In today’s episode, on this Palm Sunday, I address the following:
- The Strictness of the Holy Week Fast: Passion Fast & Xerophagiae
- Traditions for Holy Week: Indulgences, Forgotten Customs, & Suggestions for a Holy Week
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Eugene Burnand. Holy Saturday. 1907-1908. Musee des Beaux Arts, La Chaux de Finds, France.
The observance of Lent stretches back as far as Apostolic times. Lent was for centuries observed as forty days of fasting in the Roman Church with Sundays excluded from fasting but not from abstinence. That is, Ash Wednesday (since its institution) through Holy Saturday were days of fasting. I have separately cataloged the history of Lenten fasting in "History of Lenten Fasting: How to Observe the Traditional Lenten Fast."
The Lenten fast began under the Apostles themselves and was practiced in various forms in the Early Church. As time went on, the fast became uniformly observed under the pain of sin. As with all Lenten practices, changes occurred over time regarding the fast, abstinence, and hearing of Holy Mass on Holy Saturday.
Holy Saturday Fasting Was Practiced in Apostolic Times
In the Early Church, Holy Saturday was part of the apostolic practice of abstaining from all food completely from Holy Thursday evening (or Good Friday morning) until sunset on Holy Saturday (or later). This was known as the "Passion Fast," and in practice, the aim was to fast 40 hours in honor of the 40 hours our Blessed Lord’s body lay in the tomb. Holy Saturday's fast was also practiced like the rest of Holy Week as xerophagiae: “The strictest Christian fast which is observed chiefly in the Eastern churches during Lent or especially Holy Week and in which only bread, salt, water, and vegetables may be eaten” (Webster’s Dictionary). In practice, bread, herbs, raw nuts, or raw vegetables and fruit without oil or dressing may be consumed for those who seek to keep this strict and who are unable to fast from all food whatsoever for two whole days in a row.
Heortology: A History of the Christian Festivals from their Origin to the Present Day by Dr. K.A. Heinrich Kellner states the following regarding the Lenten fast in the ancient Church:
"Among Catholics also abstinence was pushed to great lengths. The canons of Hippolytus prescribe for Holy Week only bread and salt. The Apostolic Constitutions will only permit bread, vegetables, salt and water, in Lent, flesh and wine being forbidden; and, on the last two days of Holy Week, nothing whatsoever is to be eaten. The ascetics, whose acquaintance the Gallic pilgrim made in Jerusalem, never touched bread in Lent, but lived on flour and water. Only a few could keep so strict a fast, and generally speaking people were satisfied with abstaining from flesh and wine. But this lasted throughout the entire Lent, and Chrysostom tells us that in Antioch no flesh was eaten during the whole of Lent. Abstinence from milk and eggs (the so-called lacticinia) was also the general rule."
Regarding Holy Saturday's fast, in particular, Canon 89 of the Council in Trullo in 692 AD provides an account of the piety and devotion of the faithful of that time:
“The faithful, spending the days of the Salutatory Passion in fasting, praying and compunction of heart, ought to fast until the midnight of the Great Sabbath: since the divine Evangelists, Matthew and Luke, have shewn us how late at night it was [that the resurrection took place].”
That tradition of fasting on Holy Saturday until midnight would last for centuries. Dom Gueranger writes in the Liturgical Year:
Such, we repeat, was the discipline of the Latin Church for nearly a thousand years: but about the 11th century, an important change began to be introduced with regard to the celebration of Mass on Holy Saturday. The Mass which, hitherto, had been celebrated during the Night preceding Easter Sunday, then began to be anticipated on the Saturday; but it was always considered as the Mass of the hour of our Lord’s Resurrection, and not as the Mass of Holy Saturday. The relaxations that had been introduced with regard to Fasting were the occasion of this change in the Liturgy.
Holy Saturday Was A Holy Day of Obligation in the Middle Ages
Holy Saturday also used to be a Holy Day of Obligation. The first catalog of Holy Days comes from the Decretals of Gregory IX in 1234, which listed 45 Holy Days. In 1642, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII issued the papal bull "Universa Per Orbem" which altered the required Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church to consist of 35 such days as well as the principal patrons of one's locality.
Some of the Holy Days of Obligation removed between 1234 and 1642 included Holy Monday through Holy Saturday in addition to Easter Wednesday through Easter Saturday. Hence by 1642, Holy Saturday was no longer a Holy Day of Obligation.
