Why Catholics Don’t Eat Meat on Fridays During Lent

Of course, there are still those of us who choose to abstain from meat every day during Lent even if it is no longer binding under pain of sin.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

Here is the real reason why Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays and why fish is on the menu instead.

Catholics are among the only Christians who freely don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent. In fact, you know you are in a Catholic town when, only during Lent, every single restaurant advertises one item on their menu: fish!

I have even noticed how major fast-food chains point out on their fliers the date of Ash Wednesday! Suddenly everyone cares about the liturgical seasons of the Church!

So why is it that the Church instructs Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays (as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), but gives the "thumbs-up" for Catholics to eat fish? Sounds fishy to me!

Why Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays

First of all we must ask the question, "why Friday?" The USCCB gives a succinct explanation:

Catholic peoples from time immemorial have set apart Friday for special penitential observance by which they gladly suffer with Christ that they may one day be glorified with Him. This is the heart of the tradition of abstinence from meat on Friday where that tradition has been observed in the holy Catholic Church.

Since it is believed Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross on a Friday, Christians from the very beginning have set aside that day to unite their sufferings to Jesus. This led the Church to recognize every Friday as a "Good Friday" where Christians can remember Christ's passion by offering up a specific type of penance.

For much of the Church's history meat was singled out as a worthy sacrifice on account of its association with feasts and celebrations. In most ancient cultures meat was considered a delicacy and the "fattened calf" was not slaughtered unless there was something to celebrate.

Since Fridays were thought of as a day of penance and mortification, eating meat on a Friday to "celebrate" the death of Christ didn't seem right. (As an aside, some bishops have chosen to lift the ban when St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday during Lent, as it is considered a "solemnity" for many Irish Catholics.)