Are catholics really forbidden to eat meat on fridays of lenten season and why?

Answer 1

Yes.

+ Lent +

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.

http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm#1438

+ Fasting and Abstinence +

Catholics in the United States are obliged to abstain from the eating of meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent.

They are also obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday.

Self-imposed observance of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. This is where people also give up chocolate, sarcasm, or something else for Lent.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Abstaining from something helps us refocus on what is important and it cuts out the things that might have seemed important. By abstaining, we have better ability to concentrate on God.

One belief of why meat was chosen is because most people feel that giving up meat (beef and chicken) is an inconvenience.

The Church asks us to inconvenience ourselves sometimes to serve as a reminder that they should always have God as a top priorty and pleasures as a lesser priorty.
Another belief is that in many poorer countries, beef is a specialty. For us to give it up, helps us to remember about people who are less fortunate than we are.

Answer 3

We are not forbidden. It is something we choose to give up. The season of Lent is to try and change things that are wrong in our lives. To come to repentance and to grow in our relationship with Christ Jesus

Answer 4

They are forbidden to eat meat on fridays. Its to remind them of Christ's sacrifice. Be thankful, back before Vatican II in the '60s it used to be EVERY friday

Answer 5

It is showing respect for what Jesus went through. Mostly though it is going back to the period of time before Jesus sacrifice. I mean it was dry dry in the realm of spirituality, no real meat, sort of speak so it is reinforcing that fact. Our real sustenance is Jesus.

Answer 6

Catholics, as a group, are required to fast on only two days of the year - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On these days, fasting means something very specific and limited. It means that one eats only one full meal in a day, with no food in-between meals. It is understood that two other meals, if one eats three meals a day, should not total one full meal. One might fast in a more complete way, i.e., eating only a portion of a single meal.

Of course, anyone is free to fast at any time that it is helpful for their prayer and reflection. It is not recommended that anyone with impaired health should fast in any way. It is also important to note that everyone who fasts should drink enough fluids on a fast day.

What does it mean to "abstain"?

To abstain is to not eat meat. Its purpose is to be an act of penance - an act of sacrifice, that helps us grow in freedom to make much bigger sacrifices. Of course, it would not make sense to make the sacrifice of not eating meat, and then eat a wonderful meal I might enjoy even more. Many people eat a vegetarian diet, for a variety of reasons, and eating meat is not even an issue. It might be possible to abstain from a non-meal that I really like, on all the Fridays of Lent. It should be noted that many people in this world cannot afford to eat meat or do not have access to it. Part of our abstaining from meat can place us in solidarity with so many of our sisters and brothers around the world.

When do I abstain?

Catholics, as a group, abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent.


What about "giving up something" for Lent?

When many of us were children, we might remember our giving up candy for Lent. And, it seemed like a real sacrifice. As we grew up, it was often more difficult to decide what special thing to do, to make Lent a special season - to get our attention and to prepare ourselves for deeper sacrifices.

What would help me grow in freedom? That's the question to ask. For some of us, it could be, committing ourselves to give up judging others, every single day of Lent. For others, it could be giving up a bad habit we've developed. For still others, it is obvious what seems to be the important choice for me during Lent.

For many of us, the choice may not be to give something up, but to add something to our daily lives during Lent. We may commit ourselves to extra prayer time. We may decide to do some service to the poor, once a week during Lent. We may choose to increase our almsgiving to the poor - perhaps related to something we choose not to do, e.g., some might choose not to go out to eat one night a week, and to give that total amount to the poor.

Whether it is fasting, abstaining or other acts of penance, the whole desire we should have is to use these means to help us grow closer to our Lord and prepare ourselves "to celebrate the paschal mystery with minds and hearts renewed." (First Preface of Lent)

May our Lord bless us all on this journey ahead.

Answer 7

Its man-made doctrine...evident by a man(pope) creating it and later saying its not so important...