Catholic MFPs, Good Friday Fast?

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  • maysuzm
    maysuzm Posts: 1
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    ScottishMrs,
    The way I was raised was that on Good Friday you go to church.
    Just like Ash Wednesday, No Meat! You also eat 2 small meals and one larger meal. No snacking between meals, (thus the fasting). At the end of the day you may be short on your calories but one day is not going to ruin your entire week.
    Hope this helps.
  • teachmom32
    teachmom32 Posts: 183 Member
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    Already logged ahead of time as I wanted to plan for this, as well. Yogurt as one small meal. Banana and peanut butter as another. And since i have a ton of cals left, k of c fish fry for dinner. Still want to get my protein!
  • KC7997
    KC7997 Posts: 69 Member
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    I am a Catholic MFPer and will be fasting.

    I'm a new Catholic (converted in 2009), so correct me if I am wrong--I think fasting means that only 1 full meal and 2 smaller meals/snacks (that don't equal the full meal) are allowed, so I'm saving my full meal for dinner.

    Have a happy Easter, everyone! :-)
  • KC7997
    KC7997 Posts: 69 Member
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    Whoops! Should have read all the posts. The "rules" of fasting were covered already.

    Sorry!
  • CaddieMay
    CaddieMay Posts: 356 Member
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    I was never a devout Catholic despite being raised by a very religious mother. I didn't fast nor give up meat. I just agreed to be slightly less of a nuisance to her.

    LMAO!
  • GermanicKnight
    GermanicKnight Posts: 445
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    Having one meal, salmon and broccoli, and a few beers. I am Catholic as well.
  • Generic_Excuse
    Generic_Excuse Posts: 607 Member
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    Straight from my Priest via text "Tomorrow is a day of fasting that requires no meat and to eat NO MORE than the equivalent of one meal during the day."
  • MaryCS62
    MaryCS62 Posts: 266 Member
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    low cal breakfast & lunch, no snacks, medium dinner. Have to be careful though, diabetic, so can't let the sugar go too low
  • joannamalia
    joannamalia Posts: 1 Member
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    From big Catholic family and I've never heard of fasting on Good Friday, not eating meat, yes but not fasting! Do what feels right for you.
  • vharper19
    vharper19 Posts: 1 Member
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    Just joined MFP. I have practiced "fish Fridays" or veggie meals on Fridays during Lent. Eggplant parm is one of my favs, along with mushroom/spinach pasta Alfredo. This year was the first year that I made salmon patties and I'm hoping I can find a healthier recipe for them because they turned out good!
    Happy Easter!
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I will be fasting.....I will just eat a normal meal after sundown and whatever else I feel like. I likely wont meet my calorie goals that day, but oh well!
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    WDEvy wrote: »
    Why do I feel like I should ask my priest why I've never heard of fasting on Good Friday and I'm 30?!


    *technically* your supposed to fast EVERY friday of lent.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Here are the fasting guidelines for fasting on Good Friday:

    http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/catholic-information-on-lenten-fast-and-abstinence.cfm
    When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may also be taken, but not to equal a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

    This is the same rule I was taught as a child.
  • try4better128
    try4better128 Posts: 61 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I intend on not having meat and having two reasonable meals and no snacks. I did that for Ash Wednesday and added it up the next day and it wasn't even close to my goal. It's not about the diet on religious days. Its about faith.
  • try4better128
    try4better128 Posts: 61 Member
    edited April 2015
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    WDEvy wrote: »
    Why do I feel like I should ask my priest why I've never heard of fasting on Good Friday and I'm 30?!

    I learned this! Fasting on Good Friday isn't mandatory. It's classified as a (lower case "t") tradition - which means it's really more customary than anything. And it can be dependent on what churches around you recommend.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2015
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    ScottishMrs wrote: »
    I'm not sure if there are many practicing Catholics on MFP, but if there are, I was wondering what you plan to do for your Good Friday fast? Are you going to do it? Are you just going to eat your calories after sundown? On Good Friday I normally fast for the day drinking lots of water then have soup after sundown. I'll probably do that again this year, but I'm sure my friends will be all in my face about not eating enough calories.

    I usually either fast completely or just have some veggies at night. Last year I had the veggies and closed my diary (it gave me a message about how I was going to lose some absurd amount of weight in 5 weeks, which I am glad they've discontinued for really low totals, as it seemed like a potential trigger for someone with an ED), this year I fasted (sort of, I was weirdly hungry so just did the basic Catholic rules fast) on Ash Wed and didn't close the diary, and I intend to do my usual for Good Friday and not close, probably.

    Last year when I closed I just included a message "low because Good Friday" and no one commented negatively.

    Edit: just saw most of this was from a few days ago. I was raised that a real fast (or as much as you could reasonably do) was encouraged but the rules that others have quoted above (what I referred to as a "Catholic rules fast" in my post) were all that were required (and not even that for the ill, pregnant, or anyone else for whom they would be contraindicated, etc.).
  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
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    Hi, catholic lass here, living in Ireland. We are supposed to cut out meat on Good Friday, have two small meals and one main meal. I have been trying to observe lent- we decided to give up chocolate this year. Have a wonderful Easter weekend.
  • LotusFlwr2013
    LotusFlwr2013 Posts: 217 Member
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    Contrarian wrote: »
    First giving stuff up for lent, and now this? Why does the Catholic church want you to be unhappy? Jesus wouldn't have fasted. He'd have eaten the **** out of his Passover meal.

    Lol the Catholic church doesn't want you to be unhappy silly.... they just want to remind you that Jesus was human and the emotions he experienced and pain he felt was real... so when you give up something you enjoy for lent (or do service for others instead) its supposed to be in solidarity with Jesus giving up his life for you (or the way he served the community)... also Jesus did fast, 40 days and nights, if I recall correctly... and you can be sure he fasted from the time he was arrested till the time he died (no prisoner treatment guidelines).

    Happy Holy Thursday Everyone <3

  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
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    baristanatorLL wrote: »
    According to modern church law, you can eat one full meal and two small meals (collations) during the day. The two small meals should not add up to more than a regular sized meal. Also, you are supposed to abstain from meat. You are not required to eat nothing all day long and I've never talked to a priest who recommended that. Make sure you drink lots of water since you'll be eating less. I'm a cradle Catholic, and this is how we always did it. :)

    This is how I was raised, as well. Frankly, we didn't even know we were fasting until we got much older. Meals might have been smaller than normal but we always ate what was put in front of us so if the meal was smaller we probably didn't notice. We didn't always get snacks between meals so also not a huge difference.

    As an adult I haven't always fasted on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent, but always abstain from eating meat on Ash Wed and Good Friday. I usually give up one indulgence during Lent, such as chocolate, sugar, or alcohol.

    Recently someone asked me why some Catholics give up something for Lent. Here is one of the best explanations I've read. An experience of want, however temporary, can help us to appreciate the true abundance in our lives. And a small positive change can have a big impact that lasts beyond the 40 days of Lent.

    This has been true for me in the past. The years I gave up alcohol I ALWAYS lost weight without making any other change.
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
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    Also, just have to point out that finding a particular "group" that might be specific to your religion, food choices/restrictions, or any other dang thing where you're looking to find like minded people is near impossible. MFP really needs to have a usable search function in the Group section of their site. If I've missed how to do it, I'd appreciate being enlightened! B)

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