History Rules relating to fasting pertain to the quantity of food allowed on days of fasting, while those regulating abstinence refer to the quality or type of food. The Christian tradition of fasts and abstinence developed from Old Testament practices, and were an integral part of the early church community.
Louis Duchesne asserts, based on a verse in
Luke 18, that Monday and Thursday were days of fasting among pious Jews. Early Christians practiced regular weekly fasts on Wednesdays (in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ) and on Fridays (in memory of the crucifixion of Jesus). The early Christian form is known as the
Black Fast: "eating only once a day, toward evening; nothing else except a little water was taken all day". This was the normative way of Christian fasting prior to the 8th century A.D. and is still kept by some of the faithful to this day, especially during Lent. The habit of fasting before Easter developed gradually, and with considerable diversity of practice regarding duration. As late as the latter part of the second century there were differing opinions not only regarding the manner of the paschal fast, but also the proper time for keeping Easter. In 331,
St. Athanasius enjoined upon his flock a period of forty days of fasting preliminary to, but not inclusive of, the stricter fast of Holy Week, and in 339, after having traveled to Rome and over the greater part of Europe, wrote in the strongest terms to urge this observance upon the people of Alexandria as one that was universally practiced, "to the end that while all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing-stock as the only people who do not fast but take our pleasure in those days". In the time of
Gregory the Great (590–604), there were apparently at Rome six weeks of six days each, making thirty-six fast days in all, which St. Gregory, who is followed therein by many medieval writers, describes as the spiritual tithing of the year, thirty-six days being approximately the tenth part of three hundred and sixty-five. At a later date the wish to realize the exact number of forty days led to the practice of beginning Lent on Ash Wednesday. eggs, and, in the early centuries, wine and oil. Consumption of fish and shellfish was usually, but not universally, allowed. Such a strict fast is sometimes called a
Black Fast. While early sources place the meal after sunset, by the 10th century or earlier, the custom prevailed of taking the only meal of the day at the ninth hour (Latin , about 3 p.m.). By the 14th century, the one meal of the day had become a midday meal; and the liturgical observance of the had become tied to the daily Mass and other morning services, always said before
noon. In tandem with those developments, the practice of having an evening
collation (a small snack) became common. A morning collation was introduced in the early 19th century. Throughout these same centuries, there was wide disagreement over the appropriateness of white meats on fasting days, often resulting in various indulgences allowing the consumption of milk, butter, and cheese and, less commonly, eggs. In the early 20th century, Church law prescribed fasting throughout Lent, with abstinence on Friday and Saturday. Some countries received dispensations: Rome in 1918 allowed the bishops of
Ireland to transfer the Saturday obligation to Wednesday; in the United States, abstinence was not required on Saturday. The other weekdays were called days of "fasting without abstinence." A similar practice (common in the United States after the norms for abstinence were adopted in 1951) was called "partial abstinence", which allowed meat once during the day at the main meal. There is nothing in current Catholic Canon Law which corresponds to "partial abstinence". The countries of the former Spanish empire also had their own extensive dispensations from the rules of fasting and abstinence, based on the "Crusader privileges" of the Spanish dominions as codified in the
Bull of the Crusade. In some
European colonies, the obligation to fast and abstain differed by race, with indigenous persons often having more lenient rules than European colonists and their descendants or
mestizos. While the rules of abstinence generally only allow seafood, there are a few exceptions. In parts of South America,
capybara meat is popular during
Lent and
Holy Week; in response to a question posed by French settlers in
Quebec in the 17th century,
beaver was classified as an exception, as it classified the swimming creature with fish. Similarly unusual classifications of "fish" for fur traders near Detroit have led to a local tradition of eating
muskrat during Lent. The
Archbishop of New Orleans said that "alligator is considered in the fish family" in 2010. The legal basis for the classification of capybara, beaver, and muskrat as fish probably rests with the of
Thomas Aquinas, which bases animal classification as much on habit as anatomy. Besides Lent, there are other penitential times customarily accompanied by fasting or abstinence. These include
Advent, the
Ember Days, the
Rogation Days, Fridays throughout the year, and
vigils of some of the important feast days. They specify that all Fridays throughout the year, and the time of Lent are penitential times throughout the entire Church. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence on all Fridays unless they are solemnities, and again on Ash Wednesday; The number of days that require fasting has been greatly reduced by the Episcopal Conferences because under Canon 1253, it is these Conferences that have the authority determine the local norms for fasting and abstinence and their substitution by other forms of penance, works of charity and exercises of piety in their territories. The precept to both fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday remains untouched. Absent any specification of the nature of "fasting" in the current
Canon Law, the traditional definition is obviously applicable here which is that on the days of mandatory fasting, Catholics may eat one full meal during the day. Additionally, they may have two smaller meals, known as "
collations". Church requirements on fasting relate to solid food, not to drink, so Church law does not restrict the amount of water, alcoholic drinks or other beverages which may be consumed. In some Western countries, Catholics have been encouraged to adopt non-dietary forms of abstinence during Lent. For example, in 2009 Monsignor Benito Cocchi,
Archbishop of Modena, asked young Catholics to give up
text messaging for Lent.
