What Happens If I

[Mattjolley]

Hi,

I was discussing Lent with a friend who asked what happens if you were to break your fast, that is, if you give up something like chocolate or junk food for the duration of lent, what happens if you delve back into eating those things??

Do you confess it?
Are you not allowed to go to communion?
Should you get ‘back on the horse’ as it were and try to continue your ‘giving-up’?

I wasnt sure what to tell him!

Matt

 

[Thomas63116]

As Catholics, we are encouraged to do additional penance during Lent, in recognition of the nature of this liturgical season. This can be “giving something up” or striving to improve our spiritual well-being through additional time in prayer, more frequent attendasnce at Mass, additional almsgiving, volunteer time, etc.

While we are encouraged to do these things, it is not required. So if we fall short in what we are trying to do, there is no sin. If this happens, I would say simply try again. But also evaluate whether the penance you are trying to do is realistic for you at this time. If not, consider picking something else.

 

[Epistemes]

During my first official Lent, which was only two years ago, I remember falling short on a couple of my fasts and feeling so guilty that I pulled the priest aside for an emergency confession immediately following Friday Mass. I think emergency confessions are technically only allowed if you’ve murdered someone…but I pulled him aside in order to confess that I had visited the internet for recreational purposes. Oh, my younger, more naive days…

Breaking a fast doesn’t transgress one of God’s eternal laws, so it need not be confessed. You might examine why the fast was broken. Sometimes fasts need to be broken because we can impose too much on ourselves and come to resent the Lord, Lent, and other people who appear to be enjoying life. Getting back on the horse, so to speak, is completely acceptable, but so is choosing something else which seems more practical. For instance, I might need to give up a literal 40-day fast from food because I begin to experience frequent nausea, so I choose to work at a soup kitchen on weekends instead.