Why do Catholics.....?

Question

Why to catholics make such a big deal about not eating meat during lent. (not a biblical holiday)

But a few days before Lent, they eat like pigs. Also, get drunk. In fact, I even knew some Catholics who went to Las Vegas.

I mean, if you are going to gorge before and after lent, is this really doing anything?

The whole fish on fridays thing also, what in the world is that? How can people not see this is nothing more then a cult, that makes their own rules.

Jesus said all things are good to eat, and lent is a law, which puts them under a curse for following the law. Read Gal 3:10

Lent was "invented" much, much later then when Jesus was in his earthly ministry. Also, it is not found in the Bible.

During Jesus earthly ministry, this is called "The Gospel of the Kingdom" vs. "the Gospel of Grace".

The "Gospel of the Kingdom", (Jesus earthly Ministry). We were still under law.

However, now we are in the "Church Age", which is under Grace. Mostly, the letters of Paul.

Lent is legalism, that is not for the True Believers. Jesus died on the Cross and said "It is finished". He does not need you to add to the cross.

I know most Catholics are spiritually dead, and that is why you do not understand what I say. Also, you are so hung up on your doctrines, and church that no matter what the Truth is, you will accept what your church says over the Bible.

Follow the Holy Spirit, not your Church's dogma.

Answer 1

you said it ......... man made rules ....man made religion

Answer 2

2 minutes on the web would tell you all you need to know, but since you would rather take the opportunity to bash something you don't understand, I will help you out.

Abstaining from meat during Lent is a form of penance, and a sharing in the suffering of Christ.

The practice of gorging before Lent is a practical one - get rid of what you are abstaining from rather than let it go to waste.

So you know some Catholics that go to Vegas? BIG DEAL! I know many Southern Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans and even some Pentecostals that go to Vegas on a regular basis. What about it? HEY! I even know some JW's and some Mormons that actually LIVE in Vegas!

Yes, Jesus did say that all things are good to eat, but he also said that not all things are good for you.

In short, if you don't like the practice, don't become Catholic. But you really have no right to judge the practices of others. I am sure that I could find some things that you do that aren't in the Bible.

Here is a question for you. . . Show me, Book, Chapter and Verse, where it says that the Bible is the ONLY authority on what can and can not be done.

Answer 3

In the first portion of his Gospel St. Matthew relates how Christ passed forty days in the desert, during which time neither food nor drink passed his lips. No doubt this penance of the God-man was not only expiatory, but also exemplary. True, Christ did not explicitly define the days nor the weeks wherein his followers would be obliged to fast and abstain. At the same time his example, coupled with his reply to the disciples of the Baptist, is an evidence that the future would find his followers subjected to regulations whereby they would fast "after the bridegroom had been taken away". The only piece of clearly defined legislation concerning abstinence embodied in the New Testament was framed by the Council of Jerusalem, prescribing "abstinence from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled" (Acts 15:29). Nevertheless the Acts of the Apostles give evidence of a tendency on the part of the Church, as an organized body, to prepare the way for important events by abstinence and fasting (Acts 13:3; 14:22). In fine, St. Paul sets forth the necessity of abstinence when he says that "everyone striving for the mastery must abstain from all things" (1 Corinthians 9:25); and "let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of Christ in labours, watchings, and fastings" (2 Corinthians 6:5), which he had often practiced (2 Corinthians 11:27).

Answer 4

Most Catholics are spiritually dead? Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? If you do, a declaration of apostacy for the Church of Christ, unified by the Holy Spirit, is close to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. To claim a spiritual death of others goes against the Holy Spirit, and the bible. You should seriously re-read your bible as regards prayer, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and sinning against the Holy Ghost.

As regards lent and the "gorging"

Mardi Gras is French for FAT TUESDAY. It is a fest day before Ash Wednesday. You get your fill because during the days of Paul and Peter, Christians would fast for 40 days in honor of Christ's time in the desert, where Christ also fasted. In the modern times, most people do not have the religious discipline to fast for 40 days, so the limitiation is placed onto giving up one thing you enjoy for 40 days, and also not eating meat on Friday (which was also origionally a year round thing in Honor of Christ choosing fishermen as apostles).