Holy Saturday Fasting Remained Practiced for Centuries
In my series outlining the changes to fasting and abstinence in the colonies—and through the modern-day United States—I pointed out that Holy Saturday often remained a day of obligatory fasting even when mitigations were issued due to the change in the time of the Vigil that happened back in the 11th century.
For instance, the papal bull "Altitudo Divini Concilii" of Pope Paul III in 1537 reduced the days of penance and those of hearing Mass for the Indians out of pastoral concern due to the physically demanding lifestyle that they lived and also largely due to the fact that they fasted so much already. As a result, the natives were required to only hear Mass on a much smaller number of days: Sundays, Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Candlemas, Annunciation, Sts Peter and Paul, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Assumption, and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. And the only fasting days were the Fridays in Lent, Holy Saturday, and Christmas Eve. Holy Saturday remained.
Centuries later, when Pope Leo XIII issued further changes allowing animal products throughout Lent, he explicitly excluded Holy Saturday from those mitigations:
“In 1886 Leo XIII allowed meat, eggs, and milk products on Sundays of Lent and at the main meal on every weekday [of Lent] except Wednesday and Friday in the [United States]. Holy Saturday was not included in the dispensation. A small piece of bread was permitted in the morning with coffee, tea, chocolate, or a similar beverage.”
By the time of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the days of obligatory fasting as listed in the 1917 Code of Canon Law were the forty days of Lent, including Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday until noon. The Deharbe Catechism in the 1800s refers to the fast ending at Noon, so it does predate the 1917 Code. Why did Holy Saturday fasting only last until noon? It likely dates to when the Vigil Mass for Easter was moved from the night of Holy Saturday into Easter Sunday back to the morning of Holy Saturday. By the High medieval period, the celebration in the morning of the Easter Vigil (and other Triduum services) was almost the universal custom, in large part due to the fasting regulations requiring the fast to last until after Vespers. As a result, sometime after 692 AD, the fast on Holy Saturday was modified to end at noon.
Holy Saturday Fasting Wanes Along With All Other Fasting in the 1900s
Before 1951, Bishops were able to dispense laborers and their family members from the laws of abstinence, if necessary, under the workingmen's privilege that was introduced in 1895. This privilege of eating meat, though, excluded Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and the Vigil of Christmas. In 1951, the abstinence laws in America were again revised as Father Ruff summarizes:
"In 1951 the U.S. bishops standardized regulations calling for complete abstinence from meat on Fridays, Ash Wednesday, the vigils of Assumption and Christmas, and Holy Saturday morning for everyone over age seven. On the vigils of Pentecost and All Saints, meat could be taken at just one meal. Fast days, applying to everyone between 21 and 59, were the weekdays of Lent, Ember days, and the vigils of Pentecost, Assumption, All Saints, and Christmas. On these fast days only one full meal was allowed, with two other meatless meals permitted which together did not make up one full meal. Eating between meals was not permitted, with milk and fruit juice permitted. Health or ability to work exempted one."
In 1956 under Pope Pius XII, the fast, which previously ended at noon, was extended to the midnight between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, on account of the Holy Week changes enacted which made the Vigil Mass obligatory in the evening of Holy Saturday:
"The abstinence and fast prescribed for Lent, which hitherto has ceased on Holy Saturday after noon, according to canon 1252, §4 [1917 Code], will cease in the future at midnight of the same Holy Saturday."
Maxima Redemptionis Nostrae Mysteria (Nov. 16, 1955) AAS 47 (1955)
Fr. Frederick McManus, an American Canon Lawyer, commented on this change:
The Decree on the revised Holy Week changes the law of canon 1252, §4, concerning fast and abstinence on Holy Saturday. According to the canon, the Lenten fast ended after noon on Holy Saturday. This is now abrogated, the obligation is extended until midnight of Holy Saturday, and the entire day becomes one of abstinence and fast. Local Ordinaries at present possess the faculty to dispense all their subjects, including religious (even exempt), from the law of fast and abstinence on Holy Saturday.Thus they may dispense from fast or from abstinence or from both fast and abstinence on this day.
The Rites of Holy Week (Bruce 1956), pgs 22 and 23.
In 1966, Paul VI's Paenitemini eliminated Holy Saturday and all other days of fasting except for Good Friday and Ash Wednesday in a radical departure from the past. Sadly, those changes were incorporated in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which largely took Paenitemini while modifying the age of fasting.
