Silly questions

[Sir_Knight]

Posted by JCPhoenix: * … He asked a priest this when he was in school, and was told not to ask silly questions … *

It’s Friday in Lent and you are away from home on a business trip. You’re running late and on your way to the airport, after not having eaten all day, you do to a drive-thru and order two quarter pounders completely forgeting that it’s a Friday in Lent. While driving along, as you are about to take your first bite, it suddenly hits you that it’s a Friday in Lent.

Eating the burgers would be sinful but discarding them would be wasting food and also sinful. You can’t bring them on the plane. You don’t have the time to properly dispose of them so they are not wasted.

What would be the non-sinful action to take?

PS: This came very close to happening to me last year but it dawned on me as I was placing my order and I changed it to a fish sandwich instead of a burger.

 

[puzzleannie]

the heroic thing to do is to feed the burgers to the nearest stray dog or cat, first eating the allowable bun and lettuce of course, then eat something allowable when you get home or get a snickers from the vending machine at your hotel

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

What would be the non-sinful action to take?

Hand it to the homeless person at the next trafic light.

 

[Ray_Marshall]

Sir Knight:

Eating the burgers would be sinful but discarding them would be wasting food and also sinful. You can’t bring them on the plane. You don’t have the time to properly dispose of them so they are not wasted.

1. Where does it say that “wasting food” is sinful?
2. Why can’t you bring them on a plane? Is that sinful? Or might they be an hiding place for a box cutter?
3. You mean there are no people in the airport to whom you could explain your predicament and offer them your meal?
4. I think you should pay attention to JCPhoenix’s pastor more often.

 

[enanneman]

Sir Knight:

It’s Friday in Lent and you are away from home on a business trip. You’re running late and on your way to the airport, after not having eaten all day, you do to a drive-thru and order two quarter pounders completely forgeting that it’s a Friday in Lent. While driving along, as you are about to take your first bite, it suddenly hits you that it’s a Friday in Lent.

Eating the burgers would be sinful but discarding them would be wasting food and also sinful. You can’t bring them on the plane. You don’t have the time to properly dispose of them so they are not wasted.

What would be the non-sinful action to take?

PS: This came very close to happening to me last year but it dawned on me as I was placing my order and I changed it to a fish sandwich instead of a burger.

This question is pulled (and slightly modified) from the book Growing Up Catholic. The book puts the context of this question in a baseball game.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

Find a hungry Protestant. Being separated brethren, they are not under obligation of Church Law and eating it would not be sinful for them. Explain your predicament and use it as an opportunity for evangelization.

 

[Tom]

1. Where does it say that “wasting food” is sinful?

Certainly my parents weren’t the only ones who taught their children this?

 

[cove]

My question would be what do you do when you have already eaten it and then remember it is Friday in Lent? This scenario has happened to me several times.

Eat one of the burgers and give the other away. This way you have nourished your body but not to the extent of gluttony and also have helped someone else with a selfless act (imo–is more important during Lent). It is my understanding that is is not so much what we eat but how much we have sacrificed (if you have fasted for the whole day I would think that nourishing your body is more important then what you eat to satisfy this requirement) . For example–Would eating a large portion of fried fish with all the trimmings constitute the proper meaning of eating “fish” as a sacrifice?

 

[Grace_and_Glory]

My pastor always said that if you forget or are in a situation where there is nothing besides meat to eat on a Friday during Lent (such as if you are a guest at a house where only meat dishes are being served), you can eat meat and then give up meat on a different day.