Abstinence on Fridays

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leamar3

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Hello,

I’m newly Catholic (as of this past Saturday, yay!). I’m doing some research to practice the faith to the best of my ability, and I’ve been trying to find the answers to the following:

Am I correct in my understanding that Catholics should abstain from eating meat (or do penance) EVERY Friday of the year?

If so, what are examples of penance a person can do if they chose not to abstain? Would additional praying count?
 
You are correct. If you choose to do a penance other than the traditional Fast and Abstinence, how about visiting a church and spending an extra hour with our Lord or even a few minutes. (something that you would not normally do). Visit the elderly at a nursing home. attend the daily Mass, say the Rosary in reparation for the sins of mankind.

Personally, I do Fast and Abstinence every Friday, I pray the Rosary of Seven Sorrows daily.

But you do have the options, as you mentioned. What ever you do, just do it and make it a habit. 🙂
 
leamar3 said:
Hello,

I’m newly Catholic (as of this past Saturday, yay!). I’m doing some research to practice the faith to the best of my ability, and I’ve been trying to find the answers to the following:

Am I correct in my understanding that Catholics should abstain from eating meat (or do penance) EVERY Friday of the year?

If so, what are examples of penance a person can do if they chose not to abstain? Would additional praying count?
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I think that in some parts of the world, you are still required to give up meat (England). But many places have allowed Catholics to substitute a different form of penance on Fridays. Additional praying would definitely count! That’s what I do. You could also give up something else that’s important to you (example: no TV on Fridays or something like that). Charity works are also great! The penance is meant to draw you closer to the Lord. 🙂
 
leamar3 said:
Hello,

I’m newly Catholic (as of this past Saturday, yay!). I’m doing some research to practice the faith to the best of my ability, and I’ve been trying to find the answers to the following:

Am I correct in my understanding that Catholics should abstain from eating meat (or do penance) EVERY Friday of the year?

If so, what are examples of penance a person can do if they chose not to abstain? Would additional praying count?
Click to expand...
Correct. Except on Solemnities, which are not days of penance.

Abstaining from meat or another favourite food is a great way.

Prayers or additional prayers are also great; the Rosary is a traditional substitute. I recite Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours daily, but since I’m not bound to it, I consider my Friday prayers my penance as well. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is wonderful. A weekday Mass would do great as well. Personally, I feel it has to be something that takes a bit of effort, not a five-second Our Father.

Acts of charity are also a good substitute penance, such as serving in a volunteer capacity, or even something as simple as cooking the family dinner even when it’s not your usual duty, or volunteering to wash the dishes, or the laundry; basically, something done out of love for others, going above and beyond, so to speak.
 
^ And note that this Friday is a solemnity; in fact, every day this week is a solemnity. We’re in the Octave of Easter. The most joyous week on the church calendar. 🙂
 
I personally try to refrain from meat all Friday’s, year round (except Feast Days). Reason, I used to forget and often eat meat at least one Friday during Lent. But ever since I’ve started refraining from meat year round on Fridays, I’ve never eaten meat on a Friday during lent.

God Bless and Welcome Home!!!
 
I’ll often substitute abstinence with an hour of Adoration or other additional prayers, helping a particular disabled person with chores, or assisting at a funeral mass.

Even if I’ve done some sort of substitution, I’ll still abstain if I go out with friends for dinner on Friday to avoid giving scandal.
 
Mary_Ellen said:
I’ll often substitute abstinence with an hour of Adoration or other additional prayers, helping a particular disabled person with chores, or assisting at a funeral mass.

Even if I’ve done some sort of substitution, I’ll still abstain if I go out with friends for dinner on Friday to avoid giving scandal.
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just to be clear, you are talking about Fridays outside of Lent, correct?
 
MrZoom said:
^ And note that this Friday is a solemnity; in fact, every day this week is a solemnity. We’re in the Octave of Easter. The most joyous week on the church calendar. 🙂
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Apologies; it appears I was misinformed. The weekdays of the Easter Octave are NOT solemnities. There are only two readings (plus Psalm) at Mass and the Creed is not said.
 
MrZoom said:
Apologies; it appears I was misinformed. The weekdays of the Easter Octave are NOT solemnities. There are only two readings (plus Psalm) at Mass and the Creed is not said.
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From the Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America, 2016, footnote 10:
Although not given the title of Solemnity, “[t]he first eight days of Easter Time constitute the Octave of Easter and are celebrated as Solemnities of the Lord” (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, no. 24).

usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/upload/2016cal.pdf
 
In Australia, Friday Penance, at least for now, remains the “Anything you Like” formula adopted during the 1980s. Now, whether or not you agree with this, or whether it was a smart idea or not is debatable.
During the Fridays of Lent, abstinence from Meat is compulsory in Australia.

