Question about fasting during Lent...

My uncle was a priest so I'm taking this info from him. Lent is, like someone said, actually 46 days long because they don't count Sundays. Sundays can be an 'off' day, but traditionally it's breaking the fast exclusively so you can receive communion. Depending on the parish, priests and nuns interpreted that different ways. My priest uncle totally broke fast on Sundays because he'd come to our house for dinner and wolf down 3 pieces of cake after giving up sweets for Lent.

The Eastern Orthodox church has a 40 day long Lent, they don't skip Sundays, and theirs starts on Clean Monday. I think it's March 13th this year. (Mr Boots can't remember because he's sucky at being Greek Orthodox)

I doubt this will shed any light on the debate but...

One of my bosses chose not to eat meat on any day except Sunday. (I have no idea why.) He said that on Saturday night, in anticipation of his Sunday meat-feast, he would have the most wild, intense dreams about meat. Sunday mornings he'd wake up in a cold sweat and feel compelled to eat chicken wings at 6 AM.

So whenever you decide to eat meat - after Lent or on Sundays - I wish you pleasant meat dreams!

okay, then tell your FH that!

It depends on what you were taught, that's what it comes down to.

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Posted by bedda26

I don't care how many days lent is, whether it's 40, 46, or 50. Fasting means going without....making Sunday an exception is cheating.....

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then don't take advantage of it. . .you can always add on extra stuff. . .my friend in college ( who almost became a nun) used to give up meat wednesday & friday & go to mass everyday during lent & give up something & not take Sundays off.

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Posted by tourist

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Posted by bedda26

I don't care how many days lent is, whether it's 40, 46, or 50. Fasting means going without....making Sunday an exception is cheating.....

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then don't take advantage of it. . .you can always add on extra stuff. . .my friend in college ( who almost became a nun) used to give up meat wednesday & friday & go to mass everyday during lent & give up something & not take Sundays off.

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Heather, she was old-school! That's how my grandmother was raised! No meat on Fridays ever, year round. No meat Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. One meal a day with 2 additional tiny supplemental meals. No snacking.


ETA:
If you view Sunday as a celebration of the resurrection and the sabbath (a day of rest), then it's not cheating. And technically, you wouldn't be allowed to receive communion during Lent because it's eating between meals.

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Posted by bedda26

I do no meat on fridays during lent...and no meat on ash wednesday...with exceptions...LOL

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what do you mean by 'with exceptions'?

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Posted by MonkeyLuv

My uncle was a priest so I'm taking this info from him. Lent is, like someone said, actually 46 days long because they don't count Sundays. Sundays can be an 'off' day, but traditionally it's breaking the fast exclusively so you can receive communion. Depending on the parish, priests and nuns interpreted that different ways. My priest uncle totally broke fast on Sundays because he'd come to our house for dinner and wolf down 3 pieces of cake after giving up sweets for Lent.

The Eastern Orthodox church has a 40 day long Lent, they don't skip Sundays, and theirs starts on Clean Monday. I think it's March 13th this year. (Mr Boots can't remember because he's sucky at being Greek Orthodox)

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Liz, Mr. Boots and Anthony are both totally sucky Greek Orthodox(es) ..

This nice Catholic girl was the one to tell him that Greek Easter fell so late this year .. its May 8th I think !!

As for anything else revolving around the Orthodox church, i.e., Lent, fasting, etc. ... well if I don't ask his YiaYia, I don't know a thing!

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Posted by MonkeyLuv



Heather, she was old-school! That's how my grandmother was raised! No meat on Fridays ever, year round. No meat Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. One meal a day with 2 additional tiny supplemental meals. No snacking.


.

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Yup. She was known in HS as St. Meg & since a bunch of people from ehr school went to college with her, the name sort of lingered.

But her family wsn't liek that I don't think.

She also didn't wear socks because, 'Jesus didn't wear socks'

But really, she is a lot more fun than she sounds!

If you are fasting for 40 days, b/c Jesus fasted for 40 days, and you don't want to break that, then that's fine but your forty days will be done, almost a week before Easter

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Posted by FeliciaDA



Liz, Mr. Boots and Anthony are both totally sucky Greek Orthodox(es) ..

