The fast period before Christmas is called Philip's Fast because it begins after the feast day of St. Eastern Christians observe two major times of fasting, the "Great Fast" before Easter, and "Phillip's Fast" before the Nativity. Įastern Christians view fasting as one part of repentance and supporting a spiritual change of heart. While some Eastern Catholics try to follow the stricter rules of their Orthodox counterparts, the actual canonical obligations of Eastern Catholics to fast and abstain are usually much more lenient than those of the Orthodox. Members of the autonomous Eastern Catholic Churches are obliged to follow the discipline of their own particular church. Obligatory abstinence on Ember Friday in Lent is included in the universal Lenten discipline, and abstinence on Ember Friday on Whitsuntide is not required, as all days of the Octave of Pentecost are Solemnities. The bishop in the United States has emphasized the statements in the USCCB norms "Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year", and "we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat." The Ember Days have been re-established in the Calendar of the Ordinariates, and as long as a Solemnity does not take precedence, the Ember Fridays in September and Advent are days of obligatory abstinence. Thus, for example, in England, the norm is abstinence on all Fridays of the year. The Personal Ordinariates for former Anglicans reconciled to the Catholic Church follow the discipline of the Latin Church (of which they are a part) including the norms established by the Council of Catholic Bishops in whose territories they are erected and of which their Ordinaries are members. Others abstain from eating meat on Lenten Fridays. In some countries, the Bishops' Conferences have obtained from Rome the substitution of pious or charitable acts for abstinence from meat on Fridays except Good Friday. įurthermore, all Fridays of the year, except when a Solemnity falls upon the Friday, are bound by the law of abstinence.īoth Paenitemini and the 1983 Code of Canon Law permitted the Episcopal Conferences to propose adjustments of the laws on fasting and abstinence for their home territories. According to canon 1252 of the Code of Canon Law, all Latin-rite Catholics are required to observe the laws of abstinence starting at the age of 14, and according to that, "even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance". At that age, a person is automatically excused from the requirement to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but, if health permits, may participate in the fast should he choose to do so. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority until the beginning of the sixtieth. According to Paenitemini, the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and where possible, throughout Holy Saturday, both abstinence and fasting are required of Catholics who are not exempted for various reasons. Main article: Canon law of the Catholic Church Latin Church Ĭontemporary canonical legislation for Catholics of the Latin Church sui juris (who comprise most Catholics) is rooted in the 1966 Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI, Paenitemini, and codified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law (in Canons 1249–1253). True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood and perjury. Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. Basil of Caesarea gives the following exhortation regarding fasting: Bodily fasting is meaningless unless it is joined with a spiritual avoidance of sin. The Catholic Church teaches that all people are obliged by God to perform some penance for their sins, and that these acts of penance are both personal and corporeal. For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food, while abstinence refers to refraining from something that is good, and not inherently sinful, such as meat. The Catholic Church historically observes the disciplines of fasting and abstinence at various times each year. Contemporary practice varies by country and area. Fish and other designated seafood are traditionally eaten by Catholics on Fridays due to the prohibition on eating meat on that day.
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