Rules for Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Lenten Fast, Again

This is a repeat of my post from last February, just before Ash Wednesday.  I thought it could use repeating since most people seem to forget from year to year.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence.  All Catholics who have reached age 18 and are not yet 60 are required to fast on these days.  All Catholics who are age 14 and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.

 

Fast and Abstinence Requirements for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

--Eat only one regular size meal.

--Eat two smaller meals (or less) that do not equal your main meal.

--Do not eat or snack between meals.

--Do not eat any meat, soup made with meat, gravy, or broth, or any other dish prepared with meat.

 

However, if you cannot, for health reasons, fast think of another sacrifice you can make on those days.  My son is a type 1 diabetic, he is now 19 but he can not fast.  I suggested that he "abstain" from his iPod and computer for the day.  That is a sacrifice for him.

Let's not forget the most important things to remember during Lent: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving.

 

Added 2014:  Why do Catholics fast (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) and abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent? [For a full answer go to this article at Catholic.com.]  Here are a few snippets:

"Lent bears particular relationship to the 40 days Christ spent fasting in the desert before entering into his public ministry (Mt 4:1-11)."

 

"Fasting is a biblical discipline that can be defended from both the Old and the New Testament."

 

"Abstinence from certain foods is also a biblical discipline."

 

"By having the sign of the cross made with ashes on their foreheads, Catholics mourn Christ's suffering on the cross and their own sins, which made that suffering necessary."