Is there an obligation to abstain from something on Friday?

[FrDavid96]

I live in Croatia. Is prayer some kind of an abstinence?

No. Prayer is not a kind of abstinence.

Prayer might be a form of penance, though. For example, praying an Act of Contrition can certainly be a form of penance.

Abstinence means to avoid something (in this case, to avoid eating meat).

 

[FrDavid96]

I guess I’m missing the “mandatory” part in regards to penance. I see things like “we urge” but nothing about “must” or “mandatory.” Which paragraph are you referring to?

In the bishops’ statement of 1966

“22. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year…”

usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.cfm

From that, it’s clear that the bishops are not terminating the fact that Friday is a day of penance.

What they did terminate is abstaining from meat as the sole means of observing the penance.

In #24
…even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday…

Again, the key words are “as the sole means.” Those words do not mean that there is no longer an obligation; simply that the obligation can be met in other ways.

Look at a similar example from secular life. If a store has a sign that reads “cash only” that means what it says. Only cash can be used to make a purchase. If the store later changes its policy to accept checks and puts a big “X” on the sign that means that they have terminated the policy of cash only and the customer can now choose to substitute a check as the form of payment. It does not mean that everything in the store is free because the store has terminated its “cash only” policy. It simply means that there are now several options.

It’s the same with the Friday penance. At no point did the bishops ever terminate the obligation to do penance on Fridays. It never happened. What they did do was to allow an individual person to determine for himself the form that the still-mandatory penance might take. It’s an important distinction.

 

[FrDavid96]

…

If the bishops, with the approval of the Apostolic See, have not prescribed specific ways to manifest the act of penance, may an individual not, for instance, hold in his heart a spirit of penance without otherwise performing a penitential act?

tee

Yes…

…but the question then becomes “does that satisfy the requirement to do some kind of penance on Friday?”

It could be, but it’s not always the case (because, as you phrased the question, having a spirit of penance is just too ambiguous). Penance need not be an outward act, so forms of internal penance are acceptable.

 

[twf]

Yes…

…but the question then becomes “does that satisfy the requirement to do some kind of penance on Friday?”

It could be, but it’s not always the case (because, as you phrased the question, having a spirit of penance is just too ambiguous). Penance need not be an outward act, so forms of internal penance are acceptable.

Father,
It is also my understanding that some form of penance is still binding in Canada and the US, even though meat abstinence is no longer required. Yet, many priests seem to not hold this view. Certainly the binding nature of Friday penance is rarely communicated to the faithful in my experience.

What about the weekdays of Lent (other than Fridays)? The entire season of Lent is penitential in the universal Church…is some form of penance binding Monday through Thursday during the weeks of Lent? At one point I thought so (as a new Catholic), but have since heard that it isn’t. Certainly in the past abstinence was required throughout most of the season.

 

[FrDavid96]

Father,
It is also my understanding that some form of penance is still binding in Canada and the US, even though meat abstinence is no longer required. Yet, many priests seem to not hold this view. Certainly the binding nature of Friday penance is rarely communicated to the faithful in my experience.

I would suggest that it is not so much that “priests seem not to hold this view” but more a matter of they seem not to say much about it.

What about the weekdays of Lent (other than Fridays)? The entire season of Lent is penitential in the universal Church…is some form of penance binding Monday through Thursday during the weeks of Lent? At one point I thought so (as a new Catholic), but have since heard that it isn’t. Certainly in the past abstinence was required throughout most of the season.

Yes, the entire season of Lent is penitential.

The issue is with the word “binding.” On the one hand, that word implies that there is a specific obligation to do something (whatever that something might be). There are no specific obligations to do anything in particular during Lent (beyond the obvious fast & abstinence laws). So it depends on how we use the word “binding.” Of course, we should be doing the traditional “fasting, prayer and almsgiving” during Lent, but the Church does not specify any particular requirements as such.

Canonically speaking, we are not bound to do anything specific. We do have a moral obligation to keep the spirit of the season.

Many who were born & raised Catholic were taught to “give up something for Lent.” That might be what you’re thinking about (or maybe not). It’s a good idea, but there’s no canonical obligation to do so.