Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. I haven’t had the time today to come up with some meaningful reflection, but fortunately, we have some great saints who have done it for us. I give you this prayer of Saint Ambrose to help you begin Lent:
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ’s sake, Amen
From Lent Prayers and Collects - ChurchYear.Net
Also a reminder for all Latin Rite Catholics (Eastern Catholics too?). Today is a fast day, as is Good Friday. The Fridays of Lent are abstinence days. All of this means:
The minimum the Catholic Church expects is fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstinence on the Fridays of Lent. Fasting means eating only one full meatless meal on that day. However, one may still eat a breakfast and even a lunch in addition to a full meal if the two additional small meals do not add up to a second full meal. Snacking is not allowed. Drinking coffee, tea, juices, etc, between meals is permitted on fast days. Abstinence requires abstaining from meat for the entire day. Meat is defined as the “flesh meat of warm-blooded animals.” This is the reason why Catholics often eat fish on Fridays, but anything meatless works. The requirements are slightly different for those of certain ages. Fasting is only required of those from ages 18-59, and abstinence is required of all people 14 and older, although parents are expected to teach their children the reasons behind their fasting, etc. Those with health conditions are excluded. Note that some Eastern Catholic Rites have different fasting guidelines. These are simply the minimum expectations. Additional forms of self-denial, within reason, can also be spiritually beneficial.
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February 6, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Eastern Rite Catholics have been fasting since Monday when we begin Lent (The Great Fast). We have also been preparing for it with little semi-fasts during the two weeks prior to say goodbye to meat and cheese.
February 6, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Today is a fast day because it is Wednesday for Eastern Catholics using the western dating of Easter who are now in their own Great fast.
In other countries where the older Eastern dating is used, it is not lent, and not a fast day for them… UNLESS, they belong to one of the Oriental Catholic Churches where fasting is widely common throughout the whole of the year such as with the Copts.
But again to answer your question, it is a fast day for us because it is wednesday, not because it is Ash Wednesday (our Lent already began)…
So yes, we are fasting too.
February 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Each bishops’ conference can determine how the laws of fast and abstinence are observed in their own dioceses.
In Canada, for example, we are not required to abstain on Lenten Fridays, rather we are expected to do penance of our own choice EVERY Friday of the year. It might be abstaining, but could easily be fasting, or an act of piety or charity instead. We are expected to do our Friday penance along with whatever personal penance we have chosen for Lent.
The Canadian Conference also defines fasting as “reducing the richness and the amount” of food, so I don’t think we are bound to adhere to the traditional 2 small, 1 regular, no snacks (although that is a very useful guideline for fasting).
February 8, 2008 at 1:45 am
Thanks Meg. I wasn’t aware Canada had different fast and abstinence guidelines for Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and the Fridays of Lent, but it seems to be the case. I think the US permits penitential acts in place of Friday abstinence throughout the year, but I was under the impression the Fridays of Lent are supposed to be meatless here.
February 8, 2008 at 7:57 am
Given the severity of ancient fasting praxis, and the lenience of same today… I have to wince a little when I hear some folks complain about no meat on Fridays… “I can’t…. I’m Catholic!” (wha-wha-wha-whaaaaaaaaa)
Cheese pizza, Mac & Cheese, Filet-o-fish, PB&J for lunch, pancakes, cold cereal for breakfast… Heck, branch out and try snake. Or Muskrat if you live in the Archdiocese of Detroit! (I didn’t make that up, and BTW, its delicious!)
Really considering some older standards of no meat, no fish, no dairy, no oil, no wine, and none of what you can eat before noon…
Cheese pizza ain’t so bad!
February 8, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Try some real fasting: only bread and water all day.
Become an e5man!
http://www.e5men.org/
February 8, 2008 at 2:36 pm
My grandaughter, who is 4, claimed at pre-school that she was going to church to get her quote: black plus sign.
One proud papa
February 9, 2008 at 11:09 pm
all I can say is “Lousy Latin rite Catholics with your fun ashes and cool knowing looks when you see each other with black plus signs!”
This Greek Catholic (we don’t do ashes) hasn’t had the pleasure since sophomore year of Jesuit High school, where a somewhat impious son of Saint Ignatius seemed to certainly intend to create either a faux unibrow or an artistic rendering of the Mackinac Island bridge in ash on my forehead.
Sophomore year was the last time… Not because I quit going to Jebbie HS, but because the Jesuits from 93 onward couldn’t be bothered to hold a Mass on Ash Wednesday…
Sigh.