Ash Wednesday and Good Friday

[lukpet]

I want to ask is there some biblical reference to the fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday or why do we have strict fasting exactly on these days?

Thanks for your answers, God bless

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

I think the fastings in Lent are based upon Our Lord’s forty days of fasting in the desert. “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and was led the by the spirit into the desert, for the space of forty days; and was tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, He was hungry.” (St. Luke iv. 1-2) We used to have to fast all 40 days of Lent, but it was reduced to just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

 

[lukpet]

Thanks for your answer,
but is there a rule in the Bible which says that if you fail to fast on these days that it is a sin or is there an indication for it in any way?

 

[Vico]

I want to ask is there some biblical reference to the fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday or why do we have strict fasting exactly on these days?

Thanks for your answers, God bless

The Catholic CHurch has the authority and this is given in the bible. So, then lenten fasting was required by Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.

Catechism

2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor: …

2043 The fourth precept (“You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart. 85

85 Cf. CIC, cann. 1249-1251; CCEO, can. 882.

 

[thistle]

I want to ask is there some biblical reference to the fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday or why do we have **strict fasting **exactly on these days?

Thanks for your answers, God bless

I wouldn’t exactly call it strict. We are allowed one normal meal plus two smaller meals that together do not exceed one normal meal. In other words that amounts to two normal meals.
That’s often my normal eating habit.

 

[porthos11]

Thanks for your answer,
but is there a rule in the Bible which says that if you fail to fast on these days that it is a sin or is there an indication for it in any way?

No, you will find no such thing in the Bible, and the Bible is not the place to look.

Fasting and abstinence on those days are a law laid down by the authority of the Church (and THAT you find in the Bible), and the Church has to power to impose it or abolish it.

The sin in disregarding the penance on those days lies in the disobedience to the Church’s authority, which is God-given.

 

[Mary_Ellen]

The Church has the authority to define such rules, even rules not specifically spelled out in Holy Scripture. The Church received this authority from Christ, Himself:

Matthew 18:18 - “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

She can bind us to some rules and practices and loose us from others.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

Thanks for your answer,
but is there a rule in the Bible which says that if you fail to fast on these days that it is a sin or is there an indication for it in any way?

No, the Bible doesn’t prescribe any fasting or abstinence for Lent. These are disciplines that the Church has bound us under pain of mortal sin to do to fulfill the Bible’s call to do penance: “unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish” (St. Luke xiii. 5). The Holy Ghost probably didn’t prescribe any specific penitential practices in the Scriptures since it would be better if it were left up to the discretion of the Church so she could alter them in light of the changing times and attitudes of the faithful.