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Why Eat Fish on Fridays? And Other Lenten Surprises

Growing up as a protestant, I never really understood why Catholics made such a fuss over seemingly normal things during Lent. One great example is the practice of not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. How does that help us or help God? We've written about Lent in general before. This post points out some of the Catholic practices during Lent and attempts to explain why Catholics do that.

Why Eat Fish on Fridays?
One of the most obvious Catholic practices involves giving up all meat on Fridays. Catholics only eat fish and vegetables on Fridays during Lent (and lots of Catholics do this year-round). To step back, one of the important things about being a Christian is integrating your Christian beliefs into every part of your life. It's easy to compartmentalize your religion to Sunday mornings only, but true Christianity means living your faith every day, all day.

So going back to Fish on Fridays, there are two good aspects to this. First, we make a sacrifice of something small to God. In other words, we give up something we like for Our Lord, whom we love. Yes, it's a small sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice given from Love and it is always positive to give up something good for something great. Second, it enables us to keep Jesus Christ in the front our minds during the day. You have to actively remember not to eat meat on Fridays and this practices forces you to keep thinking about God all day. This is always an excellent idea.

To Mimic Christ at Lent
Lent is forty day fast that starts with Ash Wednesday and goes for forty days (not counting Sundays) to Easter. During this time we prepare our souls for the coming of God. We make personal sacrifices to help us remember God all day and to actively show God our love. As St. Paul wrote:

Col 1:24-25. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known

Confession and Lent
All Catholics are required to attend confession at least once during Lent. Why? To prepare our souls for Easter Sunday. We believe that Jesus Christ through the grace of the Sacrament of Confession actually forgives us our sins when we confess them "one to another" as Christ commanded us. This is just another way that Lent focuses us on the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and our mortality (in other words, why we should be preparing to meet God).

Other Lenten practices
There are many other practices that we are called to do during Lent. The three pillars of Lent are fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (giving to the poor). These three pieces help prepare our souls. Many Catholics also attend the "Stations of the Cross" at their local parish, which involves going step by step from Jesus' arrest through His Crucifixion and meditation on each step in the process. It really forces you to consider what Christ has done for you.

The blessings of Lent
The true value of Lenten practices becomes apparent on Easter Sunday morning when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and our salvation. Our little gifts of sacrifice to God help bring us closer to Our Lord as we prepare for this time.

God bless,
Jay