What to do for Friday penitance in lieu of no meat

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Benjinho

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Hey everyone

New Roman Catholic figuring out the subtleties of everything we do. I learned today that in the United States, Catholics are allowed to deprive themselves of something in lieu of the usual meat which used to be a universal requirement prior to Vatican II.

I decided not to visit a website I tend to waste a lot of time on today instead of foregoing meat, but I’m thinking of just abstaining from meat from now on.

What kind of things can I abstain from for penitance??
 
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It doesn’t have to be abstaining from something; you can substitute an act of charity or additional prayer. Any penitential act suffices.
 
I’m another meat abstainer, but if that’s not your thing, maybe if you have the time on Fridays you could volunteer at your parish’s food pantry, or something like that, if they have one.
 
You could abstain from buying unnecessary things on Fridays, e.g. personal items - clothing, gadgets, cd’s, video/disks etc.

You could try to abstain from sins of the tongue e.g. gossip, complaining about others, complaining about things in general.

You could practice a virtue e.g. if you get impatient easily, then give up giving in and reacting and instead practice patience. Or practice self restraint and practice speaking kindly to others, being more helpful to others e.g. take on chores of others at home for the day, practice being cheerful if your personality is more towards sombreness.

You could give up eating morning and afternoon tea and after dinner snacks or snacks whilst watching tv.

Penance should be something meaningful to you and should not be easy.
 
Cor_ad_Cor said:
It doesn’t have to be abstaining from something; you can substitute an act of charity or additional prayer. Any penitential act suffices.
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Tis_Bearself said:
I just do “no meat”. It’s easiest and is what the Church suggests.
One could also give up Internet, coffee, or just say extra prayers.
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If I don’t abstain from meat, I always pray five additional decades of the Rosary.

As I understand it, it’s not a question of what you do, but that you’ve made a conscious decision to do something, recognizing the importance of Friday and not just saying that the weekend is here and it’s time to party.
 
signit said:
As I understand it, it’s not a question of what you do, but that you’ve made a conscious decision to do something, recognizing the importance of Friday
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This is how I see it. I do not see it as a day to beat myself up with penance. To me, it’s an observance of the significance of Friday. There are other days on which I might choose to do more serious penance.
 
Benjinho said:
Hey everyone

New Roman Catholic figuring out the subtleties of everything we do. I learned today that in the United States, Catholics are allowed to deprive themselves of something in lieu of the usual meat which used to be a universal requirement prior to Vatican II.

I decided not to visit a website I tend to waste a lot of time on today instead of foregoing meat, but I’m thinking of just abstaining from meat from now on.

What kind of things can I abstain from for penitance??
Click to expand...
Saint Paul VI wrote in Chapter III of the Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini:
In the first place, Holy Mother Church, although it has always observed in a special way abstinence from meat and fasting, nevertheless wants to indicate in the traditional triad of “prayer—fasting—charity” the fundamental means of complying with the divine precepts of penitence. These means were the same throughout the centuries, but in our time there are special reasons whereby, according to the demands of various localities, it is necessary to inculcate some special form of penitence in preference to others.(60) Therefore, where economic well-being is greater, so much more will the witness of asceticism have to be given in order that the sons of the Church may not be involved in the spirit of the “world,”(61) and at the same time the witness of charity will have to be given to the brethren who suffer poverty and hunger beyond any barrier of nation or continent.(62) On the other hand, in countries where the standard of living is lower, it will be more pleasing to God the Father and more useful to the members of the Body of Christ if Christians—while they seek in every way to promote better social justice—offer their suffering in prayer to the Lord in close union with the Cross of Christ.

Therefore, the Church, while preserving—where it can be more readily observed—the custom (observed for many centuries with canonical norms) of practicing penitence also through abstinence from meat and fasting, intends to ratify with its prescriptions other forms of penitence as well, provided that it seems opportune to episcopal conferences to replace the observance of fast and abstinence with exercises of prayer and works of charity.
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http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-v...cuments/hf_p-vi_apc_19660217_paenitemini.html
 
Generally, if for some reason I have meat on a non-Lenten Friday, I will give up sweets that day. Or, if I am driving a considerable distance, I will turn off the radio for half an hour and pray.
 
Dress “down” on Fridays. I wear a white shirt and black pants. If anyone asks me about my wardrobe choices I reply by saying “I am wearing black and white to remember Jesus the crucified One; it was on a Friday that He won our salvation.”

Joe
 
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