Eating meat on Fridays

[ellam25]

Hi everyone, so tonight I was invited over to my friend’s house for dinner. I forgot it was Friday until I arrived and she was making sloppy joe’s. Needless to say, I ended up eating it, being pretty hungry and not wanting to seem rude. However, i felt awful afterwards. Is this a case of mortal sin, since I did it with full knowledge I shouldn’t eat the meat? I still feel bad, but I’m just wondering what you all think?
Edit: She knows I am Catholic but isn’t aware of Catholic practices.

 

[Convert_in_99]

If you live in the United States, it’s only a sin to eat meat on a LENTEN Friday (including Good Friday) or Ash Wednesday. It can be a holy thing and a special act of devotion to the Lord to avoid meat on all Friday’s, but in the U.S. it isn’t required.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

As the previous poster said, it is not a sin to eat meat on non-Lenten Fridays in the US. It depends on which country you live in since it varies depending on the nation.

 

[ellam25]

As the previous poster said, it is not a sin to eat meat on non-Lenten Fridays in the US. It depends on which country you live in since it varies depending on the nation.

Thank you - I had always been taught no meat on Fridays Makes me feel a WHOLE lot better.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

Thank you - I had always been taught no meat on Fridays Makes me feel a WHOLE lot better.

You’re welcome. It’s a very nice devotion.

 

[Vico]

Hi everyone, so tonight I was invited over to my friend’s house for dinner. I forgot it was Friday until I arrived and she was making sloppy joe’s. Needless to say, I ended up eating it, being pretty hungry and not wanting to seem rude. However, i felt awful afterwards. Is this a case of mortal sin, since I did it with full knowledge I shouldn’t eat the meat? I still feel bad, but I’m just wondering what you all think?
Edit: She knows I am Catholic but isn’t aware of Catholic practices.

Well, you can do an alternate penance.

 

[Usige]

You’re welcome. It’s a very nice devotion.

It’s more than a nice devotion as it is the universal norm unless the local Bishop’s conference has allowed for other penitential acts to be substituted. Just because abstinence from meat is no longer an absolute requirement in the US, it does not change the fact that Catholics are still supposed to observe Fridays as penitential days. The USCCB could also revert to meatless Fridays if they felt that US Catholics were not living out the penitentiary nature of the day.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Thank you - I had always been taught no meat on Fridays Makes me feel a WHOLE lot better.

Friday is a penitential day. In the US and Canada, one must either abstain from meat or perform another suitable penance (ie: An extra Rosary, Stations of the Cross, fasting, abstaining from the Internet, etc). As long as you did another form of suitable penance, you’re fine.

However, if one thinks something is a mortal sin, and one’s conscience tells one it’s sinful, yet one does it anyways, it’s still considered a mortal sin.

 

[Allegra]

However, if one thinks something is a mortal sin, and one’s conscience tells one it’s sinful, yet one does it anyways, it’s still considered a mortal sin.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are lots of people who come to this forum who struggle with an almost OCD form of scrupulosity. These folks seem to worry that anything and everything is a mortal sin, and even when they are well-versed in the actual teachings of the Church, they still fear that what they did was a sin in their particular situation. They will even continue to doubt after receiving absolution from a priest. So, keep in mind that your statement assumes a sound mind and spirituality. .

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Doing penance on Fridays is not obligatory, but voluntary.

We are not bound by the threat of committing mortal sin if we do not do some form of penance on Fridays, with the exception of Ash Wednesday, Good Friday which are fast days for those under 59 years of age, and Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence where no meat is allowed.

From the USCCB. Bold is my emphasis.

1. Every Catholic Christian understands that the fast and abstinence regulations admit of change, unlike the commandments and precepts of that unchanging divine moral law which the Church must today and always defend as immutable.** This said, we emphasize that our people are henceforth free from the obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence,except as noted above for Lent**. We stress this so that "no"scrupulosity will enter into examinations of conscience,confessions, or personal decisions on this point.

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.cfm

Jim

 

[adrift]

Thank you - I had always been taught no meat on Fridays Makes me feel a WHOLE lot better.

Even back when all Fridays were mandatory no meat, you were allowed to eat meat in the situation you described. I remember being invited out and warned by my aunt that if her friends had a meat supper we were allowed to eat it. I was annoyed at my aunt for reminding me that this was the case as I had been taught it by the sisters. I was excited to be able to have meat. Unfortunately, the family knowing we were Catholics, served fish It was the first time I was served fish with a head still attached. Yuck!

 

[Vico]

Doing penance on Fridays is not obligatory, but voluntary.

We are not bound by the threat of committing mortal sin if we do not do some form of penance on Fridays, with the exception of Ash Wednesday, Good Friday which are fast days for those under 59 years of age, and Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence where no meat is allowed.

From the USCCB. Bold is my emphasis.

Jim

The “obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence” is meat abstinence. Now, one can choose without a dispensation.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

The “obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence” is meat abstinence. Now, one can choose without a dispensation.

Not sure I understand your posts, but the USCCB have stated that penance on Fridays outside of Lent, are voluntary.

