Are Rules Really Meant to Be Broken?

Over Spring Break, I went to a place I haven't been to in a long time: Church. Right now, Catholics are actively participating in Lent and attempting to prepare themselves for Easter. During this time, they are supposed to give up something that they really enjoy, such as candy, or try to break a bad habit. Another requirement is to stop eating meat on Fridays. As I sat in Church on Sunday morning, I started to think more about these sacrifices. Coincidentally, the priest chose to elaborate a little more on this topic. He talked about the difficulty that lies within making such sacrifices and the positive feelings that you will feel upon reaching your goals. I left Church that day feeling confident about my knowledge of Lent and Easter, until I went over my friend's house. I was sitting in the living room with her family, and her dad said that since Friday was St. Patrick's Day, people were allowed to eat meat. Of course I didn't believe him; "he was probably just joking around," I thought to myself. How could people just change rules that have been around for thousands of years? After I left, I didn't really put a lot of thought into what he had said. I went into my room, turned on the TV, and one of the Cardinals was making a speech. I decided to listen for a couple minutes. He was basically just rambling on about the Easter season and its significance in the Catholic Church. Then, all of a sudden, he said something that I never would have dreamed of: "Since Friday, March 17th, is a special holiday, the Church is making an exception and are allowing people to eat meat." I couldn't believe it, but I was immediately reminded of "God as a Hand Puppet," which was an article we read in class. Originally I felt offended by it, but now that I have actually experienced what author Davidson Loehr was talking about, I believe that religions are sometimes corrupted. Are religious officials permitted to decide what rules they want to change because of a holiday? What's next, publicly announcing that people no longer have to give something up for Lent because most religious officials feel that it's just too difficult? Lent isn't supposed to be an easy time; it's supposed to be hard, so even if a holiday falls on a Friday, people should feel even more determined to resist temptation. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken, but in my opinion, religious rules should not fall under such a category.