Fast and Abstinence.
It is a traditional doctrine of Christian spirituality that a
constituent part of repentance, of turning away from sin and back to
God, includes some form of penance, without which the Christian is
unlikely to remain on the narrow path and be saved (Jer. 18:11, 25:5;
Ez. 18:30, 33:11-15; Joel 2:12; Mt. 3:2; Mt. 4:17; Acts 2:38). Christ
Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed (Lk.
5:35). The general law of penance, therefore, is part of the law of God
for man.
The Church has specified certain forms of penance, both to ensure that
the Catholic will do something, as required by divine law, while making
it easy for Catholics to fulfill the obligation. Thus, the 1983 Code of
Canon Law specifies the obligations of Latin Rite Catholics [Eastern
Rite Catholics have their own penitential practices as specified by the
Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches].
Canon 1250 All Fridays through
the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout
the entire Church.
Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food
according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be
observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities;
abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the
Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Canon 1252 All persons who have completed their
fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound
by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year.
Nevertheless, pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are
not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic
sense of penance.
Can. 1253 It is for the conference of bishops to
determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence and to
substitute in whole or in part for fast and abstinence other forms of
penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.
The Church, therefore, has two forms of official penitential
practices - three if the Eucharistic fast before Communion is included.
Abstinence The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age
until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the
Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and
organs of mammals and fowl. Moral theologians have traditionally
considered this also to forbid soups or gravies made from them. Salt and
freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are
permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin
which do not have any meat taste.
On the Fridays outside of Lent the U.S. bishops conference obtained the
permission of the Holy See for Catholics in the US to substitute a
penitential, or even a charitable, practice of their own choosing. Since
this was not stated as binding under pain of sin, not to do so on a
single occasion would not in itself be sinful. However, since penance is
a divine command, the general refusal to do penance is certainly gravely
sinful. For most people the easiest way to consistently fulfill this
command is the traditional one, to abstain from meat on all Fridays of
the year which are not liturgical solemnities. When solemnities, such as
the Annunciation, Assumption, All Saints etc. fall on a Friday, we
neither abstain or fast.
During Lent abstinence from meat on Fridays is obligatory in the United
States as elsewhere, and it is sinful not to observe this discipline
without a serious reason (physical labor, pregnancy, sickness etc.).
Fasting The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday
[Canon 97] to the 59th Birthday [i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a
year which will be completed on the 60th birthday] to reduce the amount
of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day,
and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main
meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good
Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by drinks which
could be considered food (milk shakes, but not milk). Alcoholic
beverages do not break the fast; however, they seem contrary to the
spirit of doing penance.
Those who are excused from fast or abstinence Besides those outside the
age limits, those of unsound mind, the sick, the frail, pregnant or
nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment, manual laborers
according to need, guests at a meal who cannot excuse themselves without
giving great offense or causing enmity and other situations of moral or
physical impossibility to observe the penitential discipline.
Aside from these minimum penitential requirements Catholics are
encouraged to impose some personal penance on themselves at other times.
It could be modeled after abstinence and fasting. A person could, for
example, multiply the number of days they abstain. Some people give up
meat entirely for religious motives (as opposed to those who give it up
for health or other motives). Some religious orders, as a penance, never
eat meat. Similarly, one could multiply the number of days that one
fasted. The early Church had a practice of a Wednesday and Saturday
fast. This fast could be the same as the Church's law (one main meal and
two smaller ones) or stricter, even bread and water. Such freely chosen
fasting could also consist in giving up something one enjoys - candy,
soft drinks, smoking, that cocktail before supper, and so on. This is
left to the individual.
One final consideration. Before all else we are obliged to perform the
duties of our state in life. When considering stricter practices than
the norm, it is prudent to discuss the matter with one's confessor or
director. Any deprivation that would seriously hinder us in carrying out
our work, as students, employees or parents would be contrary to the
will of God.
---- Colin B. Donovan, STL