Eating no meat on Fridays

  • Thread starter Thread starter WisdomProphet
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
W

WisdomProphet

Guest
Can someone tell me if not eating meat on a Friday was a man made rule or not. I thought it had some basis in scripture, but can’t remember where that might be. Thanks.
 
Friday fasting is a Church imposed discipline. As Catholics, we believe Christ gave the apostles the power of binding and loosing on earth, so the Church is within it’s rights to impose certain disciplines on it’s members. There is nothing explicit in scripture about fasting on friday, although there are certainly references to fasting in a general sense. Since we are not sola scriptura believing protestants, there isn’t really a disconnect between what’s in the bible and Church tradition. They go together.It’s the same as the Church saying it’s a mortal sin to miss mass on Sundays. Nothing in the bible about that, but the Church says it’s a sin, so that’s what we’re bound to believe.
 
WisdomProphet said:
Can someone tell me if not eating meat on a Friday was a man made rule or not. I thought it had some basis in scripture, but can’t remember where that might be. Thanks.
Click to expand...
This is from the Didache, dated to around the end of the first or beginning of the second century. I know it’s not Scripture but it was composed just after the last Apostle died.

*8:1 But as for your fasts, let them not be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week, but do ye fast on the fourth and sixth days. *

Yours in Christ
Joe
 
In the pre VII tradition and for those who apply it today abstain from meat all year round on Friday with the exception of major feast days like St Patrick’s, Christmas, New Years et cetera. Today you’re only required to abstain on Fridays of Lent. If you want to go traditional abstain and fast on Fridays, Ember days and Rogation days. Pretty Interesting! The custom of fasting and abstinence comes from Jesus himself. He fasted for 40 days in the desert. When fasting he says to be humble about it and not to brag because God recognizes everyone and their works.

A Good and fruitful Lent for all as we enter the season of the gesima Sundays, carnival, mardi gras…
 
I believe that if any Catholic, even one who does not consider himself “traditional”, omits to abstain from meat on Friday (except of course on the solemnities), a substitute penance is required. The problem is that I’m too tired right now to look that up in the Code of Canon Law.

But I have it on the authority of a priest who did look it up that the dispensation from the Friday abstinence only gets you out of that specific form of penance… you’re still required to do something for our Lord on Friday.
 
Does that include tubesteak?

Because if so, bless me father for I have SINNED.:mad:
 
yoopersenior said:
Should we abstain from meat on Wednesdays as well?
Click to expand...
It is not mandated in the Roman Rite of the Church, BUT, it couldn’t hurt. I believe the Orthodox abstain on Wednesdays and it used to be regular to do this because, just like we abstain on Friday’s because Jesus died, we abstain on Wednesdays because that’s when Judas made the deal to betray Jesus.

You are NOT required to abstain on Wednesdays, BUT, saints have; it is a mortification of the body.
lordssoldier said:
Does that include tubesteak?

Because if so, bless me father for I have SINNED.:mad:
Click to expand...
Yes, but, if you didn’t know this, it’s only a venial sin. If you did this today and you want to give up meat on Fridays from now on, confess it and move on, if you did this during Lent one time, again, venial, confess, move on and don’t eat meat on Fridays in Lent. If you do not want to give up meat for Fridays during non-lent, you do not have to, BUT, you MUST do another act of pennance, (faith [abstaining and/or fasting], hope [extra prayers], charity [serving others]).
 
titties
horse sex

just wanted to check out the catholic forum web’s content filter, see if it prevents sinners from swearing.

the flesh is weak but the spirit is strong!
 
That is correct. A substitute penance is required. As a diabetic, I cannot fast on fast days (e.g. Good Friday) so I do other things.

Down here in Louisiana fasting from meat on Fridays has never been a real hardship. We have always been told from the pulpit that we should spend extra time in prayer or turn off the TV for the day, etc.
 
I like to eat meat every night. That means it’s extra tough to not eat meat on Fridays. On Friday, I will eat fish, primarily tunafish. I like to eat tunamelts with melted cheese. Those are delicious. yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum…
 
Fridays and Wednesdays were how it used to be. I try to do both. Now, I’m pretty sure it’s only required on Fridays. If you don’t fast, you have to substitute a penance.
 
WisdomProphet said:
Can someone tell me if not eating meat on a Friday was a man made rule or not. I thought it had some basis in scripture, but can’t remember where that might be. Thanks.
Click to expand...
The explanation is that Christ gave up his flesh (life) for us on a Friday, so we give up flesh (meat from warm-blooded animals and birds) on Friday as an acknowledgment of that. So no, there isn’t a specific verse in the Bible that says “don’t eat meat on Fridays”, but as PadraigPearce says, we are not a ‘sola scriptura’ church.

This practice is a discipline and those can change. Right now, we are not required to abstain except on Fridays during lent; however, we are required to observe some form of penance on every Friday. That can be abstaining from meat, or anything else appropriate to your station in life. We should abstain from a good and not avoid doing something we shouldn’t anyway and then call it penance. So saying we are going to give up a second dessert isn’t exactly what the Bishops had in mind! lol
 
Fascinating post - educational.
I grew up pre-Vatican II and thought I knew my Baltimore Catechism, etc. I used to hear about Church rules (even before Vatican II) which had been relaxed (i.e. fasting from midnight instead of three hours before receiving Holy Communion) but I’d not heard that you had to subsitute some form of penance in place of not eating meat. I’d gone back to my pre-Vatican II practices, trying - if nothing more than trying - not to eat meat on Fridays any time during the year but in the knowledge it wasn’t a sin, if I didn’t, except for Lent. I didn’t know about Wednesdays.
 
I usually say an extra rosary or reflect on the mysteries of the rosary (per Fr Levis) if I have to pull a 24 at the firehouse on Fridays.

There was actually another thread on here about it and I posted the USCCB link on the subject:

usccb.org/dpp/penitential.htm
 
Canon law states that all Catholics must abstain from meat every Friday on pain of sin. This law may be modified by the Ecclesial Conferences of each country. The USCCB declared that for Catholics in America, Friday abstinence is voluntary rather than binding on pain of sin. They go on further to state that Friday remains a day of penance,and if you choose not to abstain, you should substitute another penitential act for abstinence. There are some differences of opinion on whether US Catholics are bound under pain of sin to perform a substitutionary penitential act if they choose not to abstain or if this is also voluntary.

jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2004/07/since_tomorrow_.html

This document describes some of the other penitential practices available to us:
usccb.org/dpp/penitential.htm

Here in Australia, we are only bound on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Abstinence on every other Friday, even those during Lent, is voluntary.
 
As far as I am aware there is no basis for “No meat on Friday”; from what I recall it all started when the Pope proclaimed it to boost sales in the fishing industry, he had been bishop of Naples (a city heavily dependant upon the trade!) He was ‘protecting his electorate’. People ate fish thinking they were pious practitioners. And the economy of Naples did well.Nothing to do with taking or not taking life, a fish is a sentient being. A fish is meat - ask a vegan. Although I suppose justification for “No meat on Friday” can be found in Scripture, a lot can be justified from Text if only we look hard enough.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top