Meat represents the flesh. Jesus sacrificed his flesh on Good Friday. Therefore, abstinence from meat honors the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. If you plan to partake in the Ash Wednesday tradition, enjoy a day of fasting and a small meal of fish and vegetables.
Below are some of the rules and regulations binding on Roman Catholics on Ash Wednesday and throughout the penitential season of Lent. Summed up succinctly, Roman Catholics must fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Wednesday, February 18, 2026 and Good Friday, April 3, 2026.
In Catholicism
In the United States in 1966, the Conference of Catholic Bishops passed Norms II and IV that bound all persons from age fourteen to abstain from meat on Fridays of Lent and through the year. Previously, the requirement to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year applied for those age seven or older.
The whole point is to eat modestly for Lent, not entirely unlike the way Muslims fast for Ramadan. It's meant to be a sacrifice, to emulate Christ's time of fasting. Meat was a luxury, but fish was considered modest food at the time and place where the rule was created, hence the rule.
Abstinence from meat is required for all Catholics age fourteen and older and has no upper age limit. Since Jesus sacrificed his flesh for us on Good Friday, we refrain from eating flesh meat in his honor on Fridays.
Nowhere in the Bible does it command you to not eat meat on Fridays or even to observe the sabbath, Passover or any other feast or festival of Israel.
According to the Code, the universal law in the Latin Church is that Catholics are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays except solemnities.
While it used to be sinful to eat meat on Fridays (prior to 1966), that is no longer the case. The sin was not a matter of merely forgetting about abstaining. A person committed a sin by eating meat on Fridays out of contempt for the regulation. Contempt for holy things is always evil.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes, or “Festa dei Sette Pesci”, is a Christmas Eve tradition in many Italian households. Most popular in Southern Italy and in Italian-American homes, this Christmas Eve feast stems from Catholics abstaining from meat in commemoration of waiting for the birth of baby Jesus.
However, moral theologians have traditionally taught that we should abstain from all animal-derived products (except foods such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste). Fish are a different category of animal.
There is no upper age limit on abstinence after which the person is automatically excused, but those who need to eat meat for a medical reason may be dispensed from the abstinence requirement.
In Leviticus 11, the Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron and sets out which animals can be eaten and which cannot: “You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them.
In addition to the 40-day Lenten fast, Catholics were also expected to abstain from animal flesh every Friday of the year, a practice rooted in honoring the day of Christ's crucifixion. Even then, exceptions were made: for instance, if a wedding or special occasion fell on a Friday, meat was permitted.
Dear Edie, While it's customary for Catholics to go to Mass on Ash Wednesday and receive ashes on their head, it's not a mortal sin to miss Mass on Ash Wednesday, or are ashes on your head absolutely necessary. Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation.
Abstinence from Meat on Fridays During Lent
Catholics age 14 and older are required to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays during Lent.
The tradition stems from the Roman Catholic observance of abstaining from eating meat on the eve of a feast day. As no meat or animal fat could be used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish (typically fried in oil). It is unclear when or where the term "Feast of the Seven Fishes" was popularized.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes represents an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition centered on serving multiple seafood courses instead of meat dishes. This culinary celebration originated from Southern Italian Catholic communities who abstained from meat on holy vigil days, particularly the night before Christmas.
Italian Christmas Eve - Feast of the Seven Fishes
The Feast of the Seven Fishes can also include other meatless dishes, which vary by region. For example, gnocchi recipes and stuffed pasta are a hit in Northern Italy, where Veneto is known for buckwheat spaghetti in a creamy anchovy sauce.
According to Christ, there is only one sin which is unforgivable, which is the "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit;" in other words, the wholehearted rejection of the Holy Spirit. Accidentally eating a meat product during Lent purely out of ignorance doesn't even come close to being on the same level.
1 Timothy 4:3-5 King James Version (KJV)
forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1966 The Abstinence Rule Is Still in Effect The actions by Pope Paul IV and the U. S. Catholic Conference of Bishops in 1966 relaxed but did not remove the Church's rule requiring Catholics to abstain from eating meat on Fridays.
There is no upper age limit to the obligation to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays of Lent. This obligation prohibits the eating of meat, but does not prohibit the eating of eggs, milk products, and condiments of any kind, even if made with animal fat.
People have written of fasting on Friday to commemorate this sacrifice as early as the first century AD Technically, it's the flesh of warmblooded animals that's off limits — an animal "that, in a sense, sacrificed its life for us, if you will," Fish are coldblooded, so they're considered fair game.
Put simply, breaking your Lenten promise like sneaking a piece of chocolate that you swore to give up is not the end. Practicing humility and honesty about yourself before God is also a way to strengthen your relationship with Him.