Fish Friday

 ABSTINENCE

DOES FISH REALLY “NOT COUNT”, AND WHY?

“So I can’t eat meat… but I can eat fish? How does that make sense?”

The Church’s rule about abstinence goes back centuries. When the Church says “no meat,” she is speaking specifically about the flesh of warm-blooded land animals, beef, pork, chicken, goat, lamb, and similar meats.

Fish has never been included in that category. Why?

Because abstinence is not about avoiding protein. It is about giving up what was historically considered festive, rich, and celebratory food.

In ancient times, meat from land animals was a sign of feast and abundance. It required slaughter. It was costly. It was associated with celebration.

Fish was different. It was simpler, more common in coastal areas, and not viewed as festive luxury in the same way.

So abstinence is not biology. It is symbolism and discipline.

The Church removes a “feast food” to remind us that Friday is not just another day. It is the day Christ died. Even outside Lent, Friday carries the memory of the Cross. There is also something deeper. Abstinence trains detachment.

When you give up a specific category, even if substitutes exist, you are learning obedience, not nutritional strategy.

Some people try to “outsmart” the rule: “Seafood is expensive. I’ll eat lobster instead or caviar and blue crabs.” That misses the spirit. The law sets the minimum. The heart determines the depth.

The point is not: “How can I get around this?”

The point is: “How can I unite this small sacrifice to Christ?”And there is one more layer many forget: Fish has been a Christian symbol since the earliest centuries. The Greek word for fish, Ichthys, became an acronym for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” Early believers used it as a hidden sign of faith during persecution. So on Fridays, when Catholics eat fish, they are not escaping sacrifice. They are remembering. Remembering the Cross. Remembering discipline. Remembering Christ. Abstinence is not about technical loopholes. It is about love expressed through obedience. And love is formed in small, faithful acts. Have a blessed lenten season. Fr. Nony