Cat aHolic Struggle

Just as Josh Hartnett gave up box office success when he starred in the career sacrificial "40 Days and 40 Nights," I have decided to follow suit and give up the sauce for Lent. I do find it odd that many Irish Catholics, such as myself, give up booze during Lent and St. Patrick's Day falls in the middle of that time period. Sidenote: I used to have a close friend who shares his birthday with the Irish holiday, but he's married now. Is there a mulligan or a "get out of Lent free" card for said holiday? I hope not. If Jesus resisted all worldly temptation in the desert for 40 days, how hard can it be to give up something like delicious cocktails, ice cold brew dogs, and full glasses of red wine for 960 hours.... right? I guess it puts things into perspective. In a hypothetical WWJD on Day 3 in the desert, I may or may not have given into a couple bottles of water and some powerbars (maybe throw in a GPS). So, the 40 days resisting pretty much everything under the sun is somewhat impressive I guess. The Book says that through rough terrain and varying climates, Satan tempts Jesus three times and recaps those brief interactions, but I think realistically some of the conversations probably went like this..."Jesus, are you sure? It is pretty hot out here... I mean we're in a desert for your sake. Water? Sobe Water? You sure you're sure?" I guess if Satan had tempted me with water, food and a GPS system, I'd be spent on about day 3. Not to wax overly biblical, but I like to think that Catholics have it pretty easy, aside from the whole "guilty for life" complex.