Jim

 

[Vico]

Not sure I understand your posts, but the USCCB have stated that penance on Fridays outside of Lent, are voluntary.

Jim

There is voluntary election of a substitute penance on Fridays.

USCCB norms show that for the Latin Catholics, the 1966 norms are still in place.22. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year, a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of their personal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to help expiate in union with Christ Crucified.
23. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.
26. Perhaps we should warn those who decide to keep the Friday abstinence for reasons of personal piety and special love that they must not pass judgment on those who elect to substitute other penitential observances. …

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.cfm

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

I have asked two priests whether it was a sin to not perform any penitential acts on Friday to replace abstinence and both said that there is no sin. One of these priests was a Norbertine, known around here for their orthodoxy and profound knowledge of the faith. This is in regards to the US.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

There is voluntary election of a substitute penance on Fridays.

USCCB norms show that for the Latin Catholics, the 1966 norms are still in place.22. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year, a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of their personal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to help expiate in union with Christ Crucified.
23. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.
26. Perhaps we should warn those who decide to keep the Friday abstinence for reasons of personal piety and special love that they must not pass judgment on those who elect to substitute other penitential observances. …

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.cfm

Got it. !

Jim

 

[Vico]

I have asked two priests whether it was a sin to not perform any penitential acts on Friday to replace abstinence and both said that there is no sin. One of these priests was a Norbertine, known around here for their orthodoxy and profound knowledge of the faith. This is in regards to the US.

Strange isn’t it that they would say that considering that the canon law allows the conference of bishops to determine another food (canon 1251) observance (canon 1253) and substitute penances (canon 1253):

CICCanon 1250 – All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church.

Canon 1251 – Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

      ***Canon 1253*** -- It is for the          conference of bishops to determine more precisely the observance of fast          and abstinence and to substitute in whole or in part for fast and          abstinence other forms of penance, especially works of charity and          exercises of piety.

In the USA:
“… the age of fasting is from the completion of the twenty-first year to the beginning of the sixtieth” (Paenitemini, norm IV) is amended to read “‘… the age of fasting is from the completion of the eighteenth year to the beginning of the sixtieth’ in accord with canon 97.”

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/canon-law/complementary-norms/canons-1252-and-1253-observance-of-fast-and-abstinence.cfm

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

Strange isn’t it that they would say that considering that the canon law allows the conference of bishops to determine another food (canon 1251) observance (canon 1253) and substitute penances (canon 1253):

CICCanon 1250 – All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church.

Canon 1251 – Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

      ***Canon 1253*** -- It is for the          conference of bishops to determine more precisely the observance of fast          and abstinence and to substitute in whole or in part for fast and          abstinence other forms of penance, especially works of charity and          exercises of piety.

In the USA:
“… the age of fasting is from the completion of the twenty-first year to the beginning of the sixtieth” (Paenitemini, norm IV) is amended to read “‘… the age of fasting is from the completion of the eighteenth year to the beginning of the sixtieth’ in accord with canon 97.”

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/canon-law/complementary-norms/canons-1252-and-1253-observance-of-fast-and-abstinence.cfm

The Conference of Bishops have removed the obligation under pain of sin to do penance on Fridays. Fr. Z talks about it briefly here. There is a more thorough article by Jimmy Akin here.

 

[Vico]

The Conference of Bishops have removed the obligation under pain of sin to do penance on Fridays. Fr. Z talks about it briefly here. There is a more thorough article by Jimmy Akin here.

However, Cathi Caridi, J.C.L. states March 5, 2009:
Q: Are we Catholics still supposed to be abstaining from meat on Fridays? Or has this definitely been done away with? –Vince

…
In other words, the US bishops encourage all American Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays — but if we can find a more effective type of penance to perform on Fridays, we are invited to do so. Our bishops have given each of us the green light to decide for ourselves how best to make our Fridays penitential. How sad, therefore, that most Catholics have wrongly interpreted this as meaning simply that “we don’t need to abstain from meat on Fridays anymore,” without replacing that abstinence with another form of penance! It is just as sad to realize that most of our diocesan clergy do not remind the Catholics under their care of this important obligation.
How many Catholics are genuinely unaware that they are actually required to perform some kind of penance every Friday? Sincere, practicing Catholics who honestly do not know of this obligation are of course not culpable for failing to follow it; but the fact remains that they should be made aware of this disciplinary rule.
catholicexchange.com/are-catholics-supposed-to-abstain-from-meat-every-friday

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

However, Cathi Caridi, J.C.L. states March 5, 2009:

Q: Are we Catholics still supposed to be abstaining from meat on Fridays? Or has this definitely been done away with? –Vince

…
​

I think that three priests’ statements in regards to this (two of which are known for being orthodox & perspicacious), along with a layman that is well-known for his knowledge, is sufficient to show that there is no sin in not abstaining. It is a misinterpretation of the efforts of the Bishops, who stressed that Friday is a penitential day despite the fact that no penance is obligatory under pain of sin anymore, to say that we still are obligated to abstain or do penance. The document that the Bishops gave can be very misleading, which is why I had to ask two priests for advice even after reading it. I want us to have to do penance on Friday under pain of sin, but sadly that is not the case.​