Is Canon Law 919 a JOKE???

[Struggling]

Yes, you can always choose to fast longer on your own…but I was talking to a group of very holy Religious and they told me that in the course of their relationship with God they’ve learned that God prefers good works done out of Obedience, opposed to works simply done.

This conflicts with our modern American notion that “having to” do something makes it less genuine or valuable and that “taking the initiative” is somehow worth more. But that is really just arrogance. Christ, of course, didn’t just choose to die for us…he did it out of Obedience to His Father.

With less fasts commanded by the Church, so much less penance and merit and good is being done, even by people who follow the old fasts “on their own” (because those fasts don’t carry with them the additional virtue of obedience)

 

[maryalene]

It was always my understanding that purpose of the fast was to be sure that our stomach was empty upon receiving the Eucharist. I had thought that the fast was shortened over time as we learned more about our digestive system, and it became known that it did not take nearly as long to digest food as previously thought. That said, I aways try to fast a couple hours before Mass as a personal penance.

 

[hoosiertoo]

I think we need to start holding tail-gate parties in church parking lots before Mass.

We already have something like that - coffee and donuts in the parish hall between Masses.

 

[RWMorris]

Thank goodness I go to a very orthodox parish and we observe the fasting rule closely…
But I agree that longer fasting would be entirely appropriate. It isn’t too much to ask before the Eucharist.

 

[Lance]

I observe the ‘nothing after midnight’ fast because I can not stay up later than that and am too lazy to get up in time to eat anything before 7 am mass.

 

[prv]

Saoirse - I think you may be in the wrong choir!

I serve in the music ministry at my parish - all our choirs observe the 1 hour (minimum) fast. Cough drops and water are permitted for the choir members (considered medicinal to most), but not food.

We’d have several members gasp in horror if cookies were passed out right before Mass!

Medicine and water are permitted to all (cough drops could be considered medicine, if it prevents one with a minor cough but not a serious illness to attend Mass).

 

[Lance]

No it is not but why do you care?

 

[shannyk]

This conflicts with our modern American notion that “having to” do something makes it less genuine or valuable and that “taking the initiative” is somehow worth more. But that is really just arrogance. Christ, of course, didn’t just choose to die for us…he did it out of Obedience to His Father.

The whole idea of obedience escapes so many these days, who tout their Holiness because they abide by “traditional” practices that are not required but the Church, but yet criticize other faithful followers who don’t see fit to disobey Bishops and Priests It seems going against the grain has become fashionable within certain Catholic circles, and I’m not just talking about on the ‘left’ side of center.

 

[Karin]

The whole idea of obedience escapes so many these days, who tout their Holiness because they abide by “traditional” practices that are not required but the Church, but yet criticize other faithful followers who don’t see fit to disobey Bishops and Priests It seems going against the grain has become fashionable within certain Catholic circles, and I’m not just talking about on the ‘left’ side of center.

as long as you fast for 1hr before recieving (as is currently requored) I have no issues…

 

[kim3260]

I grew up with the fast from Midnight on. No one ate ANYTHING until after Mass, only water. Later on my own children followed this and so on. It’s a very small sarcifice to make, I can’t understand what’s the big deal. We have no early morning Mass only a 10AM Mass yet nobody in my family ever “passed out” from lack of food. Only in the later years my mama started to have toast with her morning pills, but nothing else.
It a shame when I see older children (over 8yrs) and adults who later Recieve, chomping on a “breakfast bar” or drinking a cup of coffee as they get out of their cars on their way to Mass.

 

[MrS]

I grew up with the fast from Midnight on. No one ate ANYTHING until after Mass, only water. Later on my own children followed this and so on. It’s a very small sarcifice to make, I can’t understand what’s the big deal. We have no early morning Mass only a 10AM Mass yet nobody in my family ever “passed out” from lack of food. Only in the later years my mama started to have toast with her morning pills, but nothing else.
It a shame when I see older children (over 8yrs) and adults who later Recieve, chomping on a “breakfast bar” or drinking a cup of coffee as they get out of their cars on their way to Mass.

hopefully they refrain from giving their kids a bag of cheerios at an early age… so the child will become habitual in the fast.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

Granted, I wasn’t alive before the 3-hour fast, or even before the 1-hour fast was born, but I was under the impression that there basically weren’t any Masses after noon in the past and that the 3-hour fast may have been designed to make it easier for evening Mass after the restoration of Holy Week. And even if it did mean someone would have to refrain from receiving the Eucharist at a daily Mass, that’s not exactly a problem. I was raised in the “modern traditional” style, so I’m certainly a frequent communicant, but there’s a point at which we have to realize that we don’t have to design our worship life around the goal of enabling every single congregant to receive the Eucharist at every single Mass.

