Ambiguity and the meat on friday rule

[serviichristii]

I know this has been done to death, but I’m unsure about my particular situation. So before people start linking me to other threads, please consider by circumstances.

Let’s start with what i already knew:

• i knew it was a sin to eat meat on fridays (i don’t know if i knew it was a mortal sin; i might’ve heard it from my priest but i clearly forgot because i am an idiot)
• i willingly ate meat on fridays, some during lent and some during the ordinary season, even though i knew it was a sin, without saying a prayer or a wilful act of charity

-this has been going on for a while (years??)

Now, i have been to confession just a week ago and made a very good confession, but i failed to mention this. does that make my previous confession invalid, and if so will i have to go confession again and repeat my previous sins?

i am very anxious and whilst i respect other denominations, i would appreciate if only those who were aware of canon law respond.

thankyou for helping me guys

 

[underacloud]

When you say you “failed to mention” this, do you mean you simply forgot? In which case your confession was valid and all your sins forgiven, although you should still mention them next time.

If you mean that you deliberately withheld this particular sin, and believe that it is grave matter for mortal sin, then your confession would be invalid.

 

[Dale_M]

Now, i have been to confession just a week ago and made a very good confession, but i failed to mention this. does that make my previous confession invalid, and if so will i have to go confession again and repeat my previous sins?

I agree with Underacloud’s excellent post. I just wanted to add that since your previous confession was valid (assuming you simply forgot to mention the meat on Friday thing), there is no reason to repeat all your previously confessed sins at your next confession.

 

[fredms3]

Before going to the confession issue…are we clear on the issue of eating meat on friday?

 

[serviichristii]

Before going to the confession issue…are we clear on the issue of eating meat on friday?

yes we are

 

[serviichristii]

When you say you “failed to mention” this, do you mean you simply forgot? In which case your confession was valid and all your sins forgiven, although you should still mention them next time.

If you mean that you deliberately withheld this particular sin, and believe that it is grave matter for mortal sin, then your confession would be invalid.

i forgot in the sense that i didn’t address it
i have been stuck in a vicious cycle of sin that i became fixated on sins of impurity during mt examination of conscience
it wasnt a very good examination of conscience

 

[fredms3]

yes we are

Would you like to summarize them here, tnx.

 

[serviichristii]

Would you like to summarize them here, tnx.

well from what i know, i am obliged by to refrain from meat on all fridays of the year. If in instances where meat has been consumed, i may perform a charitable act with the intention of doing so to make up for eating meat or by saying prayers.

if there is anything i may have missed or gotten wrong i would greatly appreciate any guidance

 

[Dale_M]

Would you like to summarize them here, tnx.

The answer may depend on where one lives. For example, in England and Wales the meatless Fridays rule is year round. That isn’t true in the US, and perhaps other countries as well.

 

[DJK100]

well from what i know, i am obliged by to refrain from meat on all fridays of the year. If in instances where meat has been consumed, i may perform a charitable act with the intention of doing so to make up for eating meat or by saying prayers.

if there is anything i may have missed or gotten wrong i would greatly appreciate any guidance

If you live in the U.S.A. then this is correct.

 

[adrift]

well from what i know, i am obliged by to refrain from meat on all fridays of the year. If in instances where meat has been consumed, i may perform a charitable act with the intention of doing so to make up for eating meat or by saying prayers.

if there is anything i may have missed or gotten wrong i would greatly appreciate any guidance

If you live in the U.S.A. then this is correct.

If you live in the U.S.A. then it is NOT correct. You are only obliged to refrain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of lent. On other Fridays of the year you may substitute another penance but it is not obligatory to do so.

 

[Pfaffenhoffen]

I know this has been done to death, but I’m unsure about my particular situation. So before people start linking me to other threads, please consider by circumstances.

Let’s start with what i already knew:

• i knew it was a sin to eat meat on fridays (i don’t know if i knew it was a mortal sin; i might’ve heard it from my priest but i clearly forgot because i am an idiot)
• i willingly ate meat on fridays, some during lent and some during the ordinary season, even though i knew it was a sin, without saying a prayer or a wilful act of charity

-this has been going on for a while (years??)

