The best person to answer this is your own priest.A friend was very ill starting last Wed. and hadn’t been eating much. I thought the Lenten Friday fast could be suspended in case of illness so I got him a chicken dinner, highly nutritious. However I was told that the fast could be suspended under such circumstances, but not the abstinence. Did I sin by doing this.
I have much the same problems myself. I cannot eat much of anything due to several serious conditions. (diabetes, heart failure, a-fib and hypertension - and a couple others), I asked both my pastor and associate pastor about eating meat on Friday to get the necessary protein the body needs. Fish or seafood isn’t available and they both said that eating meat to balance body chemistry is more important. The Lord understands and the abstinence is a devotion, not a law that must be obeyed even if the consequences would be harmful to one’s health. Ask your priest, or a couple of priests if possible,A friend was very ill starting last Wed. and hadn’t been eating much. I thought the Lenten Friday fast could be suspended in case of illness so I got him a chicken dinner, highly nutritious. However I was told that the fast could be suspended under such circumstances, but not the abstinence. Did I sin by doing this.
Q. Are there exemptions other than for age from the requirement to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?
A. Those that are excused from fast and abstinence outside the age limits include the physically or mentally ill including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.