Fasting for Catholics

[Jomaca5]

Hello everyone!

(Apologies if this has been asked before)

What are the rules on fasting for Catholics?

I grew up in a Muslim country and because I was never taught how Catholics are supposed to fast (if it is different in any way), I always try to follow the Muslim way of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

What do you do?

 

[Barbkw]

My 91 year old Dad, abstains from meat on Fridays throughout the year.

In our parish, our last priest has asked instead that people either perform a “good deed” or observe the Friday meat abstinence, in remembrance of the day that Christ suffered and died on the Cross.

 

[MarianD]

My 91 year old Dad, abstains from meat on Fridays throughout the year.

In our parish, our last priest has asked instead that people either perform a “good deed” or observe the Friday meat abstinence, in remembrance of the day that Christ suffered and died on the Cross.

This is the most common way of Catholic fasting. “Meat” means mammals and poultry. Fish is not classified as meat.

During Lent, you must abstain from meat on Fridays. On all other times of the year, you must do some penance on Friday (at least), and abstaining from meat is the most common.

Om Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, you have to do a full fast. I’ve been told, but I’m not 100% sure, that the only things you can consume during such a fast are bread and water (vitamins, pills, medicine, etc. aside).

Check out this link too: catholicexchange.com/2009/03/05/116502/

 

[grampy52]

Per Canon Law, fasting is required during specific periods of the Liturgical year for all faithful between the ages of 18 and 59 years. Fasting is defined by the Church as a reduction of the consumption of food in such a way as to consume no more than one ‘main’ meal and up to two smaller meals which, together, do not exceed the quantity consumed at the main meal. Any food taken between these three meals serves to break the fast. This applies only to solid foods and liquids which could be considered food. For example, it would be OK to drink milk, but not a milkshake. Water is always OK, as are alcoholic beverages (though they seem contrary to the spirit of fasting).
As for abstinence, it is still recommended that we abstain from eating meat (including chicken!) on all Fridays during the year and is required during Lent for all faithful over the age of 14 until death. All forms of fish, both fresh and saltwater as well as amphibians (frog legs for example) are acceptable “non-meat” foods. Outside of the Lenten season, some form of penitential action is required, if we choose not to abstain from eating meat, we are supposed to substitute some other form of penance such as prayer, or performance of one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy.

I pray this is helpful.
God Bless!

 

[Jomaca5]

Thank you for all the replies!

There’s as added complication I forgot to mention…I’m a vegetarian. I chose to be vegetarian 5 years ago because, to be honest, I didn’t want to have meat (fish included)anymore. I guess I’m just a very fussy eater!

So, sometimes, if I don’t a complete fast during Lent, I try to pray or read the Bible more often.

 

[MagsM]

Thank you for all the replies!

There’s as added complication I forgot to mention…I’m a vegetarian. I chose to be vegetarian 5 years ago because, to be honest, I didn’t want to have meat (fish included)anymore. I guess I’m just a very fussy eater!

So, sometimes, if I don’t a complete fast during Lent, I try to pray or read the Bible more often.

Hi Jomaca,

I am also vegetarian, except that I do eat fish. The way I fast during normal weeks is to completely abstain from food on Wed and no fish on Fri. I have been considering doing a bread/water fast on Fri, but haven’t yet.

There are also other times that I feel called to fast (especially in times of heavier prayer) and I observe those by either full fast or bread/water as well.

Hope that helps.

 

[thistle]

Hello everyone!

(Apologies if this has been asked before)

What are the rules on fasting for Catholics?

I grew up in a Muslim country and because I was never taught how Catholics are supposed to fast (if it is different in any way), I always try to follow the Muslim way of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

What do you do?

Do not confuse fasting with abstenance. Abstaining from meat or something else is not fasting.

Fasting is cutting down the quantity of food and drink you take compared to normal food and drink intake.
Fasting rule is one normal meal and two small meals which together cannot exceed one normal meal.
Fasting is only required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

 

[Shin]

Thank you for all the replies!

There’s as added complication I forgot to mention…I’m a vegetarian. I chose to be vegetarian 5 years ago because, to be honest, I didn’t want to have meat (fish included)anymore. I guess I’m just a very fussy eater!

So, sometimes, if I don’t a complete fast during Lent, I try to pray or read the Bible more often.

Basically, the disciplinary direct requirements are only a few – this is unusual, they used to be much more for the vast extent of Catholic history.

Morally, one necessarily does fasting and finds some schedule or suitable devotion to practice it in, since it quite necessary to the spiritual life. Since Fridays are the traditional days for it… and Lent the traditional time for fasting everyday, those are good times for a minimum of it, but so too anytime is a good time for fasting… the more fasting you can responsibly do, as long as it’s done healthily, you are performing a good work for your moral character, self control of the passions, and for merit in Heaven.

 

[Edward_H]

Fasting and abstinence are ways to pray. Letting your stomach and body’s reflexes remind you of God, and give you an occasion/reminders to talk to God.

Never fast alone. Fast with Jesus.

