Question Three: On the Precept of Abstinence from Meats

S. Th. II-II, q. 147, a. 8.

961. The ecclesiastical law of abstinence prohibits the eating of meats and broth from meats; but not eggs, dairy products, and any condiments, even from animal fat (can. 1250). - The reason is assigned by St. Thomas: "Fasting was instituted by the Church for repressing the concupiscences of the flesh, which are concupiscences of touch concerning foods and sexual matters. And therefore the Church forbade to those who fast those foods which both give the palate the greatest delight and also very greatly move to sexual matters. Such are the meats of animals living on land and breathing, and the things which come from them, as dairy products from animals living on land, and eggs from birds. For since such things are more conformed to the human body, they give greater pleasure and contribute more nourishment to the human body; and thus from their eating more superfluity remains to be converted into seminal matter, the multiplication of which is the greatest incitement to lust. And therefore the Church established that those who fast especially abstain from these foods."

By meats are understood the flesh of animals which live on land, or the flesh of mammals and birds, which have warm blood and are formed on land; by contrast, there are not included fish and other aquatic animals, or those which have cold blood, as crustaceans, sea urchins, mollusks, also reptiles and amphibians, and likewise insects. Hence those animals are regarded as fish which, by the estimation of men, are judged as such; for example, whales, otters, beavers, seals, walruses. But aquatic birds, which are not born or live except on the water, such as wild ducks, coots, teals, mergansers, cormorants, are not permitted, unless a special custom excuses, as in Belgium, in some places, for teals and coots.

962. Under meats there are comprehended:

1. All things which belong as integral or constituent parts to the animal, such as cartilage, nerves, cerebral parts, blood, the marrow of bones, lard, fat, grease;

2. The juice of meats, and broth from flesh, in which are subtler parts of meat, drawn out from it by boiling and diluted, commonly called in French bouillon, in Dutch sop;

3. Foods seasoned with meat.

On the contrary, these are not prohibited:

1. Condiments which are added to food only to make it tastier and easier to cook or prepare: those made from eggs or dairy products, from butter or margarine, from animal fat or lard, also if, after the fat has been extracted by frying, some minute fragments remain, because they are still regarded as only part of the condiment.

2. Extracts of meat, insofar as they are not used as food but as medicine, according to what was said above, n. 957.

In practice, concerning prepared condiments whose origin is uncertain, note:

a) Certainly prohibited are extracts of meat which are still truly the juice of meat, such as the extract of Liebig and similar products.

b) They are permitted if they are certainly prepared only from herbs, or if there remain in them only the residues of salt destined to make a liquid tasty.

c) If there is practical doubt of fact whether they are made from meat, the doubt must be solved before use; if it cannot be solved, one must abstain. Nor is the assertion of the inventor or producer sufficient if he does not manifest the process by which it is prepared. But if there is a speculative or legal doubt whether the thing is to be counted as meat or as fish, it can be taken.

d) Gelatin is licit if made from fish; perhaps also if made from the bones of calves; but it is illicit if it is made from meat broth.

e) As to peptone, some products are probably licit; but peptone properly so called, made from meats, is prohibited. Genicot and Vermeersch permit it, because it lacks the delight and taste of meat and, as they think, is counted among medicines. But this does not satisfy. For if one asks what the Church prohibits, the origin is looked at, not the taste; and peptone is derived from meats. Nor does the special name suffice for saying that it is no longer meat, since even broth and extracts have special names and nevertheless are prohibited. Hence with Damen we think it is not permitted.¹

¹ Aertnijs-Damen, Th. M. I, n. 1041. Thus also Antonelli, Medicina Pastoralis, II, n. 868; Marc, Th. M. I, n. 1227; Prummer, Th. M. II, n. 663; Lehmkuhl, Th. M. I, n. 1458.

963. The time of abstinence. - According to can. 1252, abstinence from meats is prescribed:

1. On all Fridays, in memory of the Passion and death of the Lord, unless outside Lent there occurs a feast of precept in that place where the precept is observed; also in Belgium the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, where it is not a feast of precept.

2. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the Ember Days.

3. On Ash Wednesday and all Saturdays of Lent; in some places, as in Belgium, by special indult, on Wednesday instead of Saturday.

4. On the vigils of the Nativity, Pentecost, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, and All Saints, unless they fall on Sunday; for then they are no longer anticipated.

Yet many Ordinaries use the faculties granted to them for dispensing, so that days of abstinence are each Friday of the year, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, the vigil of the Immaculate Conception, and December 23, as was noted above, n. 953.

5. By the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, Maxima Redemptionis, 16 November 1955, the abstinence of Holy Saturday no longer ceases after noon, but endures until midnight.

964. Observations. - 1. Today, by the general law of the Church, these are no longer prohibited: 1) fat or grease by way of butter or condiment; 2) fruits or products of animals, namely eggs and dairy products, such as milk, butter, cheese; 3) the promiscuity or mingling of meats and fish, which from Benedict XIV was a necessary condition for the dispensation of meats on days of fasting.

Hence those who are not fasting can take these as often as they wish; but those who are fasting can take them at the meal, not at the collation or the little morsel, unless an approved custom exists.

2. Travelers in regions where abstinence is observed on Wednesday instead of Saturday must abstain on one or the other day, at their choice, scandal being removed (S. C. C., 9 February 1924).