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by singwell-is off researching a lot on March 9th, 2007
It is an ancient tradition followed by Roman Catholics not to eat meat on Fridays, but that has been relaxed now. Why it started, I do not know , but I found this suggestion:
http://www.kencollins.com/question-38.htm
Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Most often...(the) fast took the form of avoiding meat in the diet. In those days, meat was a luxury food. You either had to buy it in a market or you had to own enough land to keep cattle. On the other hand, anyone could grow vegetables or forage for them, and anyone could catch a fish in a lake or a stream. You could buy better fish and vegetables, but the point is that you could eat without money if you were poor. So meat was rich people's food and fish was poor people's food. That is why the most common form of fasting was to omit meat and eat fish.
As for Lent, it was common to prepare oneself spiritually for Easter over the 40 preceeding days in the middle ages, but the exact rulings varied from century to century and place to place, so it never was a unified tradition. When the Protestant churches formed, it became an option only.
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent#Fasting_and_abstinence)
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Comments
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and DOCTRINES OF DEVILS; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; FORBIDDING TO MARRY, and commanding to abstain from meats..." (1st Timothy 4:1-3).
It is still a question to many why priests teach this. It is clearly stated in that verse that teaching people to abstain from meat is a doctrine of the devils.. and so is forbidding to marry.. Celibacy anyone? oh yeah, for the priests..
by lbazar on April 19th, 2011