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The Catholic Church has a series of practices and traditions that mark the liturgical calendar and guide the spiritual life of its faithful. Among these are fasting and abstinence during Lent, the 40-day period of preparation for Easter.
To help Catholics live this special liturgical time and deepen their knowledge of the faith, the following are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about fasting and abstinence.
According to the apostolic constitution Paenitemini, abstinence forbids the use of meat, “but not of eggs, the products of milk, or condiments made of animal fat.”
The law of fasting allows “only one full meal a day but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and evening, observing — as far as quantity and quality are concerned — approved local custom.”
However, Canon 1253 of the Code of Canon Law states: “The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.”
Continued below.
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To help Catholics live this special liturgical time and deepen their knowledge of the faith, the following are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about fasting and abstinence.
What do fasting and abstinence mean?
According to the Code of Canon Law,fasting and abstinence are penitential practices that all Catholics are obliged to perform “by divine law” on certain days of the year in order to “deny themselves.”According to the apostolic constitution Paenitemini, abstinence forbids the use of meat, “but not of eggs, the products of milk, or condiments made of animal fat.”
The law of fasting allows “only one full meal a day but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and evening, observing — as far as quantity and quality are concerned — approved local custom.”
However, Canon 1253 of the Code of Canon Law states: “The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.”
What is the origin of the practice of fasting and abstinence?
Continued below.
Lent 2025: 7 answers to your questions about fasting and abstinence
To help Catholics live this special liturgical time and deepen their knowledge of the faith, here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about fasting and abstinence.
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