Why don't catholics eat meat on Fridays during Lent?

Question: "Why can’t Catholics eat meat on Fridays during Lent?"

Answer:Catholics practice various acts of penitence and spiritual self-discipline during Lent, the (approximately) forty days leading up to Easter. One of those disciplines is a fast that requires Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent. The rule is based on the authority of the Church, not on the authority of Scripture.

Centuries ago, the Catholic Church had a law that forbade consuming meat on all Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Later, this rule was relaxed to remove meat from the diet on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays. In 1966, Catholic bishops in America, with the blessing of Pope Paul VI, further relaxed the rule. Nowadays meat is only prohibited on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Fridays of the Lenten season. Catholics are obligated to observe this fast as a minimum; they can make up stricter requirements for themselves, if they so desire.

The stated reason for abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent is to remind the faithful that Jesus died on a Friday. Jesus gave up His body (His flesh), and Catholics, in an effort to attain greater communion with Christ, refrain from consuming flesh.

Why is fish allowed? The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states that fish are a different category of animal. So it’s only the meat of warm-blooded animals that is prohibited. Eggs, butter, and milk are allowed.

There is nothing in the Bible that remotely suggests that Christians must follow a predetermined fast. Abstaining from meat during Lent is simply a man-made ritual of the Catholic Church. It has no inherent spiritual value and cannot guarantee that a person draws closer to Christ. While fasting can be beneficial, it is good to remember Jesus’ words, “What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them” (Matthew 15:11).

Recommended Resources:The Gospel According to Rome: Comparing meat on Fridays and The Word of God by James McCarthyandLogos Bible Software.

While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann.

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Stigmata, what is it?

Well, it's baloney, of course.

Stigmata are the appearance of the wounds of Jesus Christ on a person’s body. Some stigmata include representations of the wounds on Christ's back caused by the scourging and/or the head wounds caused by the crown of thorns. But traditionally stigmata consist of five classic points: the side (where Jesus was pierced with the spear to confirm that He was dead), and both hands and both feet (the wounds caused by the nails of the crucifixion).

Several individuals in church history have claimed to have miraculously received stigmata. However, there are serious challenges to the legitimacy of these supposed appearances. Many have been proven to have been self-inflicted in an attempt to fake miraculous stigmata. The Bible nowhere instructs anyone to get stigmata or states that God will give stigmata. In Galatians 6:17, Paul states, "...for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." This does not mean Paul literally had the scars of crucifixion. Rather, it indicates that Paul's body was scarred due to his commitment to follow Christ. Jesus suffered the wounds so we would not have to. The wounds of crucifixion being miraculously inflicted on the body of a believer contradicts the fact that "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

 Resources: Jesus: The Greatest Life of All by Charles Swindoll and Logos Bible Software.

What is the Book of Judith?

Well,  it's Catholic, of course!  The Book of Judith is part of the Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical scripture and appears in the Old Testament of Catholic Bibles. The nation of Israel treated the Apocryphal books with respect, but never accepted them as true books of the Hebrew Bible. The early Christian church debated the status of them, but not too many early Christians believed they belonged in the canon of Scripture.

The Book of Judith, believed to be written in the late second century or early first century B.C., recounts the story of God providing a woman, Judith, to deliver the Jewish people in a time of great need and despair. In the story Judith lives in the town of Bethulia. She is a beautiful and wise widow who becomes incensed with her town elders when they “test” God rather than trust Him and they decide to capitulate to King Nebuchadnezzar’s top general, Holofernes, to surrender if God does not save them in five days.

Judith feels that giving God such a deadline is arrogant and inappropriate in the extreme. She tells the elders she has a plan, but must leave the city for it to be successful. She refuses to tell any details, leaves with her slave woman, and goes to  Holofernes’s camp pretending she is providing him help to defeat her fellow Jews.

Holofernes is caught up by her beauty and takes her into his camp and company. Her voluptuousness and wiles attract him, and lust blinds him to her deceit. Judith manages to get Holofernes alone in his tent when he is excessively drunk. (funny how often this happens back in the day)  When he passes out, she beheads him, steals back to Bethulia, displays the result of her intrigue, and becomes the town’s heroine.

They think this book was first written in Hebrew, but it's not for sure.

Like other books in the Apocrypha, there are things that are a bit off, like the claim that Nebuchadnezzar ruled over the Assyrian Empire from Nineveh. He actually ruled over Babylonia. Plus, Nebuchadnezzar’s father, Nabopolassar, had destroyed Nineveh years earlier, making this story’s history suspect. A lot of people view this account as a variation of the Exodus story, where faith in God and reliance on Him for deliverance from fear and protection from harm and evil is what believers must always do.

Resources: The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce and Logos Bible Software.