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Montie_Claunch
Guest
I have heard conflecting comments on it, is it still wrong to eat meat on fridays or has that dicsiple been done away with? Thanks and God bless.
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Neithan
Guest
It is still strongly recommended as a practice for all Catholics, but it’s not mandatory in all Dioceses. You would want to check with yours.
On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, fast(?) and abstinence are still universally obligatory.
On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, fast(?) and abstinence are still universally obligatory.
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mtr01
Guest
Yes, abstinence and fasting both are mandatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Also, abstinence from meat on Fridays during Lent is also mandatory. From the USCCB:
As for abstinence on Fridays outside of Lent:
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Jonah
Guest
Father Publius… God Bless him.
Told a group of us a story. He said it was a Lent Friday and he was a meeting with other priest. After the meeting some one suggested they all go out to eat at RED LOBSTER. Farther Publius said he did not have that kind of cash so he stop and had a small burger. (I don’t know why he didn’t get a fish sandwich) and he posed a question, was he wrong for eating a hamburger over an expensive fish dinner?
I always remember that story during lent. Another favorite story about eating meat on Fridays was told my an old woman she said, "What does it mean not to eat meat on Friday? I mean don’t eat human meat. In other words be kind and don’t gossip.
I remember in school we always had fish on Fridays… All the Catholic kids knew we had to eat the fish… I always felt special.
Told a group of us a story. He said it was a Lent Friday and he was a meeting with other priest. After the meeting some one suggested they all go out to eat at RED LOBSTER. Farther Publius said he did not have that kind of cash so he stop and had a small burger. (I don’t know why he didn’t get a fish sandwich) and he posed a question, was he wrong for eating a hamburger over an expensive fish dinner?
I always remember that story during lent. Another favorite story about eating meat on Fridays was told my an old woman she said, "What does it mean not to eat meat on Friday? I mean don’t eat human meat. In other words be kind and don’t gossip.
I remember in school we always had fish on Fridays… All the Catholic kids knew we had to eat the fish… I always felt special.
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Flopfoot
Guest
Jonah, while there is something to be gained from those types of stories (the lobster and human meat one), they can also mislead people into thinking they can just make up their own rules. (I even had a religion teacher at school who once said that he reckons it’s okay to eat meat on Good Friday. what a crazy lib!)
To clarify these stories -
To clarify these stories -
- Yes, the priest is wrong to have a burger on Friday in Lent if that diocese doesn’t allow it. On the other hand, while lobster is not really recommended for Lent, it would be okay.
- While it is also good to make an extra point of being kind to people on days of penance, that doesn’t negate the requirement of abstaining from meat.
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Jonah
Guest
I believe in our diocese it is suggested, but it’s an absolute on Ash Wed and Good Friday.
Have you heard of this story? The daughter watched her mom make the ham for Thanksgiving dinner. She watched her mom chop off the ends of the ham. The daughter asked, “Mom, why do you cut off the ends of the ham?” Her mom was surprised at the daughters question, and realized that she did not know why. She said," You know what, I don’t know, but I’m going to ask your Grandmother. She goes to her mother, “Mom, why do we cut the ends off the ham?” Her mother looked confused and said, "I don’t know that’s the way mom always made it. I’ll have to ask mom. “Mom where did we get the tradition to cut the ends of the ham? Where did that come from?” Her mom replied, “Honey, I don’t know why you do it, but I use to do it because my pan was too small so I had to cut the end of the ham to make it fit in the pan.”
So where exactly did this Don’t eat meat on Fridays come from? I’ve never found a good answer. Anybody know?
Personally I think it’s silly, but I do it anyway. Even walking in mortal sin, I don’t eat meat on Fridays.
Have you heard of this story? The daughter watched her mom make the ham for Thanksgiving dinner. She watched her mom chop off the ends of the ham. The daughter asked, “Mom, why do you cut off the ends of the ham?” Her mom was surprised at the daughters question, and realized that she did not know why. She said," You know what, I don’t know, but I’m going to ask your Grandmother. She goes to her mother, “Mom, why do we cut the ends off the ham?” Her mother looked confused and said, "I don’t know that’s the way mom always made it. I’ll have to ask mom. “Mom where did we get the tradition to cut the ends of the ham? Where did that come from?” Her mom replied, “Honey, I don’t know why you do it, but I use to do it because my pan was too small so I had to cut the end of the ham to make it fit in the pan.”
So where exactly did this Don’t eat meat on Fridays come from? I’ve never found a good answer. Anybody know?
Personally I think it’s silly, but I do it anyway. Even walking in mortal sin, I don’t eat meat on Fridays.
