What is expected of Catholics during Lent?

[billcu1]

Haha no worries, I just picked you up wrong.

I completely agree. It makes perfect sense to go above and beyond the bare minimum of what is required in Lent. The abstinence laws of the Latin Church are so lenient as they are that it is very easy to follow the letter of the law while completely defying the spirit of the law.

As a quite humbling point of comparison, take a look at this page which summarizes the fasting and abstinence laws of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Although most lay Orthodox Christians don’t keep them in their entirety (they work it out with their priest how much they’re going to do), the standards are nonetheless quite impressive!

Wow indeed, that is impressive. You hit the nail on the head, we need to get our act together! Leniency always seems to be a slippery slope unfortunately.

If someone eats beef instead of fish on fridays is that a venial sin?

B

 

[mattkubes]

If someone eats beef instead of fish on fridays is that a venial sin?

It would depend on why the person ate meat. If he simply forgot, then it probably wouldn’t even be sinful and he should just abstain from meat for the rest of the day. If he ate it just out of indifference of the prescribed Lenten practices, then it’s likely that his indifference towards the Church and the Faith would be sinful. If he ate the meat purposefully in defiance of the Church’s authority, then I could see it being grave matter and, potentially, a mortal sin.

So to sum it up…it depends.