Traditional Catholic Rules of Fast and Abstinence
Catholics who attend Latin Mass in Utica, NY have asked; what are the rules are for Fasting and Abstinence during Lent?
Here are the Traditional Catholic rules of fast and abstinence for Lent, before Vatican II relaxed the rules so much that the faithful remain confused to this day. These rules of fast and abstinence are as observed per the 1962 liturgical calendar and outlined in Canons 1250-1254 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
The law of Abstinence binds all Catholics, beginning on the day after their 7th birthday.
The law of Fasting binds all Catholics, beginning on the day after their 21st birthday and ending at the midnight which completed their 59th birthday. [The USA’s particular law has lowered the obligatory fasting age to 18.]
The law of Complete Abstinence forbids the eating of flesh meat and of broth made of meat, but does not exclude the use of eggs, dairy products, or seasonings made from the fat of animals.
Partial Abstinence permits meat and soup or gravy made from meat, to be eaten only once a day, at the principal meal.
The law of Fasting prescribes that only one full meal a day was taken with two smaller meals that does not equal the main one. As to the kind of food and the amount that might be taken, the approved customs of the place are to be observed. It is not forbidden to eat both flesh meat and fish at the same meal, nor to interchange the midday and evening meals.
Abstinence is obligatory on all Fridays, except on Holy Days of Obligation outside of Lent.
Fasting and Complete Abstinence are obligatory on the following days:
- Ash Wednesday
- Fridays and Saturdays in Lent
- Good Friday
- Holy Saturday (until noon—the end of the Easter Vigil Mass)
- Ember days Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
Fasting and Partial Abstinence are obligatory on all other weekdays of Lent (i.e., Monday through Thursday. Friday was always complete abstinence). This meant that meat could be eaten at the principal meal on these days.
However, there are particular rules for Traditional Catholics that are observed in the United States. According to the SSPX website, on January 28, 1949, the United States bishops issued a statement modifying the regulations of fasting and abstinence in America (thus differing slightly from the universal laws) after receiving a ruling from the Sacred Congregation of the Council.
Fasting and Partial Abstinence is obligatory on the following days:
- Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays
- Vigil of Pentecost
- all other weekdays of Lent including Saturdays
Sundays in Lent are always a non-Fast day.
Liquids, including milk and fruit juices, might be taken at any time on a day of fast, but “other works of charity, piety, and prayer for the pope should be substituted” to compensate for this relaxation. Where health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige the Fast or Abstinence.
The United States bishops had the faculties to dispense the faithful from the obligation to fast and abstain on penitential days that fell on civic holidays.
References: The Fatima Center.org, SSPX.org
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