Why do Catholics only eat fish on Fridays?

Question

Ok this has confused me for a long time. Even today I somehow brought it up to my friend because she is a Catholic and she doesn't know why. So if anyone is a Catholic Preacher or serious about that religion can you please tell me?

Answer 1

I once read, on the Internet, I think, that the Portuguese king was having trouble raising money as fish was not being consumed as much as he would like and their economy is mostly about fishing , so the Pope decreed that catholics must eat fish, not meat, on Fridays as a way to boost fish sales and promote that food source.

The website below offers another explanation, basically that fish was poor man's food since you could catch it yourself so eating fish is basically like a mini fast, eating only what you yourself can harvest. The second site is a discussion fo the fishing industry support story.

Good question.. I enjoyed my mini research.

Answer 2

traditionally speaking, Friday, the day before the Sabbath, was called Preparation Day. Those who would stay within the confines of the law, in order to keep holy the Sabbath, would do double duty on Friday. (Preparing extra food so you don't have to cook, finishing up any laundry so you don't have to do that, get that last weed out of the garden so it won't offend your eye the next day, etc)

It's so special, isn't it?

So anyway, after Christ's passion on Friday, it became even more important. After all, the Annointed One walked the Earth, and then was ignobly executed, while the week beforehand, had no one given Him praise, the rocks themselves would have proclaimed His Divinity.

On Holy Thursday (the day before the Passion), He asked us all to remember Him by partaking of His Body and Blood. For those who witnessed His death and subsequent resurrection, Friday was a dark day for them. It seemed that all was lost. Who could possibly think of food at a time like that?

Answer 3

Catholics are typically required to commemorate the day that Jesus died for us on the cross, which was a Friday, by making some sort of a small, personal sacrifice.

In earliler times, abstaining from meat was the way the church required it to be done.

Today, Catholics are free to select their own little penance.

Answer 4

Catholics don't only eat fish, and what you're thinking of is the time period we call "lent". This is between Ash Wednesday and Easter, approximately 40 days. Between this time, we give up meat on Fridays as a small sacrifice to remind ourselves how much Jesus sacrificed for us.

Answer 5

that's meant to be a convention in remembrance of Christ being crucified on a Friday. It grow to be meant to be an act of understand and self-discipline and a reminder to wish. in spite of the undeniable fact that that is totally debatable...... From Babylon, secret faith Reverend Ralph Woodrow, 1965 we've seen proper from the scriptures that Friday grow to be very actual no longer the day of the week on which Christ grow to be crucified. yet each and each Friday many Catholics abstain from meat (substituting fish in its place) supposedly in remembrance of the Friday crucifixion. Roman Catholics in the U. S. are not from now on required by way of their church to abstain from meat on Fridays (as in the past) - different than for the period of Lent - inspite of the reality that many nonetheless shop on with the custom of fish on Friday

Answer 6

the 40 days and nights before Easter is called Lent, during Lent we do not eat meat on Fridays. that doesn't mean that we eat fish, its just not considered a meat. we do this because when Jesus was alive he spent 40 days and nights in the desert with multiple temptations from Satan, and the least we can do is give up meat.

Answer 7

Actually I believe the original edict was to eat the meat of no living thing to comemorate the death of Jesus.
Small forms of self suffering help us to remember the enormous amount of suffering Jesus did for us.

In some seafaring/fishing communities this was a real hardship because for a large part of the year that was all they had to eat so the original edict was modified.

Answer 8

The Catholic Church follows 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.

The Days of Penance are described in the Code of Canon Law (1249-1253):

Divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way.

In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence.

The penitential times are every Friday and the season of Lent.

Abstinence from meat is to be observed on all Fridays.

Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

In the United States of America, the bishops, with the permission of the Pope, for Catholics to substitute a penitential Practice or even a charitable practice of their own choosing on the Fridays outside of Lent.

Many U.S. Catholics just continue to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM
http://www.usccb.org/lent/2007/Penance_and_Abstinence.pdf

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

that's not true.today my parents ate fish for dinner.you can eat fish anytime you want.now there is a time period called lent it starts on ash Wednesday and ends on good Friday.during that time you cant eat any type of meat on Fridays.that is usually during Feb and march

Answer 10

Because that is how it started out in the 4th century AD when the Roman emperor Constantine founded the Roman Catholic Church. He intertwined many pagan customs into worship, and you have the giant snowball rolling downhill that you have today.

Hey Solarius...Jesus died on Wednesday afternoon...not Friday.