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scapularkid8
Guest
I want to, but my family doesn’t and they’d just think I’m crazy if I didn’t eat meat on Friday and my mom would just force me to eat it if that’s what she made…
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puzzleannie
Guest
there is no obligation to abstain from meat on Friday, except during Lent (also Ash Wed), you may choose any penance, and do it quietly no need to tell the world.
the purpose of penance, or one of them, is to instill humility and the fruit of humility is obedience. your penance should not make more work for someone else, and you must obey your parents in all things that are not sinful. Eat what your mother has prepared, graciously and thankfully (and help with the dishes). If you want to, you can certainly abstain from meals where you have a choice (McD, school cafeteria etc), and fast from food between meals, desserts, junk food etc.
the purpose of penance, or one of them, is to instill humility and the fruit of humility is obedience. your penance should not make more work for someone else, and you must obey your parents in all things that are not sinful. Eat what your mother has prepared, graciously and thankfully (and help with the dishes). If you want to, you can certainly abstain from meals where you have a choice (McD, school cafeteria etc), and fast from food between meals, desserts, junk food etc.
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scapularkid8
Guest
I usually try to not use the internet/computer at all since I’m on that a LOT.
I just feel bad though, because I usually forget or fail! I guess it’s a learning experience, but I just don’t feel that I’m doing myself any good by just saying “oh well, there’s always next Friday” because, honestly, we don’t know if there’ll be a “next Friday”!
I just feel bad though, because I usually forget or fail! I guess it’s a learning experience, but I just don’t feel that I’m doing myself any good by just saying “oh well, there’s always next Friday” because, honestly, we don’t know if there’ll be a “next Friday”!
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TOP
Guest
I thought that you should abstain or do an act of charity on all fridays. Is that incorrect? Thanks, Tim
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DebChris
Guest
The rules concerning eating meat on Friday changed after Vatican II. It was never doctrine, but a discipline. Many people today continue this discipline although not required by church law. Tradition, the teachings of the apostles as handed down to us, differs from tradition, which can be modified or eliminated. The focus is now less on legality and more on personal discipline.
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bpbasilphx
Guest
<<I want to, but my family doesn’t and they’d just think I’m crazy if I didn’t eat meat on Friday and my mom would just force me to eat it if that’s what she made…>>
You haven’t said how old you are, but I gather you are still under your parents’ authority.
Once upon a time, a teenager (now a priest) was being especially ostentatious and persnickety about keeping Lent and making life hell fo his parents. In desparation, they took him to Archbishop St. John of San Francisco to discuss the matter. He listened to all sides, and then made the kid eat some bologna, accompanied by a little lecture to the effect that until he was an adult and on his own, what would please God more than his fasting was his being obedient to his parents. While he was under their roof, he was to follow their rules.
You haven’t said how old you are, but I gather you are still under your parents’ authority.
Once upon a time, a teenager (now a priest) was being especially ostentatious and persnickety about keeping Lent and making life hell fo his parents. In desparation, they took him to Archbishop St. John of San Francisco to discuss the matter. He listened to all sides, and then made the kid eat some bologna, accompanied by a little lecture to the effect that until he was an adult and on his own, what would please God more than his fasting was his being obedient to his parents. While he was under their roof, he was to follow their rules.
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Andruschak
Guest
My own suggestion? Imitate Jesus, who was obediant to Mary and Joseph. You are allowed to substitute some other form of penance in place of abstinance. Such as…no solid food between meals. An extra bit of money to the Church. Some other charitable work. Avoid TV on Friday. Do some household chore without being asked, like washing the dishes.
Just eat the food prepared by your Mother without fuss. And God will also be pleased if whatever penance you do is done without drawing attention to yourself.
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AJV
Guest
I have almost the same problem. What I do is (a) go without one meal — lunch usually – but my Mum used to object because she felt I’m thin enough already. She let me do it throughout Lent, and occasionally i.e. every 2 weeks.
If you snack a lot, then perhaps you could give that up. I don’t so I didn’t suggest it.
(b) say 15/20 decades of the rosary twice a day. It takes a long time and it is difficult for me to keep concentration that’s why I regard it as a penance. Or recite two additional Offices (usually BVM and Dead)
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YinYangMom
Guest
Honor your parents. Choose a different form of penance which will not impact your family.
*
From the USCCB’s Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholics** (emphasis, mine)*
"…we might take the spiritual and corporal works of mercy as a penitential model. These fourteen practices demand great sacrifice and generosity; they also draw us more deeply into conformity with the Lord. Focusing on one of these works each week may be a practical way of integrating them into our personal, family, and parish lives.
