Each weekday, you'll find a new question and answer. Check back for the new question and scroll down to see previous day's entries! Let us know what you think - - or question! -- by emailing us at tcanswer@osv.com.
Fish on Fridays
Q. Why do Catholics eat fish on Fridays? Some Catholics eat fish on every Friday, and some say you do not have to anymore; just Fridays during Lent. How long is Lent?
A. Here is a reply from Father Reginald Martin:
Lent is the period between Ash Wednesday and the Wednesday of Holy Week. Holy Thursday begins the Easter Triduum, and ushers in a new liturgical season.
Whether one eats fish on Friday is a personal choice, but the Church universally recognizes Fridays (unless a major liturgical feast falls on a Friday) as appropriate days to undertake some form of penance. Abstaining from meat, and fasting — that is, consuming less than two full meals — are traditional penitential practices, which, the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart” (No. 2043).
We should note, however, that although Church law recommends fasting and abstinence on penitential days, the local bishops’ conference can substitute “other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety” (Canon 1253). The U.S. bishops have prescribed abstinence on the Fridays of Lent; Catholics may embrace a different penance on other Fridays of the year.
Special rules govern the use of food on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Those who have reached the age of 15 may not eat meat on either day. In addition, Catholics between the ages of 21 and 59 are obliged to fast on those days.
Communion Twice in One Day?
Q. Is it right or wrong to receive Holy Communion twice in one day when the liturgy readings in the two Masses are the same? We recently attended Mass on a Sunday morning in our parish, then again that afternoon at another parish to be present for confirmations. We didn't receive Holy Communion the second time.
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Francis Hoffman, J.C.D.:
Well, you could have received Holy Communion the second time. You can receive Holy Communion a second time in a day if the second time is at Mass, regardless of the readings. Canon 917 establishes: "One who has received the blessed Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only within a Eucharistic celebration in which that person participates."
Salvation Guaranteed?
Q. Is our eternal salvation fully guaranteed just in Christ's dying on the cross?
A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D:
With regard to our salvation, we must always distinguish between objective salvation and subjective salvation. Objectively speaking, Jesus Christ's death and resurrection have fully guaranteed that eternal salvation is available to all who accept His gift. Subjectively speaking, however, that salvation must be accepted and applied to the lives of each one of us.
Accepting and growing in Christ's gift of salvation is a lifelong process: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work" (Phil 2:12-13).
Office of the Dead
Q. Some time ago, one of the elderly priests of the diocese died. There was supposed to be a vigil the evening before, but instead there was an office for the dead. I never heard of this before. Is it only for priests?
A. Here’s a reply from OSV columnist Msgr. M. Francis Mannion:
The standard liturgy for the evening before the funeral Mass and committal is the vigil for the deceased. However, there is a tradition in some places of having the office for the dead for priests on the evening before. When celebrated in the evening, the office for the dead takes the form of evening prayer. There is also an option for the use of the office for the dead in the morning before the burial. Obviously, in the morning the office for the dead takes the form of morning prayer.
The use of the office for the dead is also an option for laity. The use of the office for the dead instead of the vigil is especially appropriate for a layperson who was committed to the recitation of the daily Liturgy of the Hours.
The office for the dead takes the form of a hymn, psalms, a reading, the Gospel canticle and intercessions.
The Order of Christian Funerals (OCF) provides the official protocol for the use of this office: "The vigil for the deceased may be celebrated in the form of some part of the office for the dead. To encourage this form of the vigil, the chief hours, 'morning prayer' and 'evening prayer,' are provided" (No. 348).
In some places or on particular occasions, there is the practice of having the funeral Mass in the evening and then the committal and burial on the following morning. On this the OCF states: "When the funeral liturgy is celebrated the evening before the committal, it may be appropriate to celebrate morning prayer before the procession to the place of committal" (No. 348).
Wedding Conundrum
Q. Can I attend my son’s marriage in a Protestant church? He and his future wife have left the Catholic Church. I am told the Catholic Church will allow only my attendance of the reception. Is this true?
A. Here’s a reply from Father Reginald Martin:
No answer to this question will please (or console) everyone. More than one respected moral theologian believes parents should not attend the non-Catholic ceremony because to do so gives tacit approval to a clear violation of the Church’s teaching on proper form of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
Other knowledgeable sources stress the value of long-term unity among family members, and urge parents to express unambiguously their moral concerns, but to attend the ceremony as guests, taking no active part in it — for example, not accompanying the bride down the aisle. The middle ground is to avoid the ceremony but attend the reception.
The first answer is clear, but understandably hard to embrace. The others appear more compassionate, but individuals may reasonably judge them hypocritical. The Church’s Catechism of the Catholic Church and Code of Canon Law give no advice to those who find themselves in the unenviable position of choosing between love of a child and regard for Church law. However, if a literary example can prove helpful, “Brideshead Revisited,” by Evelyn Waugh, presents Lady Marchmain (no lax Catholic!) who reluctantly attends her daughter’s non-Catholic wedding, while foregoing all the attention traditionally given the mother of a bride.
Catholic Faith Resources | For Catholic Parishes | Order OSV Products | RSS | Advertise | About Us | Contact Us | Jobs Copyright © 1996-2012, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright information | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy