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Fasting During Lent |
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Question: I am an Italian American Catholic. I was raised in Manhattan on the east side. When I was young we were taught to fast on Weds. and Fridays during lent. Of course we also did not eat meat on any other Fridays. One of my friends who is also Italian American was raised in Brooklyn, New York and was raised with the beliefs. The other one of my friends who is Czechoslovakian American Catholic was raised only to fast on Fridays during lent. My question to her was "if you could not eat meat on any other Friday why would you be told you can not eat meat on Fridays during lent?" She had no answer but I hope you do. |
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Answer:
Dr. Alexander Roman alex@unicorne.org The ancient Apostolic Canons prescribed fasting for all Wednesdays and Fridays of the year as a rule and all Christians at one time adhered to this rule.
Wednesday or the fourth day of the week
was the day on which Judas went to betray Christ to His enemies and so
Wednesday's fast marks the beginning of the Passion of our Lord.
Friday, of course, marks the culmination of Christ's sacrifice on the
Cross on Calvary. The Eastern Churches continue to adhere to this fast
on these two days. This fast comes not only from the Apostles, but, as
the Apostolic Canons state, from Christ Himself! During the four major
fast periods of the year, Eastern Christians also often fast on Mondays
as well.
At one point, the Church of Rome moved the
fast of Wednesday to Saturday - something for which it was censured by
the East i.e. for tampering with Apostolic tradition. There was never
any fast on Saturday (save for Holy Saturday during Passion Week) and
although meat was forbidden on Saturdays during Lent/the Great Fast, one
could eat certain foodstuffs on Lenten Saturdays that were otherwise
forbidden during the week.
But somehow the ancient fast of Wednesday
continued in the life of the Western Church, albeit in mitigated form.
Instead of "fasting" on Wednesday, there was "abstinence" on that day,
especially during Lent.
"Fasting" means to control both the type
of foods one eats on a given day or time period AND the number of times
one eats. To "fast" has always meant to refrain from eating throughout
the day, and only until the evening where a meal of "dried food" or "xerophagy"
was taken. In the West, the meal was taken after three o'clock in the
afternoon, or after the time at which Christ died on the Cross.
To "abstain" means to refrain from eating
certain foods, but there are no rules governing the number of times one
may eat during a fasting period. Thus, when abstinence was/is
prescribed, one would refrain from eating meats and meat products i.e.
milk etc. The West has allowed the eating of fish as an acceptable food
to replace the eating of meats on days of abstinence, but the East has
always regarded fish to be a meat since fish have backbones. Shell-fish
would be acceptable replacements for meats in the East.
After the Western Council of Vatican II, a
number of "liberalizations" with respect to fasting came into being in
the Roman Catholic Church. The rule of yearly fasting on Fridays and
abstinence on Wednesdays was abrogated. Instead, one had to make a
"Friday sacrifice" which could include a charitable work.
However, this has been generally
interpreted by Roman Catholics to mean that there is "no more fasting on
Fridays" - period. As I understand it, only Ash Wednesday and Good
Friday are prescribed as Lenten fast days by the Roman Church today.
The Pope of Rome has reinstated the Friday fast - but how this has
changed the perception of Roman Catholics with regard to Friday fasting
is uncertain. Of course, Catholics are free to follow the ancient
fasting rules and there are those who do.
Fasting has always been understood as a
necessary spiritual medicine for our souls. And just as no good
physician may refuse to administer needed medicine to patients who are
ill, so too no bishop may dispense with fasting as needed spiritual
medicine. And even if bishops do this, it is incumbent upon Christians
to adhere to the unchanging Apostolic canons and disciplines in this
regard, each according to their strength etc.!
Suffice it to say that the Apostolic
Canons assure us that our Lord Himself gave us the command to fast in
honour of His Passion on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the year (save
for those periods, such as Easter/Paschal Week when there is no
fasting). There is no higher authority on this matter than that of our
Lord!
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Ukrainian Orthodoxy |
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