| Fast and
Abstinence
During
Lent, Catholics in the United States
abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays in Lent and Good
Friday. We also fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and are
encouraged to continue the fast on Holy Saturday as well, in union with
those preparing for baptism. On a fast day, people eat only one
full meal; they may also eat two partial meals that combined do not
equal a full meal and should not snack
between any of them.
While
the laws of fast and abstinence may vary between regions, they
accomplish the same goals. They help us imitate the example of
Jesus, who fasted 40 days to prepare for his ministry. They also
help us to display our common repentance. They strengthen our
community by expressing our corporate sorrow for social sin. They
teach us a detachment from passions and turn our hearts more to God and
less toward food. They make us more disciplined and more
charitable.
The
purpose of fast and abstinence, then, is not to punish us but to make us
more loving, more prayerful, more detached from whatever may keep us
from God. Fasting becomes more spiritually effective when
sustained by prayer, charity and almsgiving.
Everyone
14 and older is bound by the law of abstinence. Younger children
should be educated in its significance. Fasting binds from one’s
18th birthday until after the 59th. Catholics younger or older
than that need not fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but fasting is
a praiseworthy practice even when not required.
|
