Fasting rules

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I come from a sedevacantist background which had very specific rules regarding fasting, especially during Lent. Are there still specific rules or is it up to the individual to decide how strictly to fast. Before Vatican II you could eat one main meal per day which included meat (except on Ash Wednesday and Fridays). You could also have two small meals to sustain you during the day provided that together they did not equal another full meal.
Is this still the practice in the church?
Thanks to all who might help here…this is my first Lent since coming back into full communion with Rome.
 
jeff417 said:
I come from a sedevacantist background which had very specific rules regarding fasting, especially during Lent. Are there still specific rules or is it up to the individual to decide how strictly to fast. Before Vatican II you could eat one main meal per day which included meat (except on Ash Wednesday and Fridays). You could also have two small meals to sustain you during the day provided that together they did not equal another full meal.
Is this still the practice in the church?
Thanks to all who might help here…this is my first Lent since coming back into full communion with Rome.
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These are the lenten regulations as they were printed in our bulletin, Church of St. Paul, Ham Lake, MN
The Christian faithful are to do penance through prayer, fasting, abstinence, and by exercising works of piety and charity. All Fridays through the year, and especially during Lent, are penitential days.
**Abstinence: **All who have reached their 14th birthday are to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, February 21, and on all Fridays during Lent.
**Fasting: **All those who are 18 and older, until their 59th birthday, are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Only one full meal is allowed on days of fast. Two other meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to one’s need; but, together, they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids are allowed.
The obligation does not apply to those whose health or ability to work would be affected seriously. People in doubt about fast or abstinence should consult a parish priest or confessor.
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Children over 14 must abstain from meat and adults over 18 have to fast and abstain from meat.
 
Basically, with the exception of Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays of Lent, you do a penance of your choice the remainder of Lent (which could very well be fasting).
 
Growing up, (I’m 20 now and just looking into it) my Mom said that you fast and abstain from mean on EVERY friday during Lent… I was told last week that this is incorrect, and I asked my Mom about it and she said “that’s what my parents taught me.” And after asking my grandparents they both answered “thats how my parents taught me.”

So… help? Everything online says only to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

(Sorry to OP for asking a question on your thread…)
 
Forever_always: Jesus gave his apostles, and especially Peter, the power of “binding and loosing”. As successors of the apostles, the bishops share in the threefold ministry of Christ: king, priest, and prophet. As priests they offer the sacrifice of the Mass, as prophets they preach the true Gospel of Christ, and as kings they guide and govern the flock on earth. Disciplinary matters, such as fasting rules, are thus determined by the bishops for the good of the faithful, taking into consideration the circumstances of the time and place. The rules in place 50 or 100 years ago are not the rules in place today. What does divine law (God’s law) tell us? We must fast and deny ourselves to overcome sin and allow the Holy Spirit, through the sacraments and prayer, to transform us into the image of Christ. The exact form of this fasting and self-denial is determined by the bishops. Today, in the United States, you are only required to fast AND abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but you are required to abstain (but not fast) on all Fridays of Lent. All days of Lent (except Sundays) remain days of penance, but you are free to select a penance of your choice (acts of charity, small acts of self-denial, special prayers, etc). 60 years ago abstinence was required every Friday of te year…today you can substitute this with another penance. The sin was never eating meat itself, per se, but disobedience.

Just as another example, here in Canada, the rules are a bit different. We are required to abstain and fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but unlike our brothers and sisters in the States, we can substitute Lenten Friday abstinence with another penance (as with other Fridays of the year).
 
forever_always said:
my Mom said that you fast and abstain from mean on EVERY friday during Lent… I was told last week that this is incorrect, and I asked my Mom about it and she said “that’s what my parents taught me.” And after asking my grandparents they both answered “thats how my parents taught me.”
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You fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (no meat, and very little to eat; Americans are allowed to eat two small snacks and one full meal). On every Friday during Lent you must abstain from meat.
 
twf said:
Basically, with the exception of Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays of Lent, you do a penance of your choice the remainder of Lent (which could very well be fasting).
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In Canada we are not bound to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent. It’s good to do so but the CCCB’s decree affects only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We are of course free to abstain from meat if we wish.
 
Phemie said:
In Canada we are not bound to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent. It’s good to do so but the CCCB’s decree affects only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We are of course free to abstain from meat if we wish.
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Hum…I would look into this more…

it seems to me that you are…

“As well as Fridays, we observe Ash Wednesday and the weekdays of Lent as days of special penance.”
**
The law of Friday abstinence obliges Catholics who are 14 years of age or older.**

cccb.ca/site/content/view/2319/1172/lang,eng/

It does say the that law of “fast and abstinence” is for ash wed. and good Friday…
but it seems this is talking about the two together…

“In accordance with the prescriptions of canon 1253, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops decrees that the days of fast and abstinence in Canada are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fridays are days of abstinence, but Catholics can substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day.”

for it says later on…

when it seems to be talking about Lent per se…it says…

**
The law of Friday abstinence obliges Catholics who are 14 years of age or older.**

Just talking about Fridays (perhaps only in Lent is the abstinence required…other fridays you can substitute?)

I am not a Canadian…just a curious American…but i would check it out before Friday comes and you decide to substiute…
 
Compare the CCCB’s decree
In accordance with the prescriptions of canon 1253, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops decrees that the days of fast and abstinence in Canada are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fridays are days of abstinence, but Catholics can substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day.
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with the USCCB’s:
Catholics in the United States are obliged to abstain from the eating of meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent. They are also obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. Self-imposed observance of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. Abstinence from flesh meat on all Fridays of the year [excluding solemnities like Christmas which may fall on Friday] is especially recommended to individuals and to the Catholic community as a whole.
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The CCCB clearly doesn’t place any restriction on the option to substitute other forms of penance for the abstinence from meat on Fridays.
 
Bump. whoops.

Thanks everyone for the information. This is really helpful.
 
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