Must Catholics abstain from eating meat on Friday?

Tim Staples is Director of Apologetics and Evangelization here at Catholic Answers, but he was not always Catholic. Tim was raised a Southern Baptist. Although he fell away from the faith of his childhood, Tim came back to faith in Christ during his late teen years through the witness of Christian televangelists. Soon after, Tim joined the Marine Corps.

During his four-year tour, he became involved in ministry with various Assemblies of God communities. Immediately after his tour of duty, Tim enrolled in Jimmy Swaggart Bible College and became a youth minister in an Assembly of God community. During his final year in the Marines, however, Tim met a Marine who really knew his faith and challenged Tim to study Catholicism from Catholic and historical sources. That encounter sparked a two-year search for the truth. Tim was determined to prove Catholicism wrong, but he ended up studying his way to the last place he thought he would ever end up: the Catholic Church!

He converted to Catholicism in 1988 and spent the following six years in formation for the priesthood, earning a degree in philosophy from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania. He then studied theology on a graduate level at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for two years. Realizing that his calling was not to the priesthood, Tim left the seminary in 1994 and has been working in Catholic apologetics and evangelization ever since.

If you are interested in booking Tim Staples for an upcoming event, please contact Catholic Answers at [phone].

[standev]

As more and more things are relaxed, and everything becomes optional, it makes us lose our Catholic identity and forget about God.

[jesseclemente]

It seems mandatory... I'm confused.. Why would the church call ALL Fridays as penitential days if it's just "encouraged."
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 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 fastand abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.
the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

[googlename]

Timothy 4:1-5. It’s that simple. You can eat meat.

If someone wants to respect a tradition or custom because they feel it makes them closer to God? God bless. Or part of a community of believers? God bless. That’s always a good thing, but biblically I can’t find a basis for not eating meat on Good Friday. Or any Friday.

[Unclenate]

Pretty much this entire Lenten season should be encouraged and not mandatory. It's far too regimented and too "one-size-fits-all" to impose this on everyone, and at best, leaving many to bother their consciences as to whether or not they have some legitimate exception.

[natalieberry]

I literally eat meat all the time meat is my favorite food I consider my self a carnivore

[rajahsoliman]

Just want everyone to know that the Catholic Church is NOT the same as the Roman Catholic Church. The RCC is only part of the Catholic Church God established. For example, aside from the RCC from the western or Latin rite u also have the eastern rites like Ethiopian, Greek, Chaldean Catholics, etc.. And yes the Catholic Church gave us the bible in 392. It also gave us the NT in 50 AD or so. God left us a church and not a book. The book is useful for teaching 2Tim3:16. The Catholic Church still has bishops, presbyters, and deacons and incensed mass and sacraments as described in the Bible. The church is both a synagogue and a temple both combined in one structure. God never stopped demanding a sacrifice. Which god doesn't? How much more the One True God?

[emilianoandrade]

What i do is i go to a place where people dont eat meat and eat meat right infront of them on a friday

[foxx]

Wrong, there is nothing biblical or decidedly Christian in demanding one abstains from meat ( and dairy ) at all times. Read the wisdom of what Our Lord says " It is not what a man eats that makes him unclean....but what comes out of his mouth ( ie his words ) which defile him "...as these latter show what's in the heart. ( such as impurity, hatred, envy etc )

[Treeesmith]

Dunno, but idolatry of a graven image before God is

Hmmmm

[lettherebelight]

The Christians eat fish during lent to honor the abominable fish god Dagon. For it is written: "You shall have no other gods before me ". The Christians have broken the 1st commandment. Exodus 20. Christianity is a PAGAN religion. There are NO Christians in the scriptures. They were first called: "Anointed ONES" in Antioch. Agrippa said: "Almost thou persuadest me to be an ANOINTED ONE". Look it up. Be aware of PAGAN words put in the bible to deceive the people.When a Christian is born again they CEASE from being Christians and are GRAFTED into Born Again Israel. Prov. 30:4 . His Name is Yahweh and His SON'S Name is Yahshua. The Words Christ (S) and Christian (s) are NOWHERE found in the SCRIPTURES.The WORD used in the SCRIPTURES is : "Anointed ONES" . The bible is a TRANSLATION of the Hebrew scriptures. The scriptures were written in Hebrew from Genesis to Revelation. The Christians translated the NEW Covenant scriptures into GREEK to remove the Name of the Creator YAHWEH and put their pagan greek god jesus in the bible. YAHweh's SON has ONLY one Name: YAHshua. Christianity is a PAGAN religion. The pagans that worshiped Serapis called themselves "CHRISTIANS". Christianity is the religion of the FALSE messiah. Yahweh let the Christians put pagan words in the bible to HIDE the truth from the sinners. Yahweh uses the bible to separate the Sheep from the goats. May Yahweh give you the understanding in these SALVATION scriptures for YOU. Bless you.