Ideas: Things to give up on Fridays besides meat?

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So I recently decided to start giving up something on Fridays year-round. I never knew this was something Catholics were supposed to do until recently - I thought it was just during Lent.

I’m generally giving up meat. However, last Friday, I found myself on lock down in my apartment (Boston…) with literally nothing to eat for dinner besides beef. I figured I’d just give up something else instead (I’m in the US), but I found it surprisingly hard to think of anything. I ended up giving up coffee, but being as I’m not really an everyday coffee person anyway, I don’t think that was a very good choice.

Since I don’t think I would be willing to turn down meat in cases where I go over my family’s or friends’ for dinner, I figure I should start thinking of some ideas.

What kinds of things do you abstain from on Fridays?
 
I generally give up meat on Fridays too, but if I wasn’t able to give it up that day I’d give up TV or a particular show I always watch or internet, something like that.
 
– sweets / junkfood / snacks
– alcoholic drinks (if you drink)
 
I read Scripture for an extra 20-30 minutes that day, if I find I am not going to be able to keep Friday abstinence .
 
The TV, radio, movies, the internet, shopping, alcohol, desserts, your favorite soda, going out to eat…anything you do to entertain yourself at the end of the week.
 
Spend time in prayer. Pray the rosary.

Go to Mass. (Of course this wouldn’t have work last Friday, for you.)

Sugar/cream in your coffee/tea.

Salt, pepper, ketchup or anything that makes food taste good.
 
Pray all twenty decades of the Rosary.

Pray the Stations of the Cross.

Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet every hour.

Buy the amount of food that you would normally eat in a day and donate it to a food bank.

Buy bottles of water and give them to the homeless.
 
When I am unable to abstain from meat on any given friday, I usually do a rosary or 30 mins of scripture reading as a substitute. They are both equivalent to the abstinence.
 
Indyann said:
I read Scripture for an extra 20-30 minutes that day, if I find I am not going to be able to keep Friday abstinence .
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I like this idea. Can anyone confirm, does this count as “abstinence” when you’re doing something extra instead of giving something up?
 
PatriceA said:
The TV, radio, movies, the internet, shopping, alcohol, desserts, your favorite soda, going out to eat…anything you do to entertain yourself at the end of the week.
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My issue there’s nothing I am always doing, except for probably the internet. I like shopping, I like movies, I like going out to eat - but it’s not like it’s something I do every Friday or anything. Generally those things are more unplanned, and I just do them whenever they come up. I have the same issue when trying to give up a certain food or drink - I love soda, but I don’t drink it every Friday. So giving those things up for just a day doesn’t really seem particularly difficult.

I’m thinking internet and maybe a “snacking in general” sort of thing might be my best options.
 
Well, it depends on what you like. you can decide to stop from your favorite foods or drinks. Or you can stop doing your hobbies. But if you feel it is too easy you can make it longer the Lent period. I usually stop reading comics(it is my hobbies:p) for a whole week or maybe more. 😃
 
lllj said:
I like this idea. Can anyone confirm, does this count as “abstinence” when you’re doing something extra instead of giving something up?
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I don’t know that I can confirm it in canon law, but I can tell you that I was in conversation with a priest about this very thing just a couple of weeks ago.

He agreed that reading the Bible, praying the rosary or attending daily Mass all “counts.” He also said that you could perform an act of charity. An example of that is eluding me right now.
 
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