The McJesus Burger

Mephisto

Philosopher
Mephisto
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Having been raised staunch Catholic, I've never been afforded the luxury of asking certain questions regarding the Catholic faith. One of the things that has always kept me wondering is the Catholic tendency to draw a parallel between Jesus and meat (but only on a Friday).

I remember church calendars from a long time ago, and all of them had a small fish over each Friday reminding Catholics that they must abstain from eating meat on that day. Of course, that antique church law was rescinded and now Catholics aren't required to equate their hamburger (or taco, or filet mignon, or corn dog) with Jesus except on Fridays during Lent.

Can anyone explain to me why it's considered "respectful" NOT to eat meat on the same day that Jesus was supposedly crucified?
 
It's the fact that one is forgoing something, not necessarily the thing forgone, that is the important feature of the tradition. It is a mini-fast, an abstinence from some thing to show commitment to the god of your choice.

As to why the thing abstained from ended up being meat,, specifically, I do not know. Many have suggested it was merely a ploy to boost the livelihoods of Catholic fishermen. Whether there is any truth to that, I know not.
 
Marquis de Carabas said:
It's the fact that one is forgoing something, not necessarily the thing forgone, that is the important feature of the tradition. It is a mini-fast, an abstinence from some thing to show commitment to the god of your choice.
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I knew that part of it, and used to laugh inwardly when (as a kid) someone told me they were giving up spinich or broccoli for Lent. These "mini-sacrifices" were never really sacrifices at all (at least as I knew them), but more an excuse to diet or not eat something you didn't like to begin with.

Marquis de Carabas said:
As to why the thing abstained from ended up being meat,, specifically, I do not know. Many have suggested it was merely a ploy to boost the livelihoods of Catholic fishermen. Whether there is any truth to that, I know not.
Click to expand...

But what about the Catholic cowboys? Didn't anyone think of them? ;)
 
Mephisto said:
Having been raised staunch Catholic, I've never been afforded the luxury of asking certain questions regarding the Catholic faith.
Click to expand...

Interesting. How old are you by the way?

Are you saying...if you were to ask your parents, or a priest, "Why do we abstain from meat", they would have slapped you, or told you to stop asking such questions? Or, were you specifically told never to ask questions about your faith? Did you attend a catholic school, or, receive cathechetical instruction?

This is from catholicism.about.com
http://catholicism.about.com/cs/lent/f/whynomeat04.htm

One of the things that has always kept me wondering is the Catholic tendency to draw a parallel between Jesus and meat (but only on a Friday).
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if this is a valid parallel. You can certainly receive communion on Fridays during Lent, even Good Friday (no mass is celebrated on Good Friday, just services which can incorporate the distribution of communion), so that analogy doesn't extend as far as it could/ought, assuming it is valid, which I don't believe it is.

I remember church calendars from a long time ago, and all of them had a small fish over each Friday reminding Catholics that they must abstain from eating meat on that day.
Click to expand...

They still do...which means that fish don't qualify as meat I guess. I wonder if the Darwin fish counts as meat? :)

Of course, that antique church law was rescinded and now Catholics aren't required to equate their hamburger (or taco, or filet mignon, or corn dog) with Jesus except on Fridays during Lent.
Click to expand...

Again, I don't think we are supposed to equate Jesus with meat, but if you can supply info to the contrary I'd be keen to see it.

Can anyone explain to me why it's considered "respectful" NOT to eat meat on the same day that Jesus was supposedly crucified?
Click to expand...

I don't think it has to do with respect. It's a sacrifice. Granted, it's a small sacrifice compared to the sacrifice of God's son. Catholic Christians are called to make personal sacrifices during Lent.

Some Catholics extend this to the entire year in response to abortion. And, no, they are not equating abortion with meat, although a non-initiate can apparently make that association.

-Elliot
 
As to why the thing abstained from ended up being meat,, specifically, I do not know. Many have suggested it was merely a ploy to boost the livelihoods of Catholic fishermen. Whether there is any truth to that, I know not.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I've never heard that before.

