green on my body (I’ll be better prepared this time).
But it’s not that cut and dried, as it turns out McDonald and his staff are going back and forth about whether to cancel the event because of concerns about the coronavirus. A decision will be made by noon today.
But before anyone had even heard of the COVID-19, there was the issue of Friday and Lent. Catholics (and it is assumed many of the people who grace the tables at this dinner practice the faith) aren’t supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent.
What to do?
You get special dispensation from someone high up in the clergy — preferably Cardinal Sean O’Malley if you can swing it.
It turns out McDonald was on it.
“I asked for it two months ago,” he said, when the question was posed to him.
That’s good. It’s not certain whether there’s a veggie corned beef anywhere on the market, but it’s doubtful. And as anyone knows, you cannot have an Irish feast without corned beef. Cabbage all by itself just doesn’t make it. It’s like spaghetti sans meatballs; peanut butter without jelly; and green eggs without ham.
But the regional bishop — the Most Reverend Mark O’Connell — came to the rescue. Those who gather at the Hibs for the party will be able to have corned beef with their cabbage with his blessing. Here’s the caveat, though: Those who partake are asked to go meatless some other day — preferably today or next Thursday. That way, they can fulfill their obligations while enjoying a worry-free dinner.
The knights will honor two men from Lynn at Friday’s dinner. Lynn Police Sgt. Ned Shinnick is the Irishman of the Year and George Sonia, owner of Lancelot Janitorial and Paper Products on the Lynnway, is the community service award winner.
The dinner is from 6-10 p.m. There will be live Irish music. The cost is $30 a ticket.
