Why no meat on fridays during lent

Such are the flesh of animals that take their rest on the earth, and of those that breathe the air and their products. Put differently, Aquinas thought fellow Catholics should abstain from eating land-locked animals because they were too darn tasty. Lent was a time for simplicity, and he suggested that everyone tone it down. It makes sense. In the s, meat was a luxury. Eating something as decadent as beef was no way to celebrate a holiday centered on modesty. But Aquinas had another reason, too: He believed meat made you horny.

Hence the Church has bidden those who fast to abstain especially from these foods. There you have it. You can now blame those impure thoughts on a beef patty. Aquinas might have had it backwards though. According to the American Dietetic Association, red meat doesn't boost "seminal matter. However, red meat does improve testosterone levels , so it's give-and-take.

Aquinas gave a third reason to avoid meat: it won't give you gas. Meat, on the other hand, boosts the body's long-lasting, lustful humors —a religious no-no. The reason is foggy. Abstinence is one of our oldest Christian traditions.

Up until Church law prohibited meat on all Fridays throughout the entire year. The U. Since Jesus sacrificed his flesh for us on Good Friday, we refrain from eating flesh meat in his honor on Fridays. Flesh meat includes the meat of mammals and poultry, and the main foods that come under this heading are beef and pork, chicken and turkey.

While flesh is prohibited, the non-flesh products of these animals are not, things like milk, cheese, butter, and eggs. Fish do not belong to the flesh meat category. The Latin word for meat, caro , from which we get English words like carnivore and carnivorous, applies strictly to flesh meat and has never been understood to include fish. Furthermore, in former times flesh meat was more expensive, eaten only occasionally, and associated with feasting and rejoicing; whereas fish was cheap, eaten more often, and not associated with celebrations.

By abstaining, Catholics can share a common experience in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice. The Courier and Daily Comet asked Catholics on Facebook whether they follow the practice or view not doing so as a sin. The question drew more than responses. Everyone has the right to either eat meat or not. I choose not to. Such a luxurious sacrifice doesn't actually make sense. Being honest with yourself about it is probably a better sacrifice, a sacrifice of hand-me-down traditions, beliefs and social acceptance.