Friday Penance: Follow-up to "Meatless Fridays? What is the real rule?"

[reidtgang]

Can. 1250: do penance each Friday - and the season of lent

penance being - fasting, prayer, and almsgiving CCC1434

Can. 1251: abstinence from meat or other kind of food as determined by the Episcopal Conference.

The **Episcopal Conference **would be the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - right.

Penitential Days

• Ash Wednesday—This day marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The imposition of ashes is an ancient penitential practice symbolizing our dependence upon God’s mercy and forgiveness. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence in the Church.
• Good Friday—Christ suffered and died for our salvation on Friday. On the Friday that we call “Good,” the Church gathers to commemorate Jesus’ Passion and death. Good Friday is a day of fast and abstinence. The Good Friday fast is the Paschal fast—a fast of anticipation and longing for the Passover of the Lord, which should continue, when possible, through Holy Saturday.
• Fridays During Lent—In the United States, the tradition of abstaining from meat on each Friday during Lent is maintained.
• 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.

usccb.org/dpp/penitential.htm

 

[Jguerra]

Bretheren: The documents quoted so far give only suggestions and indications for specifics regarding penance on Friday.

Me? I’ll wear sandals to work. When my feet get cold I am reminded of Him who had no place to lay His head (I work in a call center, where the ambient temperature is kept cooler for the sake of the computers). I dress in black pants and white shirt to remind me (and others) of the penitential aspect of the day. Although not approved for Catholic men, a co-worker gave me a yarmulke; it provokes questions about my beliefs and I answer gently and respectfully. When Friday is also a payday and others chow down on fast food, I opt for plain tuna sandwiches. Sometimes, instead of lunch on Friday, I skip it and take a walk outside to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. [Yes, I pray the Rosary daily on my commute to work]

These may sound strange but penance should also affect our exteriors along with interior mortification. With a little help you too, can find something to enhance your Friday practices.

Peace,

Joe

 

[randall_brown]

ktm:

This pretty much says it all. Catechesis is sadly lacking in the U.S.

Personally, I’m just going to start doing some penetential act on Fridays, and not get all upset if I forget. Otherwise, we reduce our faith to a bunch of rules and regulations and lose sight of God!

Thanks to all for your very helpful responses.

I’m with you , ktm . Both in the fact that Catechesis is lacking in the US, and the fact that a personal penetential act on Fridays outside of Lent is a good thing . .

Actually there’s fasting on other days , as well.

Here’s some links, one for men the other for women, of a great penetential organization called e5.

For women:
e5men.org/e5_women.htm

For Men :

e5men.org/index.htm

There’s also a section for fasting for women who have no one to fast for them… . .

e5men.org/e5_special_forces.htm

 

[system]

The premise of “e5” - that there is some benefit to men going on a guilt-inducing bread-and-water fast “on behalf of” women - even if one has nothing personally to atone for - makes absolutely no sense to me.

Note that their site lacks any indication of endorsement by the Church.

 

[CatholicNerd]

tcj:

The premise of “e5” - that there is some benefit to men going on a guilt-inducing bread-and-water fast “on behalf of” women - even if one has nothing personally to atone for - makes absolutely no sense to me.

Note that their site lacks any indication of endorsement by the Church.

There most certainly is benefit to Corporal Mortification… The fasting of Jesus and John the Baptist in the desert was corporal mortification. St. Paul declares that he used to “chastise his body” in order to strengthen his will against sin. And Pope John Paul IIs doctoral thesis director from the Angelicum University in Rome wrote: “He who is opposed to mortification comes little by little to drink of iniquity as if it were water; he reaches the point where he calls what is often truly venial sin, an imperfection, and what is a mortal sin, a human weakness” (The Three Ages of the Interior Life,î by R. Garrigou-Lagrange).
It’s 2:31 AM here, but that’s just a springboard. The Church has plenty to say about Corporal Mortification, tcj, and it has plenty to say about offering up our sufferings for others. Look it up

 

[IPTgrad]

Melman:

I usually don’t remember that Friday has come and gone, until Saturday arrives. Therefore anything I did (or didn’t do) on Friday wouldn’t meet the “knowledge and consent” criteria for a sin.

This is part of the reason it is a good idea to keep the habit of Friday penance… so that we make it a point ot be aware that it is Friday & be aware of the magnitude of the gift Jesus gave all of us on that day. We also pray especially for sinners on Fridays, in solidarity with the whole Church & we anxiously await the joy of Sunday, which is a “little Easter” of each and every week.