The helpful friend bearing forbidden meat

By Michelle Arnold
The dilemma: Is it considered a sin to eat meat on Friday during Lent if you have an emergency situation and a friend cooks you a meal including meat? I had to help a friend out tonight at the hospital and another friend watched my children. When I returned, she had a steak dinner waiting for me. I felt it would be rude to say I couldn't eat it, so I ate the steak. Do I need to confess this before receiving Communion?
The principle: Unless you had no other options for a meal that night, you probably should not have eaten the meat. However, the culpability necessary to make grave matter a mortal sin may be lessened because you weren't aware of what you should do to avoid hurting the feelings of a kind and helpful friend. Next time you go to confession, you could mention the incident and its mitigating circumstances to the priest.
A solution: For the future, if you have to eat the meal with your friend present—as opposed to waiting until she goes home—you might say to such a friend, "Oh, thank you so much for fixing dinner for me! I really appreciate having a hot meal waiting. I'm not able to eat the steak because today is a Lenten Friday, but I'll wrap it and have it tomorrow for lunch. But I am so grateful for your kindness and will enjoy the rest of this beautiful meal you've fixed. Thank you!" The technique here is to submerge your explanation of why you can't eat the meat under a torrent of gratitude for your friend's kindness.