A Traditional Holy Saturday Fast (Summary and Application)
- Early Church: All of Holy Saturday was a strict fast with abstinence
- 11th Century: The Vigil, which had taken place at night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, is moved to the daytime of Holy Saturday. This change would cause mitigations with the strict fast that had previously always been obligatory on Holy Saturday.
- 1917 Code: For at least 100+ years before the 1917 Code, the fast, which previously ended at midnight into Sunday, ended at Noon on Holy Saturday. This is largely due to the Vigil Mass taking place in the morning of Holy Saturday.
- 1956: Pope Pius XII, in changing the Vigil Mass to start only after sunset on Holy Saturday, extends the fast to midnight.
For those seeking more traditional fasting for the final days of Lent - and in preparation for the Lord's Resurrection - a return not to the 1950s or 1917 is in order. Rather, a return to treating all of Holy Saturday as a day of fasting and abstinence in the form of the Passion Fast practiced with the principles of Xerophagiae is the ideal. If we do attend a pre-1955 Easter Vigil Mass in the morning or daytime of Holy Saturday, we can eat after that Mass but I would encourage souls to keep abstinence until after attending Easter Sunday Mass.
While this is not obligatory under penalty of sin, it is a worthwhile end to our fasting as we present to Almighty God the final day of Lenten fasting for His honor and glory and in reparation for our sins. Let us all seek greater perfection and never the minimum of the law.
Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.
Sunday, March 26, 2023
In today’s episode, on this Fifth Sunday of Lent (Passion Sunday), I address the following:
I would like to thank CatechismClass.com for sponsoring this episode. CatechismClass.com, the leader in online Catholic catechism classes, has everything from online K-12 programs, RCIA classes, adult continuing education, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, confirmation prep, quince prep classes, catechist training courses, and much more.
Sunday, March 19, 2023
In today’s episode, on this Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), I address the following:
- Laetare Sunday and the custom of the Papal Golden Rose
- The Transferred Feast of St. Joseph vs. the forgotten former Eastertide Feast of St. Joseph
- The Votive Feast of the Precious Blood (Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent)
- The History of American Anti-Catholicism of the Late 1800s and early 1900s
To start, though, I’d like to remind everyone that Meaning of Catholic has launched its online shop, and PDFs of my book on the Roman Catechism and my book on fasting and abstinence are available at https://meaningofcatholic.com/shop/. For the fasting one, English, Spanish, and Polish are all available there. So please check them out if you would like a PDF of any of these books. PDFs are only $9.99 each. For links for the paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon, click here.
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Thursday, March 16, 2023
2018 St. Joseph Table at St. Ann Parish, Excelsior Springs (Marty Denzer/Key photo)
This coming Sunday is St. Joseph's Day (which is liturgically transferred to March 20th this year since it falls on a Sunday in Lent), but it is still an excellent time for us to have a festive meal in honor of St. Joseph. The following is quoted and adapted from The Year of St. Joseph Website.
The Feast of St. Joseph, which always falls in the middle of Lent, is especially commemorated and celebrated in Italy in general, and Sicily in particular, where St. Joseph has been long-regarded as the island’s Patron saint. It is there, among Sicilians, that the tradition of the “Tavola di San Giuseppe” or “St. Joseph’s Table” has its origins.
Since it is Lent, the meal is traditionally vegetarian, and we would do well to ensure that no meat is eaten at this meal, especially in our traditional Catholic churches and families.
What is served? There are two constants for the “table”: 1) there is no meat since it’s Lent and 2) the presence of sesame-coated bread in symbolic shapes. Breads, baked into symbolic shapes, are the centerpiece of the food table and the altar. The breads themselves are made from the same dough that forms traditional Italian bread and are often made into interesting and symbolic shapes for St. Joseph’s Day.
Other foods that are often present at more elaborate St. Joseph’s Table “feasts” include:
- Minestras, or very thick soups, are made of lentils, favas and other types of beans, together with escarole, broccoli or cauliflower. Other vegetables–celery, fennel stalks, boiled and stuffed artichokes–are also traditional.
- St. Joseph’s Day Pasta, also called Sawdust Pasta or Carpenter’s Pasta, made with bread crumbs sautéed in butter to resemble wood sawdust. Cheese isn’t used, symbolic of the food shortage experienced in the origin legend of the tradition.
- Sweet Pasta, a pasta dish made with honey.
- Olives, figs, and other side dishes.