There are, after all, reasons for the Eucharistic fast. It’s a means of spiritual preparation. I’ve been to Mass after eating with my family and rushing off to get to the church on time and, guess what, I wasn’t prepared. Sure, I hadn’t eaten during the car ride, so I was legally prepared, but the meal to Mass route just wasn’t a good way to prepare, fast or no. The 1-hour fast, because it is basically a rule against munching during Mass itself, requires very little to absolutely no conscious effort, which I think is the main strike against it. If you don’t have to choose to fast, it’s nearly useless as a form of preparation.

I try to observe the traditional fast from midnight, and while someone pointed out that for an early Mass this basically means waking up and going to Mass, what I think people forget is that this is a fast from absolutely everything - no drinks, either. I’m one of those people who can abstain from food all day and barely notice it, but I get really thirsty while I sleep and it takes a lot of conscious effort to keep from taking a drink of water in the morning. A 3-hour fast would not be as hardcore for a noon Mass, but I think it at least preserved the necessity of being aware of the fast and choosing to observe it.

If you can’t tell, I don’t like the 1-hour fast. Would I call it a joke? In casual conversation with those who knew I meant no overall disrespect, sure. It’s non-existent. I might be able to stomach it, though, if it weren’t united to the hierarchy’s overall attempt to limit any and all requirement of spiritual striving. Eucharistic fast? Nearly vanished. Fast days? Used to be all of Lent, plus certain other days throughout the year, now there are two. Friday penitential days? Still abstinence in the universal Church, but in the US our substitute penance is one of the best-kept secrets - I’ve only ever heard ONE priest tell a congregation about it. Holy days of obligation? Better hope it doesn’t fall on a Saturday or Monday because some churches won’t even have a full slate of Masses for its optional observance. We HAD rules to set bare minimums because human nature shrinks away from doing even those without a goad. Now we’ve taken away the goad, and I honestly have not seen any spiritual fruit.

 

[kim3260]

hopefully they refrain from giving their kids a bag of cheerios at an early age… so the child will become habitual in the fast.

These must be the future “breakfast bar” eaters I was talking about
But seriously I see what you mean by setting the pattern early and not giving snacks to younger children after you leave the house in the Morning for Mass.

 

[Lepanto]

Granted, I wasn’t alive before the 3-hour fast, or even before the 1-hour fast was born, but I was under the impression that there basically weren’t any Masses after noon in the past and that the 3-hour fast may have been designed to make it easier for evening Mass after the restoration of Holy Week. And even if it did mean someone would have to refrain from receiving the Eucharist at a daily Mass, that’s not exactly a problem. I was raised in the “modern traditional” style, so I’m certainly a frequent communicant, but there’s a point at which we have to realize that we don’t have to design our worship life around the goal of enabling every single congregant to receive the Eucharist at every single Mass.

There are, after all, reasons for the Eucharistic fast. It’s a means of spiritual preparation. I’ve been to Mass after eating with my family and rushing off to get to the church on time and, guess what, I wasn’t prepared. Sure, I hadn’t eaten during the car ride, so I was legally prepared, but the meal to Mass route just wasn’t a good way to prepare, fast or no. The 1-hour fast, because it is basically a rule against munching during Mass itself, requires very little to absolutely no conscious effort, which I think is the main strike against it. If you don’t have to choose to fast, it’s nearly useless as a form of preparation.

I try to observe the traditional fast from midnight, and while someone pointed out that for an early Mass this basically means waking up and going to Mass, what I think people forget is that this is a fast from absolutely everything - no drinks, either. I’m one of those people who can abstain from food all day and barely notice it, but I get really thirsty while I sleep and it takes a lot of conscious effort to keep from taking a drink of water in the morning. A 3-hour fast would not be as hardcore for a noon Mass, but I think it at least preserved the necessity of being aware of the fast and choosing to observe it.

If you can’t tell, I don’t like the 1-hour fast. Would I call it a joke? In casual conversation with those who knew I meant no overall disrespect, sure. It’s non-existent. I might be able to stomach it, though, if it weren’t united to the hierarchy’s overall attempt to limit any and all requirement of spiritual striving. Eucharistic fast? Nearly vanished. Fast days? Used to be all of Lent, plus certain other days throughout the year, now there are two. Friday penitential days? Still abstinence in the universal Church, but in the US our substitute penance is one of the best-kept secrets - I’ve only ever heard ONE priest tell a congregation about it. Holy days of obligation? Better hope it doesn’t fall on a Saturday or Monday because some churches won’t even have a full slate of Masses for its optional observance. We HAD rules to set bare minimums because human nature shrinks away from doing even those without a goad. Now we’ve taken away the goad, and I honestly have not seen any spiritual fruit.

Well said! You hit the nail on the head!