American Catholics...you CANNOT eat meat tomorrow

Was your substitute penance today getting ratioed and community noted, Christian?

I was never ratioed 😁

Since people are asking why it makes sense for Cardinal Keeler to say that tmmr is an obligatory day of abstinence. GIRM establishes it as a day of penance in n. 373 since CIC 1244 §2 allows bishops (or episcopal conferences by extension) to decree special days of penance for their dioceses. Can. 1253 requires that bishops/episcopal conferences explicitly dispense with the obligation to abstain from meat on these days, "as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast." This is why the USCCB in 1966 needed to promulgate 'Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence' in order to allow for substitutions on fridays. This hasn't been promulgated by the USCCB (no, web pages done by interns don't count), hence it follows that it is obligatory.

This might be clearer...there is an analogy between days of penance and holy days of obligation. A day of penance includes the following: "On these days Christ's faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and **especially by observing the fast and abstinence** which the following canons prescribe." (CIC 1249) In a similar way, the Holy Days of obligation include the double precept of attending mass and abstaining from servile labor (CIC 1247). In the same way we say "we have a holy day of obligation, which includes mass" so also we can say "we have a day of penance without fasting and abstinence." "Why don't we abstain/fast on all penitential days then?" Great question...originally, ALL penitential days were days of fasting and abstinence. So why aren't they now? Well, the Church has the authority to dispense with the rigor of the law by allowing the substitution of some other penance. As an example, according to CIC 1251 ALL FRIDAYS of the year are days of abstinence from meat...does this mean that all days of the year are binding for US Catholics? No. Why? Well, CIC 1253 gives episcopal conferences the authority to allow for these substitutions and it has (cf., 1966 'Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence'). So, in the US, while friday abstinence can be substituted outside of Lent, it cannot be substituted within Lent. But, the important part is the principle that days of penance are days of fasting and abstinence UNLESS there is some sort of allowance for substitution given by the relevant authority. The only thing I've seen is a webpage on the USCCB website that mentions a number of things that can be done during a day of penance...well, webpages on the USCCB website aren't pastoral statements (probably written by some intern) and it really doesn't clearly state that there is no obligation either. It just lists some things people can do for penance.

From what I'm seeing this is not mandatory and/or under pain of mortal sin like Friday's during a lent, Good Friday or Ash Wednesday... and you can say a prayer instead or do something else.

My Trad calendar doesn't call out Thursday as a day of fasting / abstinence

Leave it to the @USCCB to not update this day after Dobbs made it moot, to be confused on the requirement for abstinence even in their own documents, and to not adequately deal with this question on Fridays throughout the year. A fine mess.

The USCCB itself lists multiple ways of participating besides fast and absence.

"Beside" is simply untrue...it just gives a list of ways to do penance, never stating whether or if any are obligatory or not. This is true for fridays on lent as well, which are obligatory.

This is every Wednesday and Friday for Orthodox

Mr Wagner, between you, someone who has not eaten a shoe live on stream despite promising to do so and the USCCB, who says its encouraged but -not- required, I will have to listen to the ordained Bishops. I'm sorry. Also, please eat a shoe live on stream like you promised.

Erm...they didn't say that

@CafeteriaPapist You could just buy a cake that is designed to look like a shoe, and eat that on stream so you can be true to your word.

@WalmartThomist NO. REAL SHOE. I REMEMBER.

I don’t eat mean on Fridays and other ember days so when co workers etc say it’s Ash Wednesday I can’t eat meat I just look at them like this…

can you provide receipts for the quote from Cardinal Keeler? The GIRM says a "day of prayer" which means 99% of catholics are going to immediately toss this, but a statement from the Cardinal clarifying would make that harder

@catholicpat I am a practicing Catholic and I can honestly say that I have never heard of this. You’d think they would mention this at Sunday mass.

