CAN YOU
ANSWER ME WITH A YES OR NO? A number of years ago, the
Church gave permission to eat meat on Friday; afterwards,
the bishops asked us to practice abstinence on Friday, as
of old.
Is it a sin if I eat meat on Friday? Yes or no?
Is it a sin if I eat meat on Ash Wednesday? Yes or
no?
Is it a sin if I eat meat on Good Friday? Yes or
no? *** The Church would like us to behave as adults. She hopes that we will grow in our faith, that we will understand why we have to act in certain ways. With an enlightened conscience, we would find the necessary answers and grow in our fidelity to the Lord’s commandments. There are precepts of the Church we must normally obey in conscience. But what about our health, the requirements of our position in life, etc.? Circumstances may arise that may influence our best intentions. This is why it may sometimes be difficult to answer with a simple yes or no. The Church’s precepts are given us to help us observe the Lord’s laws. One of the Lord’s commandments is to do penance, each according to his or her possibilities (Code of Canon Law, Can. 1249-1253). Accordingly, the Church invites her faithful to do penance, especially at certain times of the year, through fasting and abstinence. « Abstinence from meat, or from some other food, as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday » (Code of Canon Law, Can. 1251). The Catholic bishops of Canada, as well as the Catholic bishops of the United States, decreed that the days of fast and abstinence would be Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fridays are days of abstinence, but, in Canada, Catholics may, on Friday, replace abstinence with works of charity and pious exercises (April 14, 1985). The law of abstinence is an obligation for all faithful over the age of fourteen. As for fasting, it is an obligation for all faithful who have reached their maturity and before they turn 60. Penance is well signified by fast, prayer and alms (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1430, No 1434), but the Church primarily stresses interior disposition, the love of God and neighbor. She recommends prayer and charity, a sincere conversion and an interior repentance. Nobody should boast about fast and abstinence, not to be a hypocrite (Mt 6: 16). Voluntary negligence with regard to the Church’s laws on penance is not exempt from sin, since it reveals a lack of vigilance in following the teachings of Christ: “Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Mt 24: 44). |