Were Catholics more likely to be fisherman than herders? I would think that if this was initiated in the Middle Ages (as many Catholic traditions seem to have been) you had homogenous Catholic towns and villages so this would have been a moot point.

-Elliot
 
Mephisto said:
I knew that part of it, and used to laugh inwardly when (as a kid) someone told me they were giving up spinich or broccoli for Lent. These "mini-sacrifices" were never really sacrifices at all (at least as I knew them), but more an excuse to diet or not eat something you didn't like to begin with.
Click to expand...

Exactly. It isn't just sacrifice, but understanding the "whys" about it. In fact, if sacrifice doesn't...let's say enhance your prayer/spiritual life, or lead you to some greater understanding or appreciation of theology, something along those lines...it wasn't sacrifice at all, or a completely useless sacrifice.

Meaning, you could actually sacrifice something you were really into (television or something), but if it doesn't enhance your spirituality (you picked up strip poker instead) it probably doesn't have any worth in God's eyes.

Unless he was watching the strip poker games..........

-Elliot
 
Hrm, I assumed it had something to do with the whole transubstantiation thing, but I'm not Catholic, so it was pure WAG on my part.
 
elliotfc said:
Interesting. How old are you by the way?


They still do...which means that fish don't qualify as meat I guess. I wonder if the Darwin fish counts as meat? :)
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I'm close to 55, why? Thanks for the link, I thought this was interesting:

"One belief of why meat was chosen is because most people feel that giving up meat (beef and chicken) is an inconvenience. The Church asks us to inconvenience ourselves sometimes to serve as a reminder that they should always have God as a top priorty and pleasures as a lesser priorty. Another belief is that in many poorer countries, beef is a specialty. For us to give it up, helps us to remember about people who are less fortunate than we are."

What do poor people in the desert eat during Lent? I know fish is expensive here!
 
Mephisto said:
I'm close to 55, why?
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That sounds about right. I grew in the 80s, and to me it's inconceivable that Catholic kids would be *prevented* or *afraid* of asking questions. I'm sure maybe .01% of Catholic kids did feel that way in the 80s, but it just seems ridiculous, and I went to Jesuit schools and came from a very religious family.

In the 50s, maybe in the 60s too...I guess it's more understandable. But even then, if a Catholic kid asked a question that wasn't sarcastic or disrespectful, it's still hard for me to see how they would be prevented from doing that, or yelled at for doing that. I'm sure it happened though, definitely more often than when I grew up.

What do poor people in the desert eat during Lent? I know fish is expensive here!
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Whatever they can get their hands on no doubt! I doubt that poor people in the desert have much use/interest in Lenten prohibitions, nor would their bishop be very interested in enforcement/inculcation.

-Elliot
 
Marquis de Carabas said:
It's the fact that one is forgoing something, not necessarily the thing forgone, that is the important feature of the tradition. It is a mini-fast, an abstinence from some thing to show commitment to the god of your choice.
Click to expand...

Pfft. I prefer Crom. He doesn't ask for ANYTHING, and gives NOTHING in return. The kind of god I can appreciate.
 
Does the special dispensation to have corned beef this Friday also apply to hamburgers, or only corned beef?

Because my family has a big tradition of having hamburgers on St. Patrick's Day. Maybe a Crave Case, with cheese! Mmmmmm.....
 
Beerina said:
Does the special dispensation to have corned beef this Friday also apply to hamburgers, or only corned beef?

Because my family has a big tradition of having hamburgers on St. Patrick's Day. Maybe a Crave Case, with cheese! Mmmmmm.....
Click to expand...

It depends on what diocese you live in...but I'm pretty certain that in the dioceses that offer dispensation, it would include all meat.

A bit unrelated...but why can Jews eat hamburgers? I get the cheeseburger thing...but I thought they couldn't eat ham either.

-Elliot
 
elliotfc said:
A bit unrelated...but why can Jews eat hamburgers? I get the cheeseburger thing...but I thought they couldn't eat ham either.
Click to expand...
Either that was one of the best straight-faced deliveries I've seen, or one of the worst gaps in 'common knowledge' I've heard of.
 
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