Do you abstain from meat on non-Lenten Fridays?

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Yep

As I explained in another thread, we try to teach our grandchildren to do so as well. We do so by sharing a variety of non-meat food ideas, not just fish and tuna casserole.

😃
 
palmas85 said:
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops in their pastoral statement of November 18, 1966 determined the following:

Catholics in the United States are obliged to abstain from the eating of meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent. They are also obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. Self-imposed observance of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. Abstinence from flesh meat on all Fridays of the year is especially recommended to individuals and to the Catholic community as a whole.
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Huh – I do not find that phrase in the text, but perhaps that is what I get for relying on the internets for the text, rather than a hardcopy from the USCCB (then NCCB)? But I do see this:
3. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence as binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat. We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law.

And an “especial commendation”, if they don’t “actually” say it, is just that: A commendation – Not a requirement.

cf. JimmyAkin.org Since Tomorrow Is Friday . . .

tee
Continuing in the state of being Not A Canon Lawyer
 
I always abstain if I am at home or eating in a restaurant. If I happen to go to someone else’s house for dinner, or to a business meeting where lunch is served, I will do some other penance instead, in case I might end up eating meat that day.
 
tee_eff_em said:
Huh – I do not find that phrase in the text, but perhaps that is what I get for relying on the internets for the text, rather than a hardcopy from the USCCB (then NCCB)? But I do see this:
3. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence as binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat. We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law.

And an “especial commendation”, if they don’t “actually” say it, is just that: A commendation – Not a requirement.

cf. JimmyAkin.org Since Tomorrow Is Friday . . .

tee
Continuing in the state of being Not A Canon Lawyer
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What I quoted was from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Pastoral Statement of November 18, 1966, which clarified their stance on the issue. Feel free to look it up.

Of course they may have changed that but it is what they said at that time.
 
palmas85 said:
What I quoted was from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Pastoral Statement of November 18, 1966, which clarified their stance on the issue. Feel free to look it up.

Of course they may have changed that but it is what they said at that time.
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What I quoted was from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops statement On Penance and Abstinence [November 18, 1966] as recorded in the internet archive.

Do you have a URL or other source? The only place I could find the text as you quoted it is tldm.org/News3/Penance.htm , which seems dubious by association. :ehh:

tee
 
Besides, which, to reiterate:
palmas85 said:
I would say that especially reccommended comes pretty close to saying required without actually saying it.
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The fact is, they didn’t actually say “required” (not even in the text as you present it), though they surely could have. Ergo, they did not intend to do so.

tee
Remaining Not A Canon Lawyer
 
This is fascinating. From the posts quoting Canon Law, I’m getting the distinct impression that I either should have continued to abstain from meat or that our clerics never emphasized doing something else. If it was said, and if I missed it, either way - I’m feeling really lacking right now. For the longest time, I chose to continue abstaining from meat on Fridays anyway but finally got less stringent. But I never did something in its place…😦
 
Do you abstain from meat on non-Lenten Fridays?
Yes, but it was a lot easier before they relaxed the abstinence rules as not too many Catholics around me were eating beef or meatball sandwiches (and forever asking me if I wanted one) back then. 🙂
 
Since it is a penance that is required, perhaps for some giving up meat is not it.

Eating fish is not a *major *problem for me – I just have to keep remembering: so sometimes it is inconvenient, so I go without – a good penance! 👍 But I think when it becomes a habit, perhaps I should switch. Or add to it. I agree with Rosella: for me, giving up sweets would be quite an ordeal.

I never did it growing up – it would have been a real penance back then, as I despised fish until I was an adult. Now, nothing that lives underwater is safe from me! 😃 Except kingfish (bleccch 😦 )

Now, my folks on the other hand, live in Newfoundland, and fish is actually very expensive (more expensive than beef, and far more so than chicken or pork). So it is actually harder for them.
 
Ghoti said:
Since it is a penance that is required, perhaps for some giving up meat is not it.

Eating fish is not a *major *problem for me – I just have to keep remembering: so sometimes it is inconvenient, so I go without – a good penance! 👍 But I think when it becomes a habit, perhaps I should switch. Or add to it. I agree with Rosella: for me, giving up sweets would be quite an ordeal.

I never did it growing up – it would have been a real penance back then, as I despised fish until I was an adult. Now, nothing that lives underwater is safe from me! 😃 Except kingfish (bleccch 😦 )

Now, my folks on the other hand, live in Newfoundland, and fish is actually very expensive (more expensive than beef, and far more so than chicken or pork). So it is actually harder for them.
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Give up beer on Friday night. Now THAT’s penance 👍
 
JustaServant said:
We do because eating fish is healthy. 😉
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I believe in the early days, Christianity was symbolized by a fish. This was before the cross replaced it. Some Catholic calendars show a fish on all Fridays, except those that fall on Holydays.
 
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