 

[DebChris]

Do not confuse fasting with abstenance. Abstaining from meat or something else is not fasting.

Fasting is cutting down the quantity of food and drink you take compared to normal food and drink intake.
Fasting rule is one normal meal and two small meals which together cannot exceed one normal meal.
Fasting is only required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

I currently live and work in a Muslim country. As such I am subject by law to the Ramadan fast, at least publicly. This means no eating or drinking even water from dawn to dusk. A Muslim will break the fast with Iftar after dusk.
Thistle has well described the Catholic fast.
Many saints both fasted and abstained from meat on both Wednesdays and Friday. I was halfway through Lent, maintaining the Friday fast, when I learned that here it is Wednesday that we are asked to abstain from meat during Lent.

Fasting and abstinence are ways to pray. Letting your stomach and body’s reflexes remind you of God, and give you an occasion/reminders to talk to God.

Never fast alone. Fast with Jesus.

As Catholics we are required to fast for at least one hour before receiving Holy Communion. This fast is a total abstaining from all food and drink, except water.
As I explained to a Baptist when I refused the breakfast he had prepared, we come to the Eucharistic table “hungry for the Lord.”

As I read in the local paper, the old and ill are exempted from the Ramadan fast. This is also true for Catholics when it comes to the Lenten fast. We are not called to jeopardize our health.
Children below the age of 14 are not required to abstain from meat. Fasting on the specified days of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday is only required from 18 through 59 years of age.

No rule says that you cannot maintain a Muslim style fast with a snack size breakfast before dawn and eating your main meal after dark. Remember, however, that the Catholic fast includes abstinence from meat (fish excluded).

 

[Happy_B]

Hello

I’m also vegetarian and I usually don’t eat any food on Friday for 24 hours, I only drink water. I’ve only been doing it for a few months but noticed that it’s amazing as it helps me focus more on spirituality and I noticed that I’m more attentive to the needs of the others……

I noticed that orthodox christians fast much more than we catholics do-for example their eucharistic fast is 24 hours before taking the holy communion on Sunday morning (this being said-they can eat but they must not eat any meat or diary and eat only a little basically for the whole Saturday. I know it used to be like this in the catholic church maybe 50 years ago, I think it’s nice…

Do you keep the eucharistic fast (an hour before the communion)?

 

[Xandria]

I haven’t been a Catholic for long and have yet to experience lent as one. On normal Fridays I always do without either meat, sweets, or caffeine.

Someone on this thread said that the hour before communion we are allowed to drink only water. Is this true? In RCIA the priest only mentioned food and said that drinks are okay. I usually drink a mixture of 50% water and 50% percent flavored water because I have to leave almost an hour before church and this is what I carry with me every day. But if the rule is only water I will switch on the days I go to mass.

 

[JeffreyH]

This is a cut and paste right out of the Catholic Encyclopedia.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as on the second and last Saturdays of Lent, flesh meat is not permitted. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays during Ember Week are still days of abstinence and fasting. The vigils of Christmas, Pentecost, Assumption, and All Saints are also days of abstinence and fasting.

I read this as:

Lent - Wednesday and Fridays and the second and last Saturday are days of Abstinence.

Days left in 2010 that require both Fast and Abstinence is the Ember Week of Advent. thats the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after the 3rd Sunday of Advent. December 15th, 17th and 18th. Then there’s Christmas Vigil, December 24th.

You’ll find it about halfway down, under the heading of “application of the law in the United States”

newadvent.org/cathen/01067a.htm

 

[Shin]

I haven’t been a Catholic for long and have yet to experience lent as one. On normal Fridays I always do without either meat, sweets, or caffeine.

Someone on this thread said that the hour before communion we are allowed to drink only water. Is this true? In RCIA the priest only mentioned food and said that drinks are okay. I usually drink a mixture of 50% water and 50% percent flavored water because I have to leave almost an hour before church and this is what I carry with me every day. But if the rule is only water I will switch on the days I go to mass.

‘Can. 919 §1. A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.’

Water in this case means just plain water, not flavored water, so you must switch yes.

Prior to 1964, the Eucharistic fast began at midnight. The canon notes ‘at least’ one hour, which encourages longer fasts, along with tradition.

 

[DebChris]

‘Can. 919 §1. A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.’

Water in this case means just plain water, not flavored water, so you must switch yes.

Prior to 1964, the Eucharistic fast began at midnight. The canon notes ‘at least’ one hour, which encourages longer fasts, along with tradition.

I do not know the year that the Eucharist fast changed from midnight, but it was well before 1964. The fast that I was taught was three hours before the Eucharist, and yes, I received my First Communion before 1964.
The latest change moved the age requirement for abstaining from meat from 7 to 14.
Of course, these are minimum fasts and nothing prevents a person from maintaining a stricter discipline in his or her own life.
Returning to the OP, a person can definitely maintain a Muslim style fast, abstaining from both food and drink while keeping in mind that fasting according to Catholic tradition includes abstaining from meat throughout the entire day of the fast.

