03/28/2025
Remember - it's Friday! No meat today! ❤
Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence from meat in remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary. Abstinence is the act of “doing without” or avoiding something. The most common form of abstinence is the avoidance of meat, a spiritual practice that goes back to the earliest days of the Church.
Giving up these things are done to draw the faithful closer to Christ and may be an important reminder of what it means to suffer. This small suffering should help us better understand the suffering that Jesus Christ did for all of us, and should not be met with misery but with great joy.
Not eating meat on Fridays doesn't mean to go all out eating a lavish lobster dinner on Fridays. You're missing the point. This Lenten season lets all think of ways we can sacrifice more for others.
Think about Jesus hanging on the cross. The crucifix is the ultimate expression of the lengths that a loving God will go to reach us. Gazing at a crucifix is a truly humbling experience. Be humble, fast, pray more, do acts of kindness for others, sacrifice, and think about what you can do to be more like Christ.
The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.
Many Catholics do not realize that the Church still recommends abstinence on all Fridays of the year, not just during Lent. In fact, if we don’t abstain from meat on non-Lenten Fridays, we’re required to substitute some other form of penance.
Regarding what is classified as "meat" - here is what the United States Conference for Catholic Bishops site says:
Abstinence laws consider that meat comes only from animals such as chickens, cows, sheep or pigs --- all of which live on land. Birds are also considered meat. Abstinence does not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat. Thus, such foods as chicken broth, consomme, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are technically not forbidden. However, moral theologians have traditionally taught that we should abstain from all animal-derived products (except foods such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste). Fish are a different category of animal. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted.
Wishing you all a holy, humble and prayerful Lent! ❤