As no feast is complete without dessert, no Saint Joseph’s altar would be finished without the flourish of sweet items. There are typically many cakes, biscotti, and cookies, many of which are embellished with almonds.
Two traditional desserts found at St. Joseph’s tables are sfingi–fried pieces of bread dough rolled in sugar—and zeppoli–a pastry shaped like a donut, fried or baked, and filled with a sweet pastry crème, then garnished with a dusting of powdered sugar and a maraschino cherry. Such items rose in popularity after eggs and dairy became widely permitted during Lent. Though it is possible to have vegan alternatives, in keeping with the traditional Lenten practice.
Sunday, March 12, 2023
In today’s episode, on this Third Sunday of Lent, I address the following:
I would like to thank CatechismClass.com for sponsoring this episode. CatechismClass.com, the leader in online Catholic catechism classes, has everything from online K-12 programs, RCIA classes, adult continuing education, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, confirmation prep, quince prep classes, catechist training courses, and much more.
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
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Lent is the most solemn of all fasting times in the Church. From Apostolic times until 1741, meat was never allowed in Lent. Even after it was permitted at some meals, Fridays and Saturdays remained mandatory days of complete abstinence in Lent into the early 1900s. Friday in particular, the most solemn of all days on account of our Lord's death on the Cross on Friday, was a mandatory day of abstinence all year round (and it still is!) Up until the 1917 Code of Canon Law, meat was not even allowed on Holy Days of Obligation which fell on a Friday outside of Lent. The Friday fast, like Sunday Mass, is integral to Catholic life. This post is based heavily on the research which is incorporated in "The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence." Read the full book for much more information relevant to this topic.
Definition of Fasting vs. Abstinence
Fasting refers to how much food we eat and, historically, when we eat it. It means taking only one meal during a calendar day. The meal should be an average-sized meal as overeating at the one meal is against the spirit of the fast. Fasting generally means that the meal is to be taken later in the day. Along with the one meal, up to two snacks (technically called either a collation or frustulum) are permitted. These are optional, not required. Added up together, they may not equal the size of the one meal. No other snacking throughout the day is permitted.
Abstinence in this context refers to not eating meat. Meat refers to the fleshmeat of mammals or fowl. Beef, poultry, lamb, etc are all forbidden on days of abstinence. Abstinence does not currently prohibit animal byproducts like dairy (e.g. cheese, butter, milk) or eggs, but in times past they were prohibited. Fish is currently permitted along with shellfish and other cold-blooded animals like alligators. In times past, days of fast were always days of abstinence as well; however, not all days of abstinence were days of mandatory fasting.
The Church's Law in 1917
The days of obligatory fasting as listed in the 1917 Code of Canon Law were the forty days of Lent (including Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday until noon); the Ember Days; and the Vigils of Pentecost, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, and Christmas. Partial abstinence, the eating of meat only at the principal meal, was obligatory on all weeks of Lent (Monday through Thursday). And of course, complete abstinence was required on all Fridays, including Fridays of Lent, except when a holy day of obligation fell on a Friday outside of Lent. Saturdays in Lent were likewise days of complete abstinence.
The Church's Law in 1962
By 1962, the laws of fasting and abstinence were as follows as described in "Moral Theology" by Rev. Heribert Jone and adapted by Rev. Urban Adelman for the "laws and customs of the United States of America" copyright 1961: "Complete abstinence is to be observed on all Fridays of the year, Ash Wednesday, the Vigils of Immaculate Conception and Christmas. Partial abstinence is to be observed on Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays and on the Vigil of Pentecost. Days of fast are all the weekdays of Lent, Ember Days, and the Vigil of Pentecost." If a vigil falls on a Sunday, the law of abstinence and fasting is dispensed that year and is not transferred to the preceding day. Father Jone adds additional guidance for the Vigil of the Nativity fast: "General custom allows one who is fasting to take a double portion of food at the collation on Christmas Eve (jejunium gaudiosum)."
The Modern Church Law
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on November 18, 1966. Abstinence was kept obligatory on all Fridays of Lent, except Solemnities (i.e. First Class Feasts), on Ash Wednesday, and on Good Friday. Abstinence on all Fridays throughout the year was "especially recommended," and the faithful who did choose to eat meat were directed to perform an alternative penance on those Fridays outside of Lent, even though the US Bishops removed the long-establish precept of requiring Friday penance. The document stated in part: "Even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we ... hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to church law." And finally, fasting on all weekdays of Lent was "strongly recommended" but not made obligatory under penalty of sin.
