Is Friday penance a regular practice?

[Brendan_64]

LOL

Nice way to take a sentence out of context.

It is not out of context, here’s the entire paragraph.

"25. 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.”

The first sentence of the paragraph also clearly states that it is not a case of divine law.

Again, should you forget to do penance on Friday, it is not a sin. Should you choose to not do penance on Friday, it is a sin.

The bishops of the USA clearly state that except in the case of Lent, “people are henceforth free from the obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence”.

It is actually you who is trying to read something (that doesn’t exist) into these statements. If you wish to be scrupulous on such matters then that is your own choice, but it is not right to go about telling others that it is a sin not to do Friday penance, when the Bishops Conferences, of both the USA and England & Wales tell us that it is not a sin.

 

[JM3]

The bishops of the USA clearly state that except in the case of Lent, “people are henceforth free from the obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence”.

It is actually you who is trying to read something (that doesn’t exist) into these statements. If you wish to be scrupulous on such matters then that is your own choice, but it is not right to go about telling others that it is a sin not to do Friday penance, when the Bishops Conferences, of both the USA and England & Wales tell us that it is not a sin.

free from the obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence

Friday abstinence, not Friday penance.

Divine law binds us to do penance. To refuse is to sin. Everyone chooses whether to follow the Will of God or their own will.

 

[Brendan_64]

I’ll just have to agree to disagree with you. on this issue, and leave it at that. We’ll just end up going round in circles, and we’ve hogged this thread enough already.

God bless you,

Brendan

 

[twf]

It is a practice of both East and West to do “penance” (usually consisting of fasting) on Friday (as well as Wednesday - I don’t know if that’s East specific or not).

In any regard, (this might be a very Eastern mentality) but the amount of compulsion you have towards attempting these penances/fasts/etc. is the amount of your love for God. The more you love God, the greater your compulsion to grow closer to Him should be. Additionally, the penalty for not doing these things is the lost opportunity of growth.

Wednesday penance is not unheard of in the West, but it hasn’t been binding nor universal for centuries (if it ever was?). You can see remnants of it - Ash Wednesday is a great example. In the traditional calendar of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite there are also "ember Wednesdays during certain points of the year which are days of penance.

 

[thistle]

Again you choose to ignore this statement “people are henceforth free from the obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence”

It may still be an obligation, but it is not binding under pain of sin. Not by not carrying out this obligation we are not committing any sin, not even a venial sin (and to think that it is a sin of any kind is to be guilty of scrupulosity).

If it is not a sin to fail to carry out this obligation, then it cannot be a case of divine law, because to break divine law is a sin.

It only refers to Friday abstinence (not eating meat) not being a sin. It does not say it is not a sin not to do any form of penance on a Friday. People have an obligation for a Friday penance but they have a choice of penance. That is why the statement clarifies it is not a sin not to do a specific penance, in this case abstaining.

 

[JM3]

Wednesday penance is not unheard of in the West, but it hasn’t been binding nor universal for centuries (if it ever was?). You can see remnants of it - Ash Wednesday is a great example. In the traditional calendar of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite there are also "ember Wednesdays during certain points of the year which are days of penance.

I have been observing abstinence from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays for some time now. It’s difficult, as meat is my main staple (chocolate chip cookies, too ). I haven’t observed the ember fasts yet, but there’s one coming up on September 18, 20 and 21.

 

[concretecamper]

Brendan 64:

I’ll just have to agree to disagree with you. on this issue, and leave it at that. We’ll just end up going round in circles, and we’ve hogged this thread enough already.

God bless you,

Brendan

just do it!

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