 

[Shin]

I do not know the year that the Eucharist fast changed from midnight, but it was well before 1964. The fast that I was taught was three hours before the Eucharist, and yes, I received my First Communion before 1964.
The latest change moved the age requirement for abstaining from meat from 7 to 14.
Of course, these are minimum fasts and nothing prevents a person from maintaining a stricter discipline in his or her own life.
Returning to the OP, a person can definitely maintain a Muslim style fast, abstaining from both food and drink while keeping in mind that fasting according to Catholic tradition includes abstaining from meat throughout the entire day of the fast.

The midnight fast was in force until 1964 for regular masses, however in 1953, Pope Pius XII allowed a three hour fast for the newly allowed evening masses after four o’clock. Pope Paul VI took that football and ran with it so to speak, all the way to the goal line of practically nothing as he did with so much else.

The midnight fast goes as far back as the earliest days of the Church it was always a midnight or even longer, starting from the vespers the night before.

The fasting discipline in the Church hasn’t been this lax since either the very beginning if one believes they started with none, or if one does not – ever at all.

Quite notably, fasting makes you take Communion more seriously and prepare more seriously for it.

 

[DebChris]

The midnight fast was in force until 1964 for regular masses, however in 1953, Pope Pius XII allowed a three hour fast for the newly allowed evening masses after four o’clock. Pope Paul VI took that football and ran with it so to speak, all the way to the goal line of practically nothing as he did with so much else.

The midnight fast goes as far back as the earliest days of the Church it was always a midnight or even longer, starting from the vespers the night before.

The fasting discipline in the Church hasn’t been this lax since either the very beginning if one believes they started with none, or if one does not – ever at all.

Quite notably, fasting makes you take Communion more seriously and prepare more seriously for it.

My family always attended the earliest Mass offered. When I attended Catholic School, we brought our own breakfast, an individual box of cereal and milk, with us to consume after daily Mass.
Again, the teaching I was given regarding fasting before Communion was indeed three hours. This teaching was given before 1964 without mention of any vigil Masses. Nor were vigil Masses offered any of the places where I lived until after 1970.
You did, however, answer the question. Those receiving Communion before 1953 adhered to a midnight fast. One of the reasons behind the change was health. I have heard many stories, from those who lived during the time when the midnight fast was the norm of individuals fainting as a result of the fast.
I agree that fasting helps prepare an individual, as I stated earlier, “to hunger for the Lord.” It is not conducive to spirituality, however, when hunger and growling stomachs distract from our purpose of attending Mass.
While the canon is fasting for one hour before receiving the Eucharist, most Catholics fast for a minimum hour before Mass.
There is nothing to stop an individual from adhering to a stricter discipline than what the Church requires.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hello everyone!

(Apologies if this has been asked before)

What are the rules on fasting for Catholics?

I grew up in a Muslim country and because I was never taught how Catholics are supposed to fast (if it is different in any way), I always try to follow the Muslim way of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

What do you do?

why would a Muslim fast on Christian feasts, anymore than Christians would fast in Ramadan? Why not learn and practice the disciplines of your own Faith? Catholics are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and to abstain from meat on those days and Fridays of Lent. They are obliged to abstain on all Fridays of the year, or to substitute some other penance if this is allowed by their national bishops’ conference. They are strongly encouraged but not obliged to fast on all weekdays of Lent. Fasting is binding on those between 18 and 59, abstinence on all those over 14 (unless there is a medical contra-indication). It is also mandatory to fast from all food an drink except water and medicine for one hour before receiving Holy Communion.

 

[DebChris]

why would a Muslim fast on Christian feasts, anymore than Christians would fast in Ramadan? Why not learn and practice the disciplines of your own Faith? Catholics are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and to abstain from meat on those days and Fridays of Lent. They are obliged to abstain on all Fridays of the year, or to substitute some other penance if this is allowed by their national bishops’ conference. They are strongly encouraged but not obliged to fast on all weekdays of Lent. Fasting is binding on those between 18 and 59, abstinence on all those over 14 (unless there is a medical contra-indication). It is also mandatory to fast from all food an drink except water and medicine for one hour before receiving Holy Communion.

Christians living in Muslim countries may be required by law to fast during Ramadan. As with Lent, Ramadan is a time to repent of sins. Eid El Fid, which Ramadan celebrates the abundance of God. As Christians, we likewise need to thank God for the blessings He has given us.
I think the OP’s point was not that she fasted during Ramadan rather than during Lent. Rather it was that she was unsure of the rules concerning fasting as a Catholic. When Muslims fast, they fast not only from food, but also from water. The Muslim fast lasts from Dawn to Dusk and is broken each evening with Iftar. Unlike the Catholic fast, the Muslims are not required to abstain from meat (excluding fish) during Ramadan.
My granddaughter fasted during Ramadan as a means of supporting her Muslim friend during her fast. When I had a roommate who was Hindu, I chose not to bring meat into the apartment we shared. It was a matter of respect for my friend’s religion, not an acceptance of that religion.
CCC841 The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place among whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.
CCC843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved…