Meatless Fridays in Lent: Teaching Kids About Faith

Going meatless on Fridays in Lent is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids about and demonstrate your faith.

Knowing Christ

Desire for Our Kids to Know Christ

We all long for our kids to grow up and know Jesus. But we struggle with how to live out our faith in a way that is winsome and genuine but that will develop our kids and instruct them in the way of our faith.

We pray for our kids to grow up to know Christ. And we pray for how to be better parents.

Fear Our Kids Won’t Know Christ

And we all fear that we will somehow fail our kids. We fear that our efforts won’t be enough. We fear that we will let our kids (and most importantly, God) down.

Some of us may doubt our influence or doubt that we know enough to teach our kids.

We may want the church to take the lead because we feel inadequate.

And yet, we are the only ones who can speak into our children’s lives in the day-to-day struggles and trials. We are the ones who are there for bruised knees or bruised egos.

God has uniquely placed us in our children’s lives to teach them the faith. In fact, he calls us to it.

So we must explore different ways for us to show the many different ways of practicing our faith.

One specific way that I recently stumbled upon was the Catholic practice of meatless Fridays in Lent. (I’m not Catholic, but believe we can learn from other traditions.)

Why Meatless Fridays in Lent?

I recently heard a podcast where a Catholic bishop was talking about abstaining from meat on Fridays. I’d never really heard anyone directly talk about it and why you’d do it.

I’m not Catholic, so this practice is pretty foreign to me. In fact, denying myself during Lent has been a new concept to me as well, as I’ve joined the Episcopal Church.

So I was curious as I heard this man talk about it. He mentioned the spiritual aspects of entering into a time of reflection, solace, and even suffering with Christ.

For some, giving up meat and eating fish (a traditional substitute) is no problem. But for him, and me, not liking fish makes it a particularly poignant act of self-denying.

I realize you don’t have to eat fish, but it’s a viable substitute with some substance.

God’s Nudge as the Holy Spirit Talks to Us

The thought of doing meatless Fridays has intrigued me and stayed with me.

When something stays with me, I tend to read that as the Holy Spirit offering it as a way for me to continue growing in my faith.

Don’t misunderstand me to say that everyone should do as I am doing. 

I just mean that when I hear the Spirit whisper small things like this to me, rather than ignore them, like my former self used to do regularly, I now stop and take stock.

Is this something I can do? Is this something I should do?

I’ve decided that it is something I am going to take on this Lent. And by default, my family will also get to “enjoy,” since I make the meals. 😉

My goal is to participate in the traditional meatless Fridays during Lent and on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 

By participating in meatless Fridays in Lent I will have a new opportunity to teach my children about the Christian faith, as practiced by many believers all over the world.

How Meatless Fridays in Lent Teaches Children about Faith

As I’ve felt the Holy Spirit’s whispering in my own life, I take that now as a sign that I can use something I am already doing to instruct my children.

This is good for me, because I struggle with finding ways to teach my children. And I struggle with actually finding something I like to use, and then finding the time to do it.

I’m sure I’m not alone here.

I love that this is a tangible way for our kids to participate in faith.

I plan to include them in the making of the meals (some of them, at least!)

We will also use Friday dinner time as a time to talk about why we are choosing to give up meat this Lent.

We will be able to explain how Lent is a season of wilderness and self-denying, like what Jesus endured.

This practice will allow us to explain how this helps us enter into Christ’s sufferings. It will show us in a small way, what Jesus suffered for us. It will show us that Jesus too knows what it is like to suffer. We are not alone.

Through self-denying, we are connected to Christ. And we are connected to other Christians all over the world who are doing the same thing. This also connects us to an ancient practice of the church and allows us to explore what its significance is in our own lives.

Finally, we will be able to talk about what denying ourselves means. And thus teach our children a key part of our faith that strengthens us to follow Christ better (and to resist temptations that the world will be offering them!)

Encouragement for Your Overwhelm

Alright, so I can already hear the familiar refrains from overwhelmed and tired moms all over the world. This sounds too hard. This is too much. This is just “one more thing” I will have to add to my already-full plate.

And yet, if we shift our perspective, we move the focus from me and my Lenten practice to something we can do, together, as a family.

And then we have a new opportunity to teach our kids about faith and about the Christian church’s many different practices.

Resources for Going Meatless on Fridays in Lent

My family has already begun this process this Lent.

We had a yummy vegetarian breakfast with chia seeds, blueberries, and maple syrup from Brendan Brazier’s Thrive Energy Cookbook (affiliate link; we love this recipe but I couldn’t find a direct link to the recipe online to share with you).

And we had a simple lunch of Kraft mac and cheese. I mean, how hard is that one?!

We also had baked tilapia, rice, and corn for dinner, that admittedly wasn’t a hit, but we’ll keep trying.

The point is, if we view meatless Fridays in Lent as an opportunity to teach our kids about the Christian faith, then we keep our eyes focused on the long-game of instructing our children about God.

A little extra planning now builds faith and serves your own desire to teach your kids about faith.

You’ve got to release the idea of “doing it perfect” and just get it done.

Enjoy the questions that your little ones will ask, once you get past the customary, initial complaining.

Connect to resources on Pinterest to help yourself out. I plan on trying a few recipes from these blogs as well:

• Meatless Recipes for Lent from JoyfullyDomestic
• Kid-Approved Meatless Meals for Lent from MomForAllSeasons

A simple google search turned up a lot of links for 100 meals for Lent, how to go meatless without eating fish during Lent, etc. 

I imagine there are plenty of ways to get creative, so I’m going to dive in.

There’s the side benefit that it will save us a small amount in our grocery budget as meats are more expensive ($8/item) than most regular items ($3/item) on average. 

What will I discover while doing meatless Fridays during Lent?

I don’t know.

But I am open to seeing more about this ancient practice.

I’ll even commit to reporting back on how I did with it and what I learned.

Is it for me? We’ll see. 

Is it for you? Let me know.

Meatless Fridays in Lent are an opportunity for us as parents to teach our kids about faith. It’s an opportunity to have a hands-on experience where we help our desire for our kids to know Christ and our fear that they won’t. There are plenty of resources available for you to make this as simple (or sophisticated) as you’d like! The beauty of meatless Fridays in Lent is that it’s an opportunity for you to teach your kids more about your faith!

So, what are you doing for Lent? Do you participate in it? Are you giving something up? Adding a spiritual practice? (I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below!)

More Lenten posts

To easily find all Lenten posts, browse here and don’t forget to share them!

• 4 Things to Do for Lent in a Pandemic
• The Benefits of Adding a Spiritual Discipline for Lent
• What You Need to Do to Prepare for Lent
• How Observing Lent Helps You Find Time for God
• Reading the Psalms: Advice for a Busy Mom
• The Way of the Cross: Ash Wednesday Homily by Father David Miller