Many of the faithful find the sacrifices and obligations of
the Lenten Season confusing and burdensome; even those who remain faithful to
Holy Tradition. This unfortunate and unnecessary attitude should be tackled by
zealous Pastors everywhere, and the sublime Mysteries and bountiful graces
fully explicated so that all the faithful can unite themselves intimately with
the sufferings and supreme Sacrifice of Our Heavenly King. The forty days of
Lent, intended to commemorate the forty days Our Blessed Lord spent fasting in
the desert, begin on Ash Wednesday
and last until
Holy Saturday1
.
The last two weeks of Lent are called, respectively, Passion
Week and
Holy Week.
During these two weeks the Church, in her liturgy especially, follows the end
of Our Lord’s mortal life very closely.
The faithful are expected to refrain from worldly
amusements and distractions during this solemn season, and so for us modern
Catholics it would not be unreasonable to refrain from television time and the
watching of movies and other amusements such as “texting”, unnecessary telephone conversations, computer time (including e-mails
and “on-line” time), video games, frivolous reading, excessive music listening,
and needless shopping. Now these things are suggestions (strong suggestions), and not obligatory – but every Catholic who is serious
about his faith and the salvation of his soul, should take to heart the
seriousness of these recommendations.
Also important are the Ember Days of Lent. The Ember Days
(Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) are cherished by the Western Church and are
very ancient. Four times a year (Advent, Lent, Pentecost and month of
September) the Church devotes these days to prayer and penance. The readings
and Mass parts of the Ember days of Lent are especially focused on prayer,
penance and sacrifice. On these days, even outside of Lent, the faithful are
bound, under pain of mortal sin, to abstain from meat.
The current Laws of Fast and Abstinence (for
the United States) are absolutely binding (unless lawfully excused or dispensed)
for all the faithful. All baptized Catholics, seven
years of age or older, are bound to abstain. The two types of abstinence are complete and partial. Complete abstinence forbids the eating
of meat, and soup or gravy made with or from
meat2,
is required all Fridays throughout the year, Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday, the
Vigil of All Saints, the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, and the Vigil of
Christmas. Partial Abstinence, which permits
meat, and soup or gravy made from meat, to be
eaten only at the main meal,
is required on Ember Wednesday and Ember Saturday and the Vigil of Pentecost. The laws of Fasting are for all
baptized Catholics, from ages 21 through 59, inclusive. The days of fast are
the weekdays of Lent, the Ember days and the Vigils of Pentecost,
allowed (with meat, except on Fridays) with two
smaller meatless meals, which
together do not equal one full meal. The eating of food or snacks between meals
is forbidden; however the drinking of liquids, including milk and juice, are
allowed.
For reasons of health one may seek the
reduction or even dispensation from the fast from one’s Confessor. However, one
should never simply dispense one’s self from these obligations; and should one
be lawfully dispensed from these obligations, he should strive to find another
type of approved penance that can be
satisfactory to Almighty God.
Please remember that there is no obligation for
fast or abstinence on Holy Days of Obligation, even when they fall on a Friday. The Church commands
us to fast and to abstain in order that we focus our minds and bodies towards
God, to make satisfaction for sin, and to control and mortify our flesh. As
Saint Paul reminds us, I chastise my body and
bring it into subjection lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should
be rejected (1 Corinthians 9:27)
When we
meditate upon the sufferings of Our Lord, and offer that in union with our fast
and abstinence, we offer true contrition for our past sins. And when we couple
these penances and sacrifices with good and pious works, we are examples to
many of the truth and goodness of Our Lord and King Jesus Christ.
We must also
be on guard not to carry these penances to excess, which may cause injury to our
body; to cause purposeful injury to our bodies is a sin against the
commandments, and does not please God at all.
We hope that this brief explanation of the Lenten observance answers
your questions, and will aid you in making your Lent a meaningful and holy
exercise.
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1
This actually makes forty-six days, but since we do not fast or
abstain on the six Sundays of Lent, they are not counted among the penitential
days. 2 “Meat”
means the flesh from all animals, except seafood. For further clarification one
may inquire of one’s Pastor.