Now, i have been to confession just a week ago and made a very good confession, but i failed to mention this. does that make my previous confession invalid, and if so will i have to go confession again and repeat my previous sins?

i am very anxious and whilst i respect other denominations, i would appreciate if only those who were aware of canon law respond.

thankyou for helping me guys

Forget about the past. Confess when you have occasion for it.
Your post is rather strange: “racist”…?

 

[Marybeloved]

If you live in the U.S.A. then it is NOT correct. You are only obliged to refrain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of lent. On other Fridays of the year you may substitute another penance but it is not obligatory to do so.

Why is it not obligatory? It’s in Canon Law to do it, and The Bishops have said to do other penance in place of meat abstinence. Now, who said it was optional? Was it the America Bishops? If not, then how can you presume that a law that the Church has set forth is optional or can be disobeyed?

 

[serviichristii]

Forget about the past. Confess when you have occasion for it.
Your post is rather strange: “racist”…?

sorry what?
i dont understand how my post is racist
i just dont want an evangelist coming in here saying i dont need to go to confession; just say sorry to God or whatever. Not interested. I love my faith and i know that the church is correct.

 

[agnes_therese]

Forget about the past. Confess when you have occasion for it.
Your post is rather strange: “racist”…?

This is the strange post – serviichristii didn’t say anything racist, nor did he use the word.

 

[garn9173]

If you live in the U.S.A. then it is NOT correct. You are only obliged to refrain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of lent. On other Fridays of the year you may substitute another penance but it is not obligatory to do so.

Darn right! Cann’t wait to have a CHEESE BURGER at the Elks tonight

 

[bmullins]

If you live in the U.S.A. then it is NOT correct. You are only obliged to refrain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of lent. On other Fridays of the year you may substitute another penance but it is not obligatory to do so.

Not true, while it is not observed in America, it is still part of our canon law that we should indeed do so. We have just stopped doing it for some reason.

 

[Marybeloved]

Originally Posted by garn9173

forums.catholic-questions.org/images/buttons_khaki/viewpost.gif
Darn right! Cann’t wait to have a CHEESE BURGER at the Elks tonight *Will you perform some act of charity or penance instead?

I just don’t get it. Aren’t we supposed to obey the disciplinary laws of the Church? If it is STILL in the Law of the Church, and if the Bishops have given a specific directive on how to live this discipline (Perform some penance/act of charity in place of meat abstinence)- WHO then decided it was optional? I’m really confused .

 

[Dale_M]

Why is it not obligatory? It’s in Canon Law to do it, and The Bishops have said to do other penance in place of meat abstinence. Now, who said it was optional? Was it the America Bishops? If not, then how can you presume that a law that the Church has set forth is optional or can be disobeyed?

Canon law allows the bishops conference of a nation to “determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.”

This seems to be the relevant section of canon law

Days of Penance

Can. 1249 The divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way. In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.

Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM

My understanding is that the US bishops, 45 years ago, decided they wanted Catholics to practice a Friday penance with more spiritual meaning than simply forgoing meat. However, this may have been too optimistic. My sense is that most US Catholics simply abandoned the Friday penance.

Perhaps it is easier to make a concrete penance spiritually meaningful, at least for most people. My guess (just a guess) is that US Catholics largely abandoned the Friday penance because they couldn’t make their individual penances spiritually compelling enough to sustain their efforts.

I think the bishops of England and Wales, when they re-instituted the practice of meatless Fridays (last year) may have been on the right track. But perhaps Catholics there can speak to the matter?

 

[garn9173]

To be perfectly honest, as a devout Catholic as my Mom is, the only thing we had to do on Friday’s growing up in the 80’s was no meat on Friday during Lent. I had no idea about pennance during the rest of the year until I saw this thread and i’m sure the majority of American Catholic’s don’t know about it either. All we know is no meat on Friday’s during Lent & Good Friday.