Penance is obligatory, not abstinence from meat. Note Canon 1250. It seems to imply that penance is separate from abstinence, or else abstinence during meat would be required for the entire season of Lent. Canon 1251 is what specifically lays out abstinence from meat as a requirement for all Fridays, which the US bishops have dispensed. If you read what the GIRM says for January 22nd, it uses similar language of penance, but doesn’t specifically require abstinence. So then I’d follow Canon 1249, which says penance can be done your own way.

Of course penance is separate from abstinence...else dispensing on days of penance wouldn't even be possible. The more important clause is from 1249, which states that days of penance are established for fasting and abstinence. Hence, to have a day of penance is to have a day that includes fasting and abstinence (unless stated otherwise in accord with 1253, of course) just like to have a holy day of obligation is to have a day where there is rest and mass.

@jmaster_888 Same section says all days of Lent are penitential days. Are we supposed to abstain from meat on all days of Lent?

@jmaster_888 Why even comment if you're not going to actually read what I wrote? Half of the tweet I wrote is commenting on this...

@jmaster_888 You're missing my point. Lenten days are considered days of penance, yet where is the dispensation from abstaining from meat? There isn't one because it is not necessary. The only abstinence days that are obligatory are Fridays and Ash Wed. Your post has spread confusion on this.

@jmaster_888 Dude, you could fill a three volume work with all the documents slowly giving dispensations from fasting/abstinence for Lent...this is fasting history 101.

Shameful that Rome allowed a pro abortion president like Joe Biden to remain in good standing

Can anyone confirm this? Haven't heard this before.

Someone tell @NickJFuentes

did not know this until today. thank you for sharing. but also, now that Roe V Wade has been over turned, should it become a feast day?

I don’t think this is a thing.

I don’t think this was promulgated in the c. 1250 sense. It’s just a general call to prayer and penance. In the same way a priest might be instructed to live a life of “prayer and penance,” this doesn’t mean he has to stop eating meat forever.

@RachelToRome Wrong. This isn’t a thing. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I remember my canon law professor impressing upon us wee lads that "common sense" is one of the most important hermeneutics in canon law, another being that binding laws are to be read strictly and privileges broadly. Idk how to reach the conclusion that we are "obliged"

While it is an excellent practice, it is NOT an obligation (literally never heard of this before) and I think you're spreading bad info here. @JimmyAkin3000 or @counseloftrent may want to weigh in.

@JimmyAkin3000 @counseloftrent

The USCCB website indicates otherwise. "Not sure how to observe this day of prayer and penance? Pick from the ideas below or offer some other prayer or sacrifice that you feel called to do. Go to Mass Abstain from meat ..."

This doesn't say that at all? You could say literally the same thing about fridays in Lent, but they are obligatory.

USCCB also tells us we should support open borders and keep illegal immigrants from getting deported. I’ll stick to the Catechism thank you

I can't find anything n the USCCB website to confirm this. We fast every Weds and Friday but do not see any info to confirm what you have shared.

Would this mean anytime a pope or bishop calls for a day of penance the same applies? And where is this found in Church law. Not challenging this, just want to know.

Here is some more info...but yes.

So whenever Pope Francis said let’s have a day of penance for those families in the conflict etc you would read that as a mandatory day of abstinence? And if so why is no weight being placed upon those statements by Catholic influencers under pain of sin like this one.

I’m trying to understand my obligations here, my priest texted me back saying your initial video was incorrect as there was nothing on the Bishop’s page (his words, not mine) so I’m not sure what to make of your take here.

But out of respect for this it’s better to abstain and fast anyways I would think

Why just American Catholics? Why trust this internet stranger?

Sorry, need my protein big guy (little guy)

You should not eat meat or sugar or carbs or fat for about a month before coming back on here

I have never heard this before. Not one word of it has ever been mentioned in the parish I’ve attended for 28 years.

Is there any other mandatory penances in addition to no meat, or only the no meat is mandatory?

Praying abortion is criminalized across all of America 🤲🏻

Wagner we need a citation for the quote

The USCCB has exactly zero authority. None. It should be abolished.

What if i'm a mexican Catholic?