Eucharistic fast In addition to the calendar fasts, Catholics must also observe the Eucharistic Fast, which in the Latin Church involves taking nothing but water or medicine into the body for one hour before receiving the
Eucharist. The earliest recorded regular practice was to eat at home before the Lord's Supper if one was hungry (
I Corinthians 11:34). The next known ancient practice was to fast from midnight until Mass that day. Pope Pius XII
reduced this in 1957 to fasting (from solid food and alcohol) for three hours before the time of reception of Communion, which paved the way for the celebration of evening Masses. A further reduction came in 1964, when Pope Paul VI reduced the Eucharistic Fast to one hour , and less still for priests celebrating more than one Mass on the same day.
Particular law Australia The
Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference decreed on 4 October 1985 that Fridays throughout the year, including in Lent (other than Good Friday), are not obligatory days of abstinence from meat provided that an alternative form of penance is practised. Although this remains the case to this day, support for the return of obligatory Friday abstinence has been gradually increasing since England and Wales returned to Friday abstinence in 2011, with some Australian bishops expressing interest.
Canada The
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops decrees that the days of fast and abstinence in Canada are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and specifies that Fridays are days of abstinence. This includes all Fridays year round, not just Fridays of Lent. Catholics, however, can substitute special acts of charity or piety on these days.
England and Wales Catholics in England and Wales are expected to abstain from eating meat, described as the flesh of warm-blooded animals, on Fridays, if they are able to do so, a practice that has been observed for a number of centuries, and is regarded as a penance to remind people of past wrongs and to identify with those who are suffering. Although no food is suggested as a substitute, fish became a traditional alternative for Catholics. The practice was discontinued in 1984, and for a number of years Catholics were instead given the option to replace it with another form of penance. Current norms for England and Wales, issued by the Bishops' Conference in May 2011, re-introduced the expectation that all Catholics able to do so should abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year, effective Friday 16 September 2011. The practice was reinstated to coincide with the first anniversary of
Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK, which had occurred in September 2010. It followed from the March 2010
Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland from Pope Benedict XVI suggesting initiatives to support renewal in the Church in Ireland. He asked that Irish Catholics offer their Friday Penances "for an outpouring of God's mercy and the Holy Spirit's gifts of holiness and strength", and that fasting, prayer, reading of Scripture and works of mercy be offered in order to obtain healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. The leaflet states that Penance "arises from the Lord's call to conversion and repentance" and describes that it is an "essential part of all genuine Christian living": • in memory of the passion and death of the Lord • as a sharing in Christ's suffering • as an expression of inner conversion • as a form of reparation for sin
Friday Penance also explains why penance is important: "Declaring some days throughout the year as days of fast and abstinence (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) is meant to intensify penances of the Christian. Lent is the traditional season for renewal and penance but Catholics also observe each Friday of the year as days of penance. The link between Friday and penance is ancient and is reflected in the
Irish language word for Friday:
An Aoine (
The Fast)." The leaflet suggests ways of fulfilling Friday penance such as abstaining from meat or alcohol, visiting the Blessed Sacrament or helping the poor, sick and lonely as well as other suggestions such as refraining from the use of technology in the context of 21st century activities.
United States The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) produced a statement in 1966 called
Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence, The current, commonly accepted U.S. rules, in effect as such for a decade or more, taken directly from the current U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Fast and Abstinence page are: that some other form of penance for the traditional abstinence on all of the Fridays of the year, except for those Fridays in Lent, fulfills the obligation of penance. Because of this, many Catholic parishes in the United States sponsor a
fish fry during Lent. In predominantly Catholic areas, restaurants may adjust their menus during Lent by adding seafood items to the menu in an attempt to appeal to Catholics. However, the same USCCB website says that:While fish, lobster and other shellfish are not considered meat and can be consumed on days of abstinence, indulging in the lavish buffet at your favorite seafood place sort of misses the point. Abstaining from meat and other indulgences during Lent is a penitential practice. ==Commentary on fasting==