The 1983 Code of Canon Law largely took Paul VI's apostolic constitution aside from the modification of the age at which fasting binds. Per the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the age of fast was changed to begin at 18 - previously it was 21 - and to still conclude at midnight when an individual completes his 59th birthday. Friday penance is required per these laws on all Fridays of the year except on Solemnities, a dramatic change from the previous exception being only on Holy Days of Obligation.
Per the 1983 Code of Canon Law, fasting and complete abstinence per these rules are required only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The notion of "partial abstinence," introduced under Pope Benedict XIV in 1741, was also removed. By this point, the days of obligatory fast had been reduced to merely two days. And most Catholics only abstained from meat on the 7 Fridays in Lent.
Fridays in Lent
Thus, even as the fast and abstinence requirements deteriorated, Friday abstinence remained mandatory on Fridays in Lent. To intentionally violate Friday abstinence is a mortal sin - it is not a small matter. In fact, in former times, Catholic nations made the sale of meat a crime as The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence discusses in the context of 16th century England.
History of St. Patrick's Day in Lent
For the Irish (and for Irish Americans), St. Patrick's Day is both a cultural milestone and, traditionally, a very significant spiritual day. Sadly, this element has also been lost, which is ultimately why so many feel it necessary to seek out dispensations from Friday abstinence on the feastday of a saint who, ironically, was a fearless champion of fasting!
The first record of dispensation from Lenten fast and/or abstinence on St. Patrick's Day was early in America's history at a time when all of Lent, aside from Sundays, were days of mandatory fasting for those between the ages of 21 and 60 (health exceptions aside). With the growing number of Irish immigrants to America in the early 1800s, special attention was given to dispense from fasting when St. Patrick's Day fell on a Friday. This was done for the members of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston in 1837 and would become customary in the United States. The dispensation granted in 1837 "was granted on the proviso that all diners gave a small sum to charity." But this was in Boston, which was an epi-center of Irish Americans.
Back in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day was a Holy Day of Obligation and still, without special dispensation, a day of mandatory fasting and abstinence. Interestingly, "The Catholic's Pocket Prayer-Book," published by Henri Proost & Co. in 1924, notes that for Australia and New Zealand, all days in Lent were days of fasting "except Sundays and St. Patrick's Day." The same pocket guide lists the days of fasting and abstinence for Ireland and lists no such exception. Yet even for Australia and New Zealand, no exception for abstinence existed on St. Patrick's Day in 1924.
The Dispensations for St. Patrick's Day in 2023
As St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday this year, dioceses have already been granting dispensations or statements declining to do so. The responses so far, illustrated in an interactive graphic via the Catholic News Agency fall into the categories of: dispensation granted, dispensation granted only in certain situations (otherwise abstinence is binding under pain of mortal sin), or no dispensation. Follow the link for more detailed information as changes are happening on a daily basis.
Conclusion: The True Celebration of a Catholic, St. Patrick's Day
Despite the changes he introduced to Lenten fasting in 1741, Pope Benedict XIV implored:
"The observance of Lent is the very badge of the Christian warfare. By it we prove ourselves not to be enemies of the cross of Christ. By it we avert the scourges of divine justice. By it we gain strength against the princes of darkness, for it shields us with heavenly help. Should mankind grow remiss in their observance of Lent, it would be a detriment to God's glory, a disgrace to the Catholic religion, and a danger to Christian souls. Neither can it be doubted that such negligence would become the source of misery to the world, of public calamity, and of private woe."
Modern Lent is no longer a 40 day fast. The days of abstinence for the average Catholic are appallingly few (it used to be roughly 1/3 of the year!) We would be violating the entire spirit of Lent by availing ourselves even of a valid dispensation from Lenten abstinence. Dom Gueranger accordingly writes:
But it will be asked: “Are there, then, no lawful dispensations?” We answer that there are; and that they are more needed now than in former ages, owing to the general weakness of our constitutions. Still, there is great danger of our deceiving ourselves. If we have strength to go through great fatigues when our own self-love is gratified by them, how is it we are too weak to observe abstinence? If a slight inconvenience deters us from doing this penance, how shall we ever make expiation for our sins? For expiation is essential painful to nature.
