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For most of Church history Catholics during Lent fasted, but didn't necessarily abstain from alcohol.
We often think of Lent as the time to give up some of our favorite things, and for many of us alcohol is somewhere near the top of that list. But it was not always so. While voluntary abstinence is certainly commendable, for most of Church history Catholics during Lent were instead preoccupied with the mandatory fast, which was not the piddling two-day affair that it is now (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), but a full 40 days.
Interestingly enough, this fast in the Latin Church could be rigorous, but it never required abstinence from alcohol, even though other Christians, such as the Eastern Orthodox, have strict fast days where “wine and oil are avoided.” I suspect there are two reasons for the Latin approach. First, drinking alcohol was often safer than drinking water. A little wine added to water kills water-borne pathogens, and beer low in alcohol (called “small beer”) contained just enough alcohol to kill germs but not enough to impair one’s work skills.
Continued below.
A Catholic's guide to drinking during Lent
We often think of Lent as the time to give up some of our favorite things, and for many of us alcohol is somewhere near the top of that list. But it was not always so. While voluntary abstinence is certainly commendable, for most of Church history Catholics during Lent were instead preoccupied with the mandatory fast, which was not the piddling two-day affair that it is now (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), but a full 40 days.
Interestingly enough, this fast in the Latin Church could be rigorous, but it never required abstinence from alcohol, even though other Christians, such as the Eastern Orthodox, have strict fast days where “wine and oil are avoided.” I suspect there are two reasons for the Latin approach. First, drinking alcohol was often safer than drinking water. A little wine added to water kills water-borne pathogens, and beer low in alcohol (called “small beer”) contained just enough alcohol to kill germs but not enough to impair one’s work skills.
Continued below.
A Catholic's guide to drinking during Lent