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Ham1
Guest
I could be wrong but I have always heard that…
The no meat on Fridays came from when meat was not widely available and was generally reserved for feasts and celebrations. So, since Fridays are days of penitence and not days of feasting, we abstain from meat. I guess now we do it more out of tradition, because, let’s face it, for most people eating fish and seafood on Fridays is not much of a sacrifice. In most cases fish and seafood (excluding fish sticks - which may not even really be fish!) are more expensive and more of a luxury than meat.
The no meat on Fridays came from when meat was not widely available and was generally reserved for feasts and celebrations. So, since Fridays are days of penitence and not days of feasting, we abstain from meat. I guess now we do it more out of tradition, because, let’s face it, for most people eating fish and seafood on Fridays is not much of a sacrifice. In most cases fish and seafood (excluding fish sticks - which may not even really be fish!) are more expensive and more of a luxury than meat.
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LeahInancsi
Guest
Can someone explain to my why this is an issue at the diocese level? My Bishop said that we could have meat on St. Patrick’s Day. It seems to me that it should be a Church teaching worldwide.
I haven’t had any meat since Fat Tuesday. Haven’t really missed it except that I’m gaining weight from all of the starch I’m eating in place of the meat. I planned to lose weight by eating fish and veggies only, but I wasn’t up to that much sacrifice, yet.
I haven’t had any meat since Fat Tuesday. Haven’t really missed it except that I’m gaining weight from all of the starch I’m eating in place of the meat. I planned to lose weight by eating fish and veggies only, but I wasn’t up to that much sacrifice, yet.
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Flopfoot
Guest
Jonah - I think it is an absolute everywhere on Ash Wed and Good Friday.
Anyway, there are lots of threads asking about the ‘why’, you can do a search. I don’t remember exactly, but I remember a few things from the threads like - Fridays are days of penance because thats’t the day Jesus died. Meat was a delicacy in early times because it was fairly expensive, so abstinence from meat was the Friday penance. Other ppls can prolly answer it better than me.
It’s not like the ham story though (ie, not just a mistake carried over generations).
Anyway, there are lots of threads asking about the ‘why’, you can do a search. I don’t remember exactly, but I remember a few things from the threads like - Fridays are days of penance because thats’t the day Jesus died. Meat was a delicacy in early times because it was fairly expensive, so abstinence from meat was the Friday penance. Other ppls can prolly answer it better than me.
It’s not like the ham story though (ie, not just a mistake carried over generations).
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Jonah
Guest
I wasn’t implying that it was a mistake, but rather a tradition that no one knows why it is…
research… this is what I found
Most Catholics do not eat meat on Friday as a penance. As far as research says, no Pope introduced this practice, but it gradually became a practice.
research… this is what I found
Most Catholics do not eat meat on Friday as a penance. As far as research says, no Pope introduced this practice, but it gradually became a practice.
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Jonah
Guest
I was just wondering about this… if this statement is true then how and who decided that it was a Mortal sin to eat meat on Friday?
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LeahInancsi
Guest
Who, here, said it was a Mortal sin? You said it yourself, it’s a penance. Something you give up for your past sins and a sacrifice to show your faith.
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Jonah
Guest
You know what… good question… I believe when I was growning up it was considered a mortal sin. Perhaps it changed at the time of vatican II.
When I was a kid I remember confessing that I had eaten meat on Friday. ( but I hadn’t really)
When I was a kid I remember confessing that I had eaten meat on Friday. ( but I hadn’t really)
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LeahInancsi
Guest
Since I made my previous post, I’ve been looking at an Examination of Conscience on catholic.org and it lists **Intentional failure to fast or abstain on appointed days ** as a mortal sin under the Third Commandment.
I never considered it on the level of missing Mass on Sunday or holy days.
Also, work appears to be a mortal sin under the Third Commandment. Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with that issue since I was in college. It would be prombematic in many professions and jobs. Especially when jobs are few and far between.
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Ham1
Guest
To highlight the importance of abstaining from meat on Fridays the Church calls this a serious obligation which means that to disregard it intentionally would be a serious sin. Although this teaching could change because it is a discipline, it has been this way for quite since well before Vatican II.
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OhioBob
Guest
I’ve posted this before on similar threads, but I think it’s cute so I can’t resist posting it again…
There was a small neighborhood nearby the local Church that was made up entirely of Catholics. One day, a Baptist man named Bob moved in. He was a very friendly person, and the Catholics had no problem at all with him. That is, until Lent.