It must be clearly stated there is no incompatibility between fasting and abstaining and celebrating the saints. Even Sundays of Lent used to be required days of abstinence (but not fast). Let us fast and abstain always on St. Joseph's Day, Annunciation Day, and St. Patrick's Day each year during Lent. Our adherence to and preservation of the Traditional Catholic Faith requires this. Even with the fast, it is possible to honor St. Patrick’s Day with a loaf of traditional Irish soda bread. Check your local bakery or grocery store and get a loaf to have at dinner.
As Catholics, we abstain on Fridays in Lent, just as we go to Mass on Sundays. As traditional Catholics, we must maintain Friday abstinence and should encourage everyone else to do so for the honor of God and for the glory of St. Patrick. Let us offer up additional prayers and penances this year on St. Patrick's Day for the many who will mortally sin against our Lord and mock His sacrifice on the Cross by eating meat. While it may seem to be a small offense, it was the eating of a forbidden fruit that brought about original sin and the loss of paradise in the Garden of Eden. If we love God, surely we can say no to flesh meat on at least Friday in Lent. Right?
Sunday, March 5, 2023
In today’s episode, on this Second Sunday of Lent, I address the following:
1. Proving that our Lord Jesus Christ was a real person
2. The Feastdays of this week, with an emphasis on St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John of God
3. The Holy Shroud (Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent. This was kept in Turin, Italy)
To start, though, I’m happy to announce that Meaning of Catholic has launched its online shop, and PDFs of my book on the Roman Catechism and my book on fasting and abstinence are now available. For the fasting one, English, Spanish, and Polish are all available there. So please check them out if you would like a PDF of any of these books. PDFs are only $9.99 each.
Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!
Saturday, March 4, 2023
All hail, O Jesus, all honor to You, For man degraded, humiliated, To You, all holy, praises and glory. To You, Christ Redeemer.
Gorzkie żale (Bitter Lamentations) is a Catholic devotion containing many hymns that developed out of Poland in the 18th century. The devotion is primarily a sung reflection and meditation on the Passion of Christ and the sorrows of His Blessed Mother. For an English translation of this devotion, please click here.
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
While we have lost so much of our heritage with the collapse of Catholic fasting and abstinence, especially in Lent, which is the very "badge of Christian honor," there are still some who try to excuse themselves from the minimal amount required. And there are others who, in their zeal to restore the older discipline, do too great an injury to themselves. It is, therefore, a good question to ask who is rightfully dispensed from the law of fasting and abstinence. Do manual workers have to fast? Do pregnant women have to fast or abstain? The question is worth considering in light of the Church's clear teaching in past times.
The Law of Fasting is Distinct From the Law of Abstinence
To start, some basic definitions are in order. First and foremost, there are two laws affected by this question - namely, the law of fasting and the law of abstinence. These are distinct. You may be dispensed from one but not the other.
Fasting refers to how much food we eat. It means taking only one meal during a calendar day. The meal should be an average-sized meal as overeating at the one meal is against the spirit of the fast. Fasting generally means that the meal is to be taken later in the day. Along with the one meal, up to two snacks (technically called either a collation or frustulum) are permitted. These are optional, not required. Added up together, they may not equal the size of the one meal. No other snacking throughout the day is permitted. Fasting does not affect liquids, aside from the traditional Eucharistic Fast, which is a separate matter.
Abstinence in this context refers to not eating meat. Meat refers to the flesh meat of mammals or fowl. Beef, poultry, lamb, etc, are all forbidden on days of abstinence. Abstinence does not currently prohibit animal byproducts like dairy (e.g. cheese, butter, milk) or eggs, but in varying times past, they were prohibited. Fish is permitted along with shellfish and other cold-blooded animals like alligators, though there was a time these two were not permitted. In times past, days of fasting were always days of abstinence as well; however, not all days of abstinence were days of mandatory fasting.
Partial Abstinence refers to eating meat only at the principal meal of the day. Days of partial abstinence do not permit meat to be eaten as part of the collation or the frustulum. Partial abstinence started only in 1741 under Pope Benedict XIV as a concession and as part of a gradual weakening of discipline. Beforehand, days of abstinence were days of complete abstinence. Partial abstinence ceased being part of Catholic practice when it was removed in the 1960s.
Hence, fasting refers to the quantity and frequency of eating. Abstinence refers to what may or may not be eaten.
Who is Exempt From Fasting?
