Saturday, November 19, 2022
The Definitive Guide to Traditional Catholic Fasting & Abstinence


This compilation of books and articles is based on years of research.

The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting & Abstinence

8 Part Series on the History of Catholic Fasting & Abstinence:

  1. The Purpose of Fasting
  2. Fasting in the Early Church Through the 5th Century
  3. Lenten Fasting in the Medieval Church: 5th – 13th Centuries
  4. Other Fasts in the Medieval Church: 5th – 13th Centuries
  5. Fasting During the Renaissance: 13th – Middle 18th Centuries
  6. Fasting in the Early Modern Era
  7. Fasting in the 1900s Pre-Vatican II
  8. Fasting Post-Vatican II

Various Individual Articles on Fasting & Abstinence:

Liturgical Year-Related Articles for Fasting & Abstinence:

Fasting Calendars (in JPG and ICS Format):


3 comment(s):

del_button October 27, 2023 at 5:21 PM
Anonymous said...

I never know what to do...AM A Convert and have been vegetarian/ vegan all my life ??? Thank You if You would give me some guideline THANK YOU ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

del_button October 30, 2023 at 2:30 PM
Matthew said...

Hello, if you are already vegan/vegetarian then you do already fulfill the rqeuirements for days of abstinence. Fasting days still though require fasting (i.e., eating only one meal). So that would be the "extra" that you do above and beyond.

You should also look at doing more prayers and almsgiving as well to make up somewhat for already observing the abstinence. Of course that is optional but something you may want to prayerfully consider.

God bless!

del_button January 15, 2024 at 2:34 PM
Stirling said...

Really enjoyed this post and found it helpful. I think I've come across a lot of the information here in disparate places so it's nice to find it all consolidated in one post. Have attempted to maintain a "soft" black fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, more so during Lent with varying degrees of success. Could be wrong but fasting, in the truest sense of the word, seems to be a lost practice for the most part.

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