Posts: 169
4/3/11 5:02 P

I know this is an older thread, but just wanted to throw in my 2 cents again. I read the label of the boullion cubes I use (from Sam's Club) and there is chicken meat in them...so using them for soup on meatless days is out. Rats! I have never seen boullion cubes with meat in them before. Fat, yes, meat, no. Weird!

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3/25/11 11:18 P

I also just wanted to say that the moral theology manuals do state that soups or gravies made from meats are not allowed.
Also, about the fishing industry, that is a myth. Abstinence from meat was a way that the entire Church could all unite in sacrifice and penance on the day that Our Lord died on the Cross, and thus unite ourselves by this mortification to Him.

Fish is allowed because it is cold blooded and has a simple and different circulatory system than flesh meat animals. Thus, all cold blooded animals are allowed, they are not considered meat.

Lots of misinformation goes around on this subject.

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3/25/11 11:14 P

We're totally meatless on all Fridays of the year, and I personally have been so for over 10 years. It is easy, but it does take some adjustment of one's mindset. If you want to know more or have specific questions, I would be happy to answer them.

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Posts: 169
3/6/10 12:48 P

Good for your daughter!! Thanks for letting us know!

Posts: 4
3/6/10 8:08 A

I just heard that too about the Pope and fishing..My daughter came home from school (public) said she learned in school today from her music teacher (go figure why they were discussing it) that the Pope made everyone eat fish on Fridays to boost the fishing industry.
She told her teacher it wasn't true but I am still not sure why they talked about it in Music, except that they discuss many cultures/traditions thru music.
My Church bulletin did state that meat flavored seasonings/herbs etc were permitted. So there is the answer to my original question in my parish anyways!
Thanks for all the info ladies!

Posts: 169
2/20/10 11:00 P

This is what I've heard, too, about beef and chicken broth. They don't contain the actual meat, so they're ok.

Posts: 99
2/20/10 3:27 P

I've heard various things on meat broth for Lent. Nothing very authoritative, but if memory serves, the old Catholic Encyclopedia says meat broth is okay. Go figure. I would consider it a meat product, too.

If you want some historical head-scratching, read the description of fasting in the old Encyclopedia. It was SO complicated!

Has anyone ever heard the story that the reason Catholics eat fish on Fridays is because some Pope of centuries gone by wanted to boost the papal fishing industry? I actually read this in a history book (which I promptly destroyed).

Of course it isn't true. Catholics were never REQUIRED to eat fish on Fridays (and many are glad of that!). Fish was permitted so that the poor wouldn't suffer too much. Imagine! Fish being poor people's food! Meat was to be abstained from, of course, but this didn't affect the poor too much as they could't usually afford it anyway.

Some Lenten history for you...

Posts: 4
2/20/10 7:16 A

Thanks for the responses! I was curious what others thought. Really if you go meatless only on Ash Wed/Fridays in Lent we are talking 7 or so days. My problem is I was trying to cut back on pasta (our mainstay for meatless days) since I am not a seafood eater I was trying to come up with other ideas! Veggie Broth it is!
I would like to try and maintain the meatless Fridays all year. Who else does that/how does it go?

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2/19/10 8:56 P

Depends upon where you are!

Growing up, I was taught that chicken was not meat. Where I am now, in Texas, it is meat.

One priest I know was with a group of priests eating in Rome, Italy. The priests found small pieces of roast in the food and asked the cook about it, as it was Friday during Lent. She said it wasn't meat: it was flavoring!

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2/19/10 11:12 A

This is my understanding. My friend has taken to using vegetable broth for anything she makes on Fridays. I don't do soups on Fridays during Lent so it has never been a problem for me. ;)

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2/19/10 10:45 A

I would consider them a meat product, so I would not use them on Friday's during lent.

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2/19/10 8:04 A

So this maybe an obvious question, I assume Chicken and Beef broth are considered "meat" and not usable for soups etc for Fridays in Lent?
TIA!