Abstinence and fasting?

[Ophelia23]

I feel silly needing to ask this, but what preciously does Abstinence include on days of fasting? I have heard conflicting views on this. Is it abstinence in a sexual nature between married couples? Is it abstaining from something else, such as alcohol? I am interested to know.

 

[maryjk]

Meat. You abstain from meat.

 

[Pug]

And you have to be savvy about what “meat” means. For example, fish and shellfish are not meat. Eggs are not meat. Chicken and goat and beef and pork are meat. Those little msg flavor packets that come in ramen and call themselves “chicken flavor” are not meat. Jello is not meat, either. (Jello comes from gelatin, which comes from meat bones or some such).

 

[Ophelia23]

But isn’t abstaining from meat… well… fasting? Or is the “fasting” portion just not eating large meals and not eating in between meals?

 

[Ophelia23]

If the answer really is just meat then I feel doubly silly. Of course we don’t eat meat on the fasting days… But I always heard the avoidance of meat was the fast, and the avoidance of some other things was the abstinence. I have an MA in Catholic Studies and got this wrong?! Sad.

 

[Richard320]

If the answer really is just meat then I feel doubly silly. Of course we don’t eat meat on the fasting days… But I always heard the avoidance of meat was the fast, and the avoidance of some other things was the abstinence. I have an MA in Catholic Studies and got this wrong?! Sad.

Fasting includes all food. Abstinence just includes meat.

The Bishops are pretty generous when they define fasting: One full meal. And you’re allowed two snacks, as long as they don’t add up to a full meal. No limit to drinks. And you’re excused if you’re nursing, or do heavy labor, or have a health issue which requires eating at regular intervals.

 

[maryjk]

But isn’t abstaining from meat… well… fasting? Or is the “fasting” portion just not eating large meals and not eating in between meals?

Fasting is debated here every year at Lent. But generally, it is not eating large meals and not eating between meals.

Abstaining is not eating meat.

We abstain on Friday’s during Lent.

We fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

 

[Ophelia23]

Thank you all for your gracious and helpful responses!

 

[Pug]

But isn’t abstaining from meat… well… fasting? Or is the “fasting” portion just not eating large meals and not eating in between meals?

Yes, you can call abstaining from meat a type of fast, but the Church means the abstaining to be about the meat and the fasting to be about the size and number of meals when we are discussing rules for Lent.

There are only two days of “fasting” left in the Latin rite with regard to the seasons of the year. Those are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The abstinence is more prevalent.

A typical description of fasting these days is:
The law of fasting allows only one full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and evening, observing—as far as quantity and quality are concerned—approved local custom.

 

[thistle]

But isn’t abstaining from meat… well… fasting? Or is the “fasting” portion just not eating large meals and not eating in between meals?

Fasting and abstinence are different.
Abstaining is giving up a specific thing (e.g. meat).
Fasting is cutting down the overall quantity of what you would normally eat.

 

[fred_conty]

I feel silly needing to ask this, but what preciously does Abstinence include on days of fasting? I have heard conflicting views on this. Is it abstinence in a sexual nature between married couples? Is it abstaining from something else, such as alcohol? I am interested to know.

Here are the church laws on abstinenance (days when meat may not be eaten)

CHAPTER II : DAYS OF PENANCE

Can. 1249 All Christ’s faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the following canons prescribe.

Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The Episcopal Conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.