Why are eggs permissible to eat during Lent (and more on why fish is not considered Meat)?
As to your question for why eggs are permissible while chicken is not, the simple answer is that the egg of a chicken has not yet taken the form of flesh- and “flesh” is the key to our understanding here (I’ll address why fish is not considered meat in just a moment). That is the reason why milk products or condiments made of animal fat are allowed. Additionally the rules regarding abstinence also do not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat. Meaning that such foods as chicken broth, consomm, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are not forbidden. It is also permissible to use margarine and lard. So what determines or constitutes “meat” and why is eating the flesh (or meat) of fish allowed? To put it simply, the Catholic Church’s abstinence laws have traditionally and historically considered that meat comes only from animals such as chickens, cattle or pigs- all of which live on land. Birds ar
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