3 ms·

I think the Catholic church is back to the old "no meat on Fridays" rule again now. Don't ask me why.

by makomk 11y ago

Jtsummers 11y ago
Where'd you get this? It's still a Lenten season thing. It's encouraged to practice it year round, but not considered a requirement. EDIT: Turns out there's a lot more variation of this between nations than I realized. Abstinence and fasting being two separate things, with fasting typically including abstinence. The Council of Bishops in each country basically decides what the rules will be for that country. Fasting is mandatory for some days worldwide, but the rest are up to the locals, so to speak. Some have chosen year round abstinence and fasting, others some subset of that.
- michaelsbradley 11y ago
  See #1249–1253[+] of the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church (a.k.a. Western Church). [+] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4O.HTM http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4O.HTM
michaelsbradley 11y ago
Meat abstinence on all Fridays of the year (excepting solemnities, i.e. "high feast days") is and has been the universal law of the Western Catholic Church for centuries; the Eastern Church/es have their own disciplines, which some times and in some ways overlap with the Western ones. Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), local councils of bishops received the authority to determine if/how some universal laws would be adapted in their jurisdictions. In the United States and some other territories, the obligation of law for meat abstinence on Fridays outside of Lent was effectively relaxed – one is supposed to do some kind of penitential act on Fridays, but it doesn't necessarily have to be meat abstinence. The effect, though, has been to demolish among the general Catholic populace any sense of the need for the regular exercise (e.g. weekly) of ascetical practices, as an important aspect of Christian discipleship. That's why the "old rules" are starting to come back around in some territories, though church-law hasn't changed in the United States yet. The point of abstinence (of any kind, e.g. from a favorite food or Facebook or whatever) and fasting (a related discipline) is to practice "ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart." (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2043)[+] [+] http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2043 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2043

I think the Catholic church is back to the old "no meat on Fridays" rule again now. Don't ask me why.

by makomk 11y ago

I think the Catholic church is back to the old "no meat on Fridays" rule again now. Don't ask me why.

Where'd you get this? It's still a Lenten season thing. It's encouraged to practice it year round, but not considered a requirement. EDIT: Turns out there's a lot more variation of this between nations than I realized. Abstinence and fasting being two separate things, with fasting typically including abstinence. The Council of Bishops in each country basically decides what the rules will be for that country. Fasting is mandatory for some days worldwide, but the rest are up to the locals, so to speak. Some have chosen year round abstinence and fasting, others some subset of that.

michaelsbradley 11y ago
See #1249–1253[+] of the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church (a.k.a. Western Church). [+] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4O.HTM http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P4O.HTM

michaelsbradley 11y ago

Meat abstinence on all Fridays of the year (excepting solemnities, i.e. "high feast days") is and has been the universal law of the Western Catholic Church for centuries; the Eastern Church/es have their own disciplines, which some times and in some ways overlap with the Western ones. Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), local councils of bishops received the authority to determine if/how some universal laws would be adapted in their jurisdictions. In the United States and some other territories, the obligation of law for meat abstinence on Fridays outside of Lent was effectively relaxed – one is supposed to do some kind of penitential act on Fridays, but it doesn't necessarily have to be meat abstinence. The effect, though, has been to demolish among the general Catholic populace any sense of the need for the regular exercise (e.g. weekly) of ascetical practices, as an important aspect of Christian discipleship. That's why the "old rules" are starting to come back around in some territories, though church-law hasn't changed in the United States yet. The point of abstinence (of any kind, e.g. from a favorite food or Facebook or whatever) and fasting (a related discipline) is to practice "ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart." (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #2043)[+] [+] http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2043 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s1c3a3.htm#2043