Meat on Fridays?

Carlos Ferreira

March 29, 2012
As Catholics we all know we have an obligation to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but does anyone stop to think what this means? Does it make sense nowadays to give up meat?
Lent is a period when the Catholic Church reflects on the mystery of Christ. As He went in to the desert before suffering the pains of his death and the glory of his resurrection, we also stop to prepare our souls for the great joy of Easter.
But we can’t prepare the soul without making our body feel the preparation; when the Church asks us to not eat meat, it is so we can use that sacrifice as a preparation and purification of the body and soul.
In that light, I think when you need to abstain, you need to give up something you will really miss. Where is the sacrifice when you replace the meat with fish and you really enjoy fish? What is the real meaning of the act of abstaining?
To shed some light on this and other questions about fasting and abstinence, Pedro invited a panel of producers from Salt + Light, Kris Dmytrenko, Cheridan Eygelaar and Carlos Ferreira, to share their own experiences and try to clarify what the Church says when it comes to fasting and abstinence.
Join us for this discussion, Friday on Perspectives: The Weekly Edition at 7 and 11pm ET / 8pm PT. In the meantime, take part in the discussion on Facebook.