Why do Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent? What is the history behind the practice?

The Church’s penitential traditions date back to the first Christians. Jesus provided a model for fasting and abstinence during His 40 days in the desert and taught that fasting would be part of the Christian life. When asked why His followers did not fast, He explained, “The days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast” (Lk. 5:35).

VARIOUS PENANCES
After Jesus’ return to the Father, Christians chose various penances, such as fasting, abstinence from certain foods and almsgiving. During the time in which it was illegal to be a Christian, when even practicing one’s faith put a person at risk, extra penances were less important and were necessarily done privately. Penances of all kinds increased after the period of martyrdom ended.

Among the first Christians who embraced lives of renunciation were the desert fathers and mothers, who separated themselves from others by living in the Egyptian desert. Their lives included frequent fasting and dietary regulations, such as abstaining from meat, eggs, cheese and other rich foods.

FASTING AND ABSTINENCE
The practice of abstaining from meat, as part of fasting and regulation of food, developed further in the ancient and medieval periods. Meat was considered a luxury, not a necessary staple for survival. Substituting meat with grains, vegetables or fish, when available, became common.

Choosing to forego meat became a way of expressing sorrow for sin, fostering self-denial and joining Christ’s suffering on the cross. It became connected to Fridays, the day Jesus’ death is remembered. Choosing such penances on Fridays and at other times, such as the “Ember days” (days corresponding to the four seasons), became commonplace.

Responding to the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent emphasized abstinence from meat as a universal, communal penance for Catholics, uniting the faithful worldwide. Unlike Reformation traditions that considered abstinence a “human work,” Catholics emphasized dietary restrictions as a proper penitential practice. The Church regulated the consumption of meat not to diminish an individual Christian’s liberty but as a way of fostering spiritual mindfulness and growth in virtue.

CURRENT PRACTICE
Since Pope Paul VI’s 1966 apostolic constitution on penance, Paenitemini, bishops have adapted the practice of Friday abstinence. The constitution emphasized “inner conversion of the spirit with the voluntary exercise of external acts of penitence.” Catholics were no longer mandated to abstain from meat on all Fridays, but substitute another penance or charitable act. Such activities could include visiting the sick, instructing the young and serving the elderly.

Still, abstaining from meat on Fridays was considered laudatory and beneficial, with the bishops calling it “first” among possible penances. As such, other penances cannot be substituted during the season of Lent. Abstinence from meat is observed on all Lenten Fridays and Ash Wednesday.

SPIRITUAL MEANING
The Church emphasizes the spiritual meaning of renunciation more than what is chosen as a penance. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, penance reminds us that Christian life is a “never- ending combat.” The Church exhorts us to use the “weapons” of fasting and prayer to fight against “every form of selfishness and hate” so as to live in and for God (Ash Wednesday Homily, 2006). Acts of penance, whether abstinence from meat or other chosen renunciation, help unite the person to Jesus’ sufferings, foster self-control and show solidarity with others.

Father David Endres is professor of Church history and historical theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology.

This article appeared in the March 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.