While the earliest catechisms ever made (i.e. the Catechism of the Council of Trent and the Catechism of St. Peter Canisius) do not mention fasting regulations, subsequent catechisms even centuries ago did.
The Catechism of Perseverance (1849)
Thus the Catechism of Perseverance notes the following are exempt from the law of fasting: the sick, those in "hard labor," and those in poverty. Likewise, the Catechism notes that the law of fasting binds starting at 21 years of age, so those under 21 were not bound to fast either.
Yet for those classes of people who were dispensed from the law, the Catechism adds: "When we doubt as to the obligation of fasting, we must consult our confessor or a pious and experienced physician. When we cannot fast, we must perform some other good works, watch more carefully over our senses, and support our labor and sufferings with more resignation." Hence, those who were dispensed were not free to go about their day as usual. They were to spend sufficient time on other good works, and besides fasting, the other two chief good works are prayer and almsgiving. Hence, the poor were enjoined to pray to a much greater degree.
Fr. Stephen Keenan's Catechism (1846)
Father Keenan, in his catechism, notes those exempt from the law of fasting include those under age 21, the weak, pregnant women, nursing women, those in "heavy and laborious employments," and "the poor who are never certain of sufficient and regular food." In an era before refrigeration, due to the uncertainty that those in poverty would have enough food to live from day to day, the Church dispensed them from the strictness of the law, which at that time was stricter than on modern fasting days.
Note that in this catechism, as in the Catechism of Perseverance, there is no exception to the law of abstinence. There are only exemptions to the law of fasting. As importantly stated at the beginning of this article, these are two distinct laws that become obligatory at two very different ages.
Bp. George Hay's Catechism (1781).
Hay's Catechism from 1781 contains the oldest mention of the age of fasting in an English-language catechism. Bishop Hays mentions those exempt from the law of fasting include those under age 21, the old who "are able to take only a little at a time but require it frequently," both pregnant and nursing women, those who are subjected to hard labor such as "husbandmen and tradesmen," those who are obliged to travel on foot.
Bishop Hay counsels for these classes of people: "But though these are exempted from the obligation of fasting, yet they are still obliged to observe the rules of abstinence unless some other particular reason require the contrary, as is often the case with people in sickness, where not only the quantity but also the quality of the food must be dispensed with, as their disease, according to the opinion of physicians, may require it."
He importantly concludes by reminding: "And when any such dispensation is given, it is sometimes enjoined, and always supposed, that they make up for this indulgence by other works of piety, such as more frequent prayer, and works of mercy towards their fellow creatures in distress." He then goes on in Question 41 to comment on how too many seek exemption from laws of abstinence on account of health where, to the contrary, abstinence would be good for their health. In context, abstinence laws in place in the late 1700s required abstinence much more often than nowadays, including even on Sundays in Lent, and mandated abstinence from eggs and dairy products (exceptions aside).
Pregnant and Nursing Women Are Exempt From Fasting, Not Abstinence
Based on these catechisms, both pregnant women and nursing women were exempt from the law of fasting but not the law of abstinence. Unfortunately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated the following in their Lenten regulation guides in recent years, showing that the editors have conflated the law of fasting and abstinence as too many people do:
Those that are excused from fast and abstinence outside the age limits include the physically or mentally ill including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women.
Unless a traditional Catholic priest and a competent physician - ideally one who understands the sacredness of Friday abstinence - advise her not to abstain, a pregnant woman should not excuse herself from the law of abstinence on Fridays. Such a practice is not part of the Church's tradition. The Church requires only one day a week to abstain from the flesh meat of mammals and birds. Meat is, after all, not medically necessary.
Conclusion
Therefore, the Church traditionally notes as exempt from fasting the following groups of people:
- Pregnant Women
- Nursing Women
- Manual Laborers who would be physically unable to work given the strictness of fasting
- Those who are seriously ill - not those with minor allergy symptoms or basic colds but those with true medical conditions (e.g., cancer, diabetes, the flu, etc.). It should also be noted that the poor diet of many in countries like the United States often falsely causes people to feel that they are ill with a blood sugar issue when it really is just a poor diet. Those who believe they are exempt from the law of fasting due to legitimate sickness should speak with a component physician and a priest.
- The elderly, which presently starts at age 60.
- Those under the age of fasting, which traditionally began at 21 but is now 18 (though in the Middle Ages, it began at age 10)
Even if someone is exempt from the law of fasting, such an individual is bound to make up for the dispensation with fitting acts of piety and other good works (e.g., prayer and almsgiving). And to prevent scandalizing others, they should not eat in a place where others may see and thus become scandalized.
