Fast and Abstinence

     Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence from meat. For members of the Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection. The key to fruitful observance of these practices is to recognize their link to baptismal renewal. We are called to abstain from sin always, which we remember more intensely during Lent, so that we can come to true conversion by having our hearts and minds transformed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our souls. We recall the waters of in which we were baptized into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and through Christ began to live the very life of the Holy Trinity.