For me, this could mean Fasting and/or Abstinence, depending on what work I might be doing. Obviously, if you like eating Fish on Friday and come to see it as a treat, it might be worth finding other avenues for penance.
I could also try and pray more often through the day (i.e. pray for the living and dead), spend time in a Church/Attend Mass, help someone in need.

Essentially, the “anything you like” formula focuses on any type of action the Church considers valuable to the growth in faith in yourself and/or others.

Some folks also like to do a Fasting on Wednesdays and Abstinence Fridays, like in “The Old Days.”

What I can’t answer you on is whether or not the “Newer” way of doing things comes with the pain of sin if you willingly neglect them. Someone more experienced than myself (I was received into the Church Sept. 2014) might be able to help with that.
 
leamar3 said:
Hello,

I’m newly Catholic (as of this past Saturday, yay!). I’m doing some research to practice the faith to the best of my ability, and I’ve been trying to find the answers to the following:

Am I correct in my understanding that Catholics should abstain from eating meat (or do penance) EVERY Friday of the year?

If so, what are examples of penance a person can do if they chose not to abstain? Would additional praying count?
Click to expand...
YES!🙂 Either is acceptable.

Examples need not be large, the concept to to place your mind and heart in the Divine Presence:)

Examples:

If you drink coffee with sweetener [do with out the sweetener a few times]

Give up a desert

Say a Rosary or the Divine Chaplet of Mercy

be extra nice to someone

Its uniting your mid and heard with Jesus throughout the day:thumbsup:

Welcome HOME!
Easter Blessings,

Patrick
PJM here on CAF
 
leamar3 said:
Hello,
Am I correct in my understanding that Catholics should abstain from eating meat (or do penance) EVERY Friday of the year?
Click to expand...
I ordered two filet of fish sandwiches at take-out today, but after driving along found only one and additional Big Mac. Figured Mary wanted me to keep up my strength! 😃
 
Don_Ruggero said:
From the Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America, 2016, footnote 10:
Although not given the title of Solemnity, “[t]he first eight days of Easter Time constitute the Octave of Easter and are celebrated as Solemnities of the Lord” (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, no. 24).

usccb.org/about/divine-worship/liturgical-calendar/upload/2016cal.pdf
Click to expand...
The weekdays of the Easter Octave are a little different than a proper solemnity. As noted by another poster there is no second reading and the creed isn’t recited. I personally think of them as extensions of the one solemnity of Easter Sunday. That is, this whole week we are celebrating one long, drawn out solemnity.
 
leamar3 said:
Hello,

I’m newly Catholic (as of this past Saturday, yay!). I’m doing some research to practice the faith to the best of my ability, and I’ve been trying to find the answers to the following:

Am I correct in my understanding that Catholics should abstain from eating meat (or do penance) EVERY Friday of the year?

If so, what are examples of penance a person can do if they chose not to abstain? Would additional praying count?
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Church! 🙂 That’s wonderful!

Catholics need to do penance every Friday. Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence from meat. On non-Lenten Fridays, you can either abstain from meat or do some other penitential act. Yes, additional praying would count. If I consume meat for any reason on a Friday, I begin a set of prayers with, “For Friday penance,” and then make the sign of the cross and say my prayers.
 
I believe that the origin of the Friday abstention was not intended to extract a certain degree of penance by avoiding meat, but rather, as a universal way in which to trigger and keep, in the Catholic mind, the memory of Christ’s passion every Friday. A universal convention that was easy to follow and/or remember, was abstaining from animal flesh. Once that weekly practice is triggered in the Catholic mind, it is then the Catholic soul’s job to decide for itself what ‘penance’ was appropriate to unite one’s self in some small way with Our Lord’s passion. Perhaps fasting, additional devotions, another form of self-denial, etc. For some of us (Sicilians especially), eating fish on Friday can be a treat.
 
I’m a vegetarian, so meatless Fridays are irrelevant to me. Before Lent, I tried to abstain from some other food. Since Lent, and a week long fast for Holy Week, I have started fasting on Fridays (that is to say limited food intake in line with the rules used on Good Friday).
 
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