Has any rules changed for abstinence

[hamilte3]

Apparently, a priest at our parish and a posting in our parish bulliten said that no eating of dairy products were even permitted on Good Friday. Has anything changed? I always understood that it was primarily meat that was abstained from along with the fast and in Eastern rites it extended to dairy products.

So have I missed something? Or maybe it is a family tradition. The parish we go to is about a 150 year old Irish church run by Dominican priests who preach quite orthodox.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[cctabb]

It could simply be your parish. Good Friday is a fast and abstain day, but as far as I know the abstain is only meat. But considering that dairy comes from cows some people could very well consider it something to abstain from.

I’ve gor a couple of Orthodox friends and in their church they still abstain from meat, fish, eggs and vegetable oil (I think) on fast days. So it could be worse.

ETA: Okay, curiosity had me looking up the Orthodox rules on fasting. On Good Friday they are allowed a little wine and fruit. So depending on how you feel about a little wine they have it way worse or way better.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

This is what the US bishops have to say:

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of universal fast and abstinence. Fasting is obligatory for all who have completed their 18th year and have not yet reached their 60th year. Fasting allows a person to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may be taken, not to equal one full meal. Abstinence (from meat) is obligatory for all who have reached their 14th year.

If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the “paschal fast” to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection.

Fridays in Lent are obligatory days of complete abstinence (from meat) for all who have completed their 14th year.

We encourage you to make use of the site. Through our works of prayer, fasting, and abstinence, let us heed the prophet Joel’s exhortation to return to God with our whole heart (2:12).

 

[Quarles47]

Going from memory, I always understood that to abstain from meat was to abstain from the meat itself, and meat byproducts. Dairy, Eggs, and sauces and broths made from meat.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Going from memory, I always understood that to abstain from meat was to abstain from the meat itself, and meat byproducts. Dairy, Eggs, and sauces and broths made from meat.

Here is an answer from This Rock:

Q:“
Does abstinence from meat include byproducts of animals, such as eggs, cheese, and milk?
”
A:

At one time Lenten abstinence from meat was much stricter than it is today. In the past, Catholics did fast from meat byproducts as well as from meat. That is why there arose in some areas in the West the tradition of Fat Tuesday, the day that preceded the opening of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Catholics would clean out their pantries of meat byproducts by using them in special meals on that Tuesday before Lent. Even today in England, there is a tradition of pancake races on Fat Tuesday in honor of the one-time custom of making pancakes on this day to use up milk, eggs, and butter.

Such Lenten abstinence from meat byproducts is no longer required for Latin-rite Catholics, although it is still mandatory in Eastern churches that are in union with Rome.

Of course people can always do more than the minimum!

 

[srg02]

First off, congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I don’t really know the Catholic religion, but I respect what I know about it’s emphasis on family values and tradition. My personal belief is that a marriage is between the 2 spouses and G-d. You can do what you feel comfortable doing, but living together is going to be very challening if it’s just the 2 of you and going for walks, etc is not going to help you stay abstinent for long. My clergy person, advised us to separate for 1 week before the wedding. Maybe you and your fiance could come up with your own time frame. Best wishes for a very happy future together.

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wedding cake topper
treatment for hives

 

[ConstantineTG]

Apparently, a priest at our parish and a posting in our parish bulliten said that no eating of dairy products were even permitted on Good Friday. Has anything changed? I always understood that it was primarily meat that was abstained from along with the fast and in Eastern rites it extended to dairy products.

So have I missed something? Or maybe it is a family tradition. The parish we go to is about a 150 year old Irish church run by Dominican priests who preach quite orthodox.

Thanks,

Ed

I’ve always wondered if meat products such as dairy are allowable during abstinence or not. I just recently learned in the East (Catholics and Orthodox) that there are days where dairy products are not allowed, and there are days where no meat but dairy products are allowed. Perhaps these Dominicans follow the same thing. I bet the origins of fasting and abstinence are universal and thus the teaching of East and West were the same at some point in time in the past and that some groups have faithfully kept it until today.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Here is an answer from This Rock:

Q:“
Does abstinence from meat include byproducts of animals, such as eggs, cheese, and milk?
”
A:

At one time Lenten abstinence from meat was much stricter than it is today. In the past, Catholics did fast from meat byproducts as well as from meat. That is why there arose in some areas in the West the tradition of Fat Tuesday, the day that preceded the opening of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Catholics would clean out their pantries of meat byproducts by using them in special meals on that Tuesday before Lent. Even today in England, there is a tradition of pancake races on Fat Tuesday in honor of the one-time custom of making pancakes on this day to use up milk, eggs, and butter.

Such Lenten abstinence from meat byproducts is no longer required for Latin-rite Catholics, although it is still mandatory in Eastern churches that are in union with Rome.

Of course people can always do more than the minimum!

There you go! I should have read down the thread before posting. Excellent post