On every Friday during Lent, as the Catholics would eat their fish and chips or tuna sandwiches, the smell of sizzling steak would rise from the grill in Bob’s backyard. Needless to say, the smell was very tempting. Finally, some of the neighbors got together to try and do something about it. They decided the most charitable thing to do would be to talk to Bob and see if they could convince him to convert to Catholicism. Seeing how genuine and kind his neighbors were, Bob decided to join the Church.
At his conversion, the priest sprinkled some holy water on Bob and said “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, but now you are a Catholic.” Everyone was overjoyed at his conversion, and especially at the fact that they would no longer be tempted on Fridays during Lent!
But the very next year, on the first Friday in Lent, the smell of steak began wafting through the neighborhood again. All the Catholics got together and decided it must be Bob and went over to see if he had forgotten it was Friday. They arrived just in time to see him sprinkling water over his steak and saying:
“You were born a cow, and you were raised a cow, but now you are a fish.”
There was a small neighborhood nearby the local Church that was made up entirely of Catholics. One day, a Baptist man named Bob moved in. He was a very friendly person, and the Catholics had no problem at all with him. That is, until Lent.
On every Friday during Lent, as the Catholics would eat their fish and chips or tuna sandwiches, the smell of sizzling steak would rise from the grill in Bob’s backyard. Needless to say, the smell was very tempting. Finally, some of the neighbors got together to try and do something about it. They decided the most charitable thing to do would be to talk to Bob and see if they could convince him to convert to Catholicism. Seeing how genuine and kind his neighbors were, Bob decided to join the Church.
At his conversion, the priest sprinkled some holy water on Bob and said “You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, but now you are a Catholic.” Everyone was overjoyed at his conversion, and especially at the fact that they would no longer be tempted on Fridays during Lent!
But the very next year, on the first Friday in Lent, the smell of steak began wafting through the neighborhood again. All the Catholics got together and decided it must be Bob and went over to see if he had forgotten it was Friday. They arrived just in time to see him sprinkling water over his steak and saying:
“You were born a cow, and you were raised a cow, but now you are a fish.”
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Jonah
Guest
That was absolutely cute! I believe we were told that we could NOT eat meat on Ash Wed nor Good Friday. All other Fridays were meatable. 
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Traditional_Ang
Guest
Jonah:
I don’t believe anyone ever decided it was a Mortal Sin to eat meat on Fridays unless one did so as a deliberate act of disobedience. God doesn’t punish us for being dummies and forgetting that it’s Friday for for being so broke that the only food we have is the leftover meatloaf some goodhearted soul gave us.
I’ve realized I could bog you down in some details about how and when the Church began to Fast… Instead, I’ll oversimplify things by saying that the Church started Fasting on Wednesdays, Fridays, Ember Days and other days primarily as penance for our sins for which Jesus died on the cross. This is esp. true of the Friday and of the Good Friday Fast where we recognize that it is our sins that put Christ on the cross - not the Jews, not the Romans, not Man’s inhumanity to man - but our sins, and we try to do penance for them and beg the Lord not only to forgive our sins, but to forgive the sins of others as well and to bring them into repentance and a knowledge of “The lamb slain before the foundation of the world”.
Originally, Christians didn’t eat any animal products on days of “Fasting”, abstinence or during Advent (original 6 week schedule) and Lent and the 3 weeks immediately before Lent. These included Wednesdays, Fridays, Ember Days, Strict Fast Days included all Fridays, All Ember Wednesdays, Ash Wednesday, and some other days. Exceptions were granted for children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, physical laborers, soldiers, and those who were ill.
One modification to that was to allow the consumption of DAIRY PRODUCTS during many of those times, esp. during Wednesdays outside of Advent and Lent and on the rest of the days during Advent and Lent (in the West).
Other modifications have caused most Wednesdays outside of Lent (except for Ember Wednesdays and Ash Wednesday) and the weeks before Lent to be treated as other days, have shortened Advent from 6 to 4 weeks, changed most Fridays from Strict Fast to Abstinence (except Ember Fridays, Fridays in Lent and Good Friday) and changed the “Normal Fast” from a Strict Fast to a Fast where some consumption of food is allowed.
The modification which allowed Fish to be eaten when meat was prohibited was allowed because Fishermen and their employees and families were going backrupt. The Church, in her wisdom, decided that compassion and the need to help working men provide for themselves and their families outweighed any concerns that the “new Abstinance” would be too lenient (remember, at that time, Catholics still ate NO meat at all on days of Abstinance).
So, The next time you have Fish for either dinner or lunch, you might want to remember the time the Church changed a discipline in order to help working men and their families.
In Christ, Michael
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