Lent
Does eating frog legs or turtles violate the law of Friday abstinence during
Lent?
No. They are considered like fish and you may eat them… if you like.
Reprinted from March 7, 1997
Is it permitted for a priest to wear black vestments on
Good Friday and at funeral Masses?
In the present liturgical dispositions of the Latin Rite, red is the color of the vestments worn on Good Friday, to remind us of the precious Blood of the Savior shed to take away our sins on that day. For funeral or "requiem Masses," however, the priest has the option of wearing white, violet, or black vestments. Licit exceptions to all these regulations, however, are enjoyed by groups that have the permission of the Holy See to use the old liturgy from 1962.
Reprinted October 22, 1999
Why don't all churches cover their statues during Lent?
It was never the custom in the Latin Rite to cover statues "during Lent," but crosses and statues were covered during passiontide (the last week of Lent and then in Holy Week). In ancient times many of the crosses in churches were "gemmatae," that is, covered with jewels and bare of a corpus or with a corpus of the risen Savior, a sign of the resurrection. These crosses were covered during passiontide to help people meditate more on the sufferings of Jesus. If the crosses were covered, it was thought necessary to cover also all the other pictures and statues. In the course of years, especially influenced by Franciscan spirituality in the 13th century, the cross "evolved" and most crosses were crucifixes, vividly showing the death of Christ. How ever, the "covering custom" continued. Some people thought it came from the old Gospel text for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, which spoke of Jesus "hiding Himself" from the crowd, but that was only an "applied" (and erroneous) meaning of the custom. Today, after the Second Vatican Council, the covering of crosses and statues is left to the discretion of national Bishops' Conferences. The U.S. Bishops recommend against this covering, but most bishops leave the entire matter to the decision of pastors of parishes. The U.S. Bishops suggest a covering of the cross during Holy Week, because the "unveiling of the cross" in the Good Friday liturgy then makes more sense.
Reprinted October 8,
1999
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If meat products are used in foods (such as gelatin), are such foods forbidden
on days of abstinence?
No. The Church law about abstinence pertains to that which is commonly called "meat" and to soup or gravy made from meat. Gelatin or other foods which may have meat derivatives in them are not forbidden. The important thing about fast and abstinence rules is not to be scrupulous, but rather to have a strong sense of penance in following the spirit of the law. Particular questions about fast and abstinence laws are best answered by the priest who hears your confession.
Liturgically, Lent ends with the first hours of Holy Thursday, when the Sacred Triduum beings, Lenten penance, however, should continue until the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Evening.
Reprinted from May 1, 1998