Why No Meat on Fridays for Catholics?

According to the Code of Canon Law, all Catholics are obliged to carry out acts of penance as a sign of faith. Abstaining from meat on Fridays is one of several acts of penance that bind Catholics together as a single community.

Function

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, all Catholics should begin preparing for Sunday Mass by performing some act of penance on Friday. This act of penance reminds the believer of Christ's suffering and death, expresses sorrow for sins, helps believers learn to resist temptations and repairs the damage caused by sin.

Features

Originally under Catholic law, all believers between 14 and 60 were supposed to abstain from meat every Friday. If they did eat meat on Friday, they were supposed to substitute some other penitent act, such as giving to the poor. American Catholics typically limit the practice of abstaining from meat to Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Fridays during Lent.

History

According to Fr. Pat McCloskey of AmericanCatholic.org, in the fourth century, Catholics abstained from meat on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. By the 12th century, the practice was limited to Ash Wednesday and Friday. In 1966, Pope Paul VI decided that the various conferences of bishops could decide which days to set aside for abstinence from meat.

References

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics
• Women for Faith and Family: Fast and Abstinence
• American Catholic: Ask a Franciscan: Why Meatless Friday?