TST 6/22/23 - Black Fast

Catholics traditionally abstain from eating meat flesh on Fridays since Jesus sacrificed his flesh on this day. Instead, Christians are known for their Fish Fridays, a practice at least partially derived from Norse mythology and the goddess of fish for which this day of the week is named - Freya. The Pope still wears a mitre hat which resembles the mouth of a fish and he presides over the Holy See, or Sea, wherein the fish are gathered. Fish and water are, of course, the focus of many parts of the Bible, from Jesus walking on water to the stories of fishermen and the feeding of thousands. Rastafarians and Latter Day Saints are both famous for their diets, too, which include abstaining permanently or mostly from meat, additives, chemicals, fruit not in season, etc., including hot drinks, alcohol and tobacco. Muslims also abstain from pork, just as Hindus see the cow as sacred. These restrictions, which include fasting and abstinence, are likewise cornerstones of the ancient mystery traditions from the Americas to Egypt, Greece, and Asia. These are the ways that the internal body or temple is cleansed. The external body is cleansed through ritual bathing or baptism. Ritual space also has to be purified, just as the mind must be given recluse. The result of these actions was hopefully living resurrection - being born again. Today, however, the Catholic Church wants to resurrect the practice of abstaining from meat, but not because of Jesus. Instead, Jesus has been replaced with a false idol.