QUESTION ABOUT CATHOLIC LENTEN SEASON: WHY do Catholics fast and NOT eat meat during this season?

Question

QUESTION ABOUT CATHOLIC LENTEN SEASON: WHY do Catholics fast and NOT eat meat during this season? Is this an archaic order that is grossly outdated or is this something to reinforce one's faith? Please help me understand!

Answer 1

The Catholic Church and many other Christians Churches follow the Biblical practice of Jesus Christ and the Jews in setting aside days where the entire Church fasts and prays as one in a attitude of constant renewal.

By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert and in spiritual preparation for the celebration of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

This season of penance is an intense moments of the Church's penitential practice and are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and charitable and missionary works.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

In Western Christianity, Lent is the period (or season) from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday.

Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, roughly corresponding to early spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Ash Wednesday, which may fall anywhere between February 4 and March 10, occurs forty-six days before Easter, but Lent is nevertheless considered to be forty days long, due to the fact that Sundays in this season are not counted among the days of Lent. The traditional reason for this is that fasting was considered inappropriate on Sunday, the day commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus.

Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, while Lent is a time of preparation for Holy Week. Holy Week recalls the events preceding and during the crucifixion, which occurred in the Jerusalem of the Roman province Judea, circa AD 30.

Answer 3

Well, first let me ask you if you are not already pre-judging Catholic teachings as "orders" to be followed by robots. Catholics are invited to do works of penance. Traditionally these have been prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The goal of these three disciplines is not to reinforce one's faith, in fact Jesus warns us specifically not to justify ourselves based on our works of piety. Rather, by praying, one remembers one's relationship with God and the precedance it must take in one's life in order to live a holy life. Fasting reminds one that one is not self-sufficient. It helps one overcome the appetites (and not just for food), and it is also good for humility. Almsgiving reminds us that our relationship with God is not just a me-God thing, but must mean that one have an active love for one's neighbor (and not just stop doing bad things to him or her, but to actually do good).

Yes, abstaining from meat during Fridays of Lent is a precept of the Church, a discipline ask of everyone from 14-60 years old. Eating meat itself is not a sin. The sin would be knowing that the Church asks this and not respecting the Church's authority.

By the way, fasting is not just a Catholic thing. It is also Jewish and Muslim and Hindu and Buddhist... basically many religions believe in fasting.

Answer 4

This is to try to copy Jesus. He was in the desert for 40 days with nothing to eat or drink. That is the key reason to give something up for lent, to show our love of God.

either this or

In the Lenten season, farmers used to sacrifice animals. Nowadays, since most people aren't farmers, we just give up eating animals.

Answer 5

They only don't eat meat on friday, because this is the day Jesus gave up his life, that you should give up somthing that people are obsesed with. Hamburger meat, etc. It's not grossly outdated, and you could make this blog a little more less insulting?

Answer 6

It can be used to reinforce ones faith, it is also used as a time of sincere repentence. Sacrificing meat or what ever you decided to give up for lent is also a rememberance of Jesus fasting for 40 days in the desert. Giving up or fasting( is the proper term) is to sacrifice something that we take for granted and to bring us closer to God.

Answer 7

In honor of Tammuz. Ez. 8:14

Answer 8

ewtn.com
americancatholic.org
catholicanswers.com
scripturecatholic.com
fisheaters.com

these sites may help you better understand catholic teachings all in concordance with the bible,a catechism of the catholic church will also shed light on this and other topics.