This nice Catholic girl was the one to tell him that Greek Easter fell so late this year .. its May 8th I think !!

As for anything else revolving around the Orthodox church, i.e., Lent, fasting, etc. ... well if I don't ask his YiaYia, I don't know a thing!

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Hmm, plural greeks... Greek Orthodice?

Actually Fake Easter (as his Italian aunt and I call it) is May 1st. I've been cracking jokes about the Greeks dancing around the Maypole for 2 weeks!

Mr Boots has no idea what he can and can't eat so he concertedly ignores it! I'm not much better...we went to a Portuguese bbq place for dinner last Friday and I'm pretty sure I made meatloaf on Ash Wednesday!

But, then, I'm a sucky Irish-Catholic!

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Posted by tourist

She also didn't wear socks because, 'Jesus didn't wear socks'

But really, she is a lot more fun than she sounds!

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Well, I suppose she couldn't be less fun!

Did she become a nun?

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Posted by MonkeyLuv

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Posted by FeliciaDA



Liz, Mr. Boots and Anthony are both totally sucky Greek Orthodox(es) ..

This nice Catholic girl was the one to tell him that Greek Easter fell so late this year .. its May 8th I think !!

As for anything else revolving around the Orthodox church, i.e., Lent, fasting, etc. ... well if I don't ask his YiaYia, I don't know a thing!

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Hmm, plural greeks... Greek Orthodice?

Actually Fake Easter (as his Italian aunt and I call it) is May 1st. I've been cracking jokes about the Greeks dancing around the Maypole for 2 weeks!

Mr Boots has no idea what he can and can't eat so he concertedly ignores it! I'm not much better...we went to a Portuguese bbq place for dinner last Friday and I'm pretty sure I made meatloaf on Ash Wednesday!

But, then, I'm a sucky Irish-Catholic!

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Yikes, ya see?? Already I have gotten the date of 'fake' Easter wrong....... What did I expect from his 92 year old grandmother?

Heck, I don't fare much better as an Italian-Catholic, but at least I KNEW when Ash Wednesday was and Easter for goodness sake (doesn't mean I've been good about fasting, etc. but at least I KNEW). Anthony on the other hand has no clue about his church's traditions, etc....Which is highly amusing given the fact we were MARRIED in his church

Ahh those fun-luving Greek men of ours

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Posted by MonkeyLuv

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Posted by tourist

She also didn't wear socks because, 'Jesus didn't wear socks'

But really, she is a lot more fun than she sounds!

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Well, I suppose she couldn't be less fun!

Did she become a nun?

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No, she always said she'd rather be a priest than a nun, but sicne that wasn't an option, she considered the convent for a while, but she liked boys!

(See, I told you she was fun!)

She did some saving the world thing in DR for a year after college & then she went back to school for her masters & last I heard she worked in the Bronx, doing something social work related--i forget exactly what. She was consiering going back to school for her PhD.

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Posted by tourist
No, she always said she'd rather be a priest than a nun, but sicne that wasn't an option, she considered the convent for a while, but she liked boys!

(See, I told you she was fun!)

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Nuns get the shaft, the priest get all the glory and the nuns get all the grunt work. And the habit too!

My aunt was going to be a nun, but instead she got married and had 11 kids. She liked boys too! Well, just 1 boy, I guess!


P.S. Wimples are awesome though!

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Posted by MonkeyLuv

Nuns get the shaft

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actually, nuns don't get the shaft

they have a vow of celibacy remember????

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Posted by don424

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Posted by MonkeyLuv

Nuns get the shaft

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actually, nuns don't get the shaft

they have a vow of celibacy remember????

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Pretty Funny

Actually I grew up knowing about the Sunday Exception and had 12 years of Catholic Education too.

Funny thing is last year my rehersal dinner was on a Friday during Lent and all my super Catholic relatives from Ireland and Texas ate meat!!! They said they don't follow no meat Fridays in Ireland and Texas!! They were like 'What is this a New York Thing?'