Is It A Mortal Sin to Break Lenten Abstinance?

[HolySpirit08]

Yesterday I attended a funeral luncheon. Every dish with the exception of the potatoe salad contained either chicken, pork or beef. It was a Catholic service so of course we were surprised that the funeral was held on a Friday in Lent and that the menu was full of meat. Did we commit a mortal sin because we ate the food?

 

[Phemie]

Yesterday I attended a funeral luncheon. Every dish with the exception of the potatoe salad contained either chicken, pork or beef. It was a Catholic service so of course we were surprised that the funeral was held on a Friday in Lent and that the menu was full of meat. Did we commit a mortal sin because we ate the food?

Where do you live? The USCCB has decreed that Fridays in Lent are days of abstinence. Not every country has such a decree.

 

[HolySpirit08]

I live in the US and we must abstain from eating meat on Fridays in Lent. But is it a mortal sin or not to eat meat on Friday particularly when you attend a function and only meat dishes are served???

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I live in the US and we must abstain from eating meat on Fridays in Lent. But is it a mortal sin or not to eat meat on Friday particularly when you attend a function and only meat dishes are served???

In my view the rules are clear: we do not eat meat on the Fridays of Lent. If I went to a meal where there were only meat dishes I would eat salad or a roll and have my meal later, or skip it altogether and offer it for the soul of the deceased. No one will die from missing or delaying one meal.

 

[larousser]

Yesterday I attended a funeral luncheon. Every dish with the exception of the potatoe salad contained either chicken, pork or beef. It was a Catholic service so of course we were surprised that the funeral was held on a Friday in Lent and that the menu was full of meat. Did we commit a mortal sin because we ate the food?

It is ‘grave matter’ but only a mortal sin if you:

A) had full knowledge that it was a mortal sin,
B) freely chose to do it.

You on the other hand did not know it was a mortal sin. But if your conscience tells you something is a mortal sin, that can also bind (unless you’re scrupulous).

 

[melja]

we’ve always been taught - no meat on Fridays during lent