Lenten Fasting in the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church historically observes the disciplines of fasting and abstinence at various times each year. For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one’s intake of food, while abstinence refers to refraining from meat (or another type of food),or even some habits. The Catholic Church teaches that all people are obliged by God to perform some penance for their sins, and that these acts of penance are both personal and corporeal. The purpose of fasting is spiritual focus, self-discipline, imitation of Christ, and performing penance.
These are biblical disciplines that can be defended from both Old and New Testament. Christ expected his disciples to fast (Mt 9:14–15) and issued instructions for how they should do so (Mt 6:16–18). Catholics follow this pattern by holding a partial fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Related to abstinence, In Daniel 10:2–3 we read, “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” Catholics use a practice similar to Daniel’s when, as a way of commemorating Christ’s Crucifixion on a Friday, they abstain from eating meat on that day of the week during Lent. The only kind of flesh they eat on Friday is fish, which is a symbol of Christ. Catholics do these things because Easter, which celebrates the Resurrection of Christ, is the greatest holy day of the Christian year (even above Christmas) and Catholics have recognized that it is appropriate to prepare for such a holy day by engaging in such disciplines.
Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but they also abstain from meat on those days and all the Fridays during Lent.Fasting does not mean complete denial of food, however.On fast days, Catholics are allowed to eat one full meal and two smaller meals which, together, do not constitute a full meal.Young children, the elderly, and persons whose health would be affected are exempt from fasting regulations.Fasting is associated with prayer and alms-giving as spiritual disciplines to take a person’s attachment away from the world and focus it on God and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