**Corporal Works of Mercy **
"Penitential Days
Fridays Throughout the Year—In memory of Christ’s suffering and death, the Church prescribes making each Friday throughout the year a penitential day. All of us are urged to prepare **appropriately **for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday.
Forms of Penance
Prayer—In prayer, we encounter and walk with God. During the Lenten season, we are encouraged to make opportunities for individual and common prayer. Opportunities for prayer can include attending Mass, praying the liturgy of the hours, praying within the family, visiting a chapel, prayerfully reading the Bible, reciting the rosary, or praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
**
Fasting**—By refraining from eating, we signify our oneness with the Lord, acknowledge our need for conversion, and give witness to our solidarity with those less fortunate. Catholics who are eighteen years and older and in good health are bound until their fifty-ninth birthday by the obligation to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Traditionally, the canonical obligation of fasting has been understood in the Church as the taking of only one full meal a day.
**
Almsgiving**—This penitential practice entails giving money or other resources for the benefit of those in need. One possible source of this money is that which has been saved from fasting or other means of self-denial.
**
Abstinence**—In the United States, this penitential practice consists of refraining from the consumption of meat. The Latin Church’s requirement of abstinence binds Catholics after they have celebrated their fourteenth birthday, and it is practiced on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays during Lent. Pastors and parents are encouraged to see that children who are not bound by the obligation to fast and abstain are led to appreciate an authentic sense of penance.
The Practice of Charity “Which Covers a Multitude of Sins” (1 Pt 4:8)—Motivated by love for God and for one’s neighbor, we express solicitude through various works for those who are in need, especially the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, the aged, the lonely, the imprisoned, the discouraged, the bedridden, and the overburdened.
**
Works of Mercy**—Through charitable actions (see p. 7) we express compassionate care for others by easing their burdens and attending to their bodily and spiritual needs."
*…and so on…
*
From the USCCB’s Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholics** (emphasis, mine)*
"…we might take the spiritual and corporal works of mercy as a penitential model. These fourteen practices demand great sacrifice and generosity; they also draw us more deeply into conformity with the Lord. Focusing on one of these works each week may be a practical way of integrating them into our personal, family, and parish lives.
**Corporal Works of Mercy **
- Feeding the hungry
- Sheltering the homeless
- Clothing the naked
- Visiting the sick
- Visiting the imprisoned
- Giving drink to the thirsty
- burying the dead
Spiritual Works of Mercy - Converting sinners
- Instructing the ignorant
- Advising the doubtful
- Comforting the sorrowful
- Bearing wrongs patiently
- Forgiving injuries
- Praying for the living and dead
Penitential practices express in visible signs and deeds the interior conversion of heart."
"Penitential Days
Fridays Throughout the Year—In memory of Christ’s suffering and death, the Church prescribes making each Friday throughout the year a penitential day. All of us are urged to prepare **appropriately **for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday.
Forms of Penance
Prayer—In prayer, we encounter and walk with God. During the Lenten season, we are encouraged to make opportunities for individual and common prayer. Opportunities for prayer can include attending Mass, praying the liturgy of the hours, praying within the family, visiting a chapel, prayerfully reading the Bible, reciting the rosary, or praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
**
Fasting**—By refraining from eating, we signify our oneness with the Lord, acknowledge our need for conversion, and give witness to our solidarity with those less fortunate. Catholics who are eighteen years and older and in good health are bound until their fifty-ninth birthday by the obligation to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Traditionally, the canonical obligation of fasting has been understood in the Church as the taking of only one full meal a day.
**
Almsgiving**—This penitential practice entails giving money or other resources for the benefit of those in need. One possible source of this money is that which has been saved from fasting or other means of self-denial.
**
Abstinence**—In the United States, this penitential practice consists of refraining from the consumption of meat. The Latin Church’s requirement of abstinence binds Catholics after they have celebrated their fourteenth birthday, and it is practiced on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays during Lent. Pastors and parents are encouraged to see that children who are not bound by the obligation to fast and abstain are led to appreciate an authentic sense of penance.
The Practice of Charity “Which Covers a Multitude of Sins” (1 Pt 4:8)—Motivated by love for God and for one’s neighbor, we express solicitude through various works for those who are in need, especially the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, the aged, the lonely, the imprisoned, the discouraged, the bedridden, and the overburdened.
**
Works of Mercy**—Through charitable actions (see p. 7) we express compassionate care for others by easing their burdens and attending to their bodily and spiritual needs."
*…and so on…
- Status