In honor of the upcoming feast of St. Patrick on Friday, March 17, Bishop Richard J. Malone hereby grants a commutation of abstinence to all Catholics in the Buffalo Diocese. Bishop Malone does not grant dispensations from abstinence, but rather commutations. A commutation means that the obligation to abstain from meat must be fulfilled on another date of the individual's choosing preferably during that same week. This call to abstinence on the Fridays of Lent is a centuries-old custom intended to help Christians honor Christ's redemptive death on Good Friday.