It is a tradition to honor Christians of the past. Remember, books were hard to come by back then. Therefore, people relied on drawings as communication, and also as ritual observances (like Lent) to pass the tradition onto one another.

You also do not gorge after lent.

Answer 5

Actually, Catholics can eat meat during Lent, simply not on Fridays during lent. That is why they eat fish on Fridays during Lent. They fast during Lent to remember Christ's 40 days of fasting in the desert.

Fasting is a Biblical spiritual practice.

Answer 6

You're really, really reaching for stuff now, aren't you?

Love the generalizations. "They" eat like pigs.

Lent isn't a "holiday". (Are the holidays you observe "Biblical", by the way?) And I fail to see what difference it makes to you, other than to throw yet another rock at Catholics.

You don't want an answer to this question any more than others you've posted; you just want amens to your own prejudice. Explaining the truth to you is a wasted effort. You will accept only that which reinforces what you already believe.

Answer 7

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.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1438:
http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm#1438

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

here is the real rule. go ask a priest. you are to give up something you like ie gambling, eating chocolate as a way to show sacrifice like jesus did by giving his life for our sins.


before that you can do what you want as long it is not a sin or a crime where you live.

then the meat thing is ONLY on Fridays during lent.

those with say anemia who cannot go without the high iron of meat are exempt.


all mainstream relgions from the jews to catholics and muslims have similiar self sacrfice beleifs. if you cannot suffer a while then you never learn humility. that is the 2nd reason for this. it is a lesson of self sacrfice and humility.

Answer 9

Funny. Leviticus for eating rules. Duh.

But your lack of knowledge about Christianity (let alone Catholicism) could fill the Staples Center.

Mardi Gras is a holiday.

Do you even understand Lent? Not Biblical? Wow. You know nothing of Jesus Christ.

Answer 10

I am a former Catholic. That is a needless rule.

The practice of not eating meat during Lent began in the Middle Ages. People would refrain from eating meat, but would give the money usually spent on meat to the poor, so it became an act of charity.

Same thing with the old rule of not eating meat on Friday (because every Friday symbolized Good Friday,see?).

"Fat Tuesday," "Mardi Gras," was the day when all the meat in the household would be eaten because they couldn't keep meat for much more than a day back then, and they wouldn't waste food as we do now.

Unfortunately, Fat Tuesday and Lent just loses all sacrificial symbolism or results in any charity these days.

Ritual for ritual's sake is completely meaningless in the eyes of God.

However, I agree with "Born Again Catholic" above, that it is not fair to generalize.

Answer 11

The prophet Isaiah insists that fasting without changing our behavior is not pleasing to God. "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own" (Is 58:6-7).



Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over to Christ and his way of life. That always involves giving up sin in some form. The goal is not just to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever. Conversion means leaving behind an old way of living and acting in order to embrace new life in Christ.

Prayer: More time given to prayer during Lent should draw us closer to the Lord. We might pray especially for the grace to live out our baptismal promises more fully.

Fasting: Fasting is one of the most ancient practices linked to Lent. In fact, the paschal fast predates Lent as we know it. The early Church fasted intensely for two days before the celebration of the Easter Vigil. This fast was later extended and became a 40-day period of fasting leading up to Easter. Vatican II called us to renew the observance of the ancient paschal fast: "...let the paschal fast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday and, where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of the Sunday of the Resurrection may be attained with uplifted and clear mind"

Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control. It is often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God.

Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the
injustices of our economic and political structures, those who
are in need for any reason. Thus fasting, too, is linked to living out our baptismal promises. By our Baptism, we are charged
with the responsibility of showing Christ's love to the world, especially to those in need. Fasting can help us realize the suffering that so many people in our world experience every day, and it should lead us to greater efforts to alleviate that suffering.


Abstaining from meat traditionally also linked us to the poor, who could seldom afford meat for their meals. It can do the same today if we remember the purpose of abstinence and embrace it as a spiritual link to those whose diets are sparse and simple. That should be the goal we set for ourselves—a sparse and simple meal. Avoiding meat while eating lobster misses the whole point!

Almsgiving: It should be obvious at this point that almsgiving, the third traditional pillar, is linked to our baptismal commitment in the same way. It is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given to us. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life we began when we were baptized.

Brain, take a day off from Catholic bashing and actually be the Christian you are always professing to be.