As to abstinence, unless truly medically necessary (which is not medically the case), there is no exemption from the law. Those who are exempt above from fasting must still observe the law of abstinence. And since modern law mandates only abstinence on Fridays, there is no medical reason why a person can not refrain from meat one day a week when other nutritious and iron-rich foods like fish remain permissible. There are also iron supplements for those with anemia and vitamins and minerals that can serve as supplements for various needs, both those with legitimate health conditions and those who want protein-rich diets for sports or aesthetic reasons.
As Dom Gueranger has counsels:
But it will be asked: “Are there, then, no lawful dispensations?” We answer that there are; and that they are more needed now than in former ages, owing to the general weakness of our constitutions. Still, there is great danger of our deceiving ourselves. If we have strength to go through great fatigues when our own self-love is gratified by them, how is it we are too weak to observe abstinence? If a slight inconvenience deters us from doing this penance, how shall we ever make expiation for our sins? For expiation is essential painful to nature. The opinion of our physician that fasting will weaken us, may be false, or it may be correct; but is not this mortification of the flesh the very object that the Church aims at, knowing that our soul will profit by the body being brought into subjection?
But let us suppose the dispensation to be necessary: that our health would be impaired, and the duties of our state of life neglected, if we were to observe the law of Lent to the letter: do we, in such a case, endeavor, by other works of penance, to supply for those which our health does not allow us to observe? Are we grieved and humbled to find ourselves thus unable to join with the rest of the faithful children of the Church, in bearing the yoke of lenten discipline? Do we ask of our Lord to grant us the grace, next year, of sharing in the merits of our fellow Christians, and of observing those holy practices which give the soul an assurance of mercy and pardon? If we do, the dispensation will not be detrimental to our spiritual interests; and when the feast of Easter comes, inviting the faithful to partake in its grand joys, we may confidently take our place side by side with those who have fasted; for though our bodily weakness has not permitted us to keep pace with them exteriorly, our heart has been faithful to the spirit of Lent.
Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
In today’s episode, on this First Sunday of Lent, I would like to go over a few things:
- Each Feria in Lent Has Its Own Propers for Mass
- St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, whose feastday is on Monday
- The Feast of the Sacred Lance and Nails kept on Friday after the First Sunday in Lent in some places
First and foremost, though, keep up the disciplines you have begun, especially prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. And even though this is a Sunday and fasting is not done, I’ve written before how Sundays in Lent were still days of mandatory abstinence. For centuries, no meat or animal products were consumed during Lent – even on Sundays. Let’s bring this back. For a full treatment of the topic, see my article “Abstinence from Meat & Animal Products on Sundays in Lent,” published in 2021.
Above all, remember what Pope Benedict XIV famously lamented the following: "The observance of Lent is the very badge of the Christian warfare. By it we prove ourselves not to be enemies of the cross of Christ. By it we avert the scourges of divine justice. By it, we gain strength against the princes of darkness, for it shields us with heavenly help. Should mankind grow remiss in their observance of Lent, it would be a detriment to God's glory, a disgrace to the Catholic religion, and a danger to Christian souls. Neither can it be doubted that such negligence would become the source of misery to the world, of public calamity, and of private woe."
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Thursday, February 23, 2023
I'm excited to announce the launch of the new A Catholic Life Podcast!
This Episode launched last Sunday on Quinquagesima. And a new episode will come out each week on Sunday (God willing) going forward. Those who are supporters of mine on Patreon will get early access to the episodes.
Quinquagesima Sunday is the final Sunday before the start of Lent. In this inaugural episode of the "A Catholic Life" Podcast, we consider how to prepare for the upcoming fast of Lent. We mention a comparison chart on how Lenten regulations have changed over time, and we mention the newest book on the topic: "The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting & Abstinence" by Matthew Plese, published by Our Lady of Victory Press. We conclude by mentioning ways to make reparation this week for sins of Mardi Gras in the Votive Feast of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ Deformed in the Passion.
You can listen to this and future episodes on Buzzsprout, Spotify, Amazon Music, Itunes, and many other Podcast services. Please note that it may take a few weeks for it to appear on all of these platforms, but it has been submitted. And in time, I hope to improve the quality of these episodes as I learn more about audio production, which is a new venture for me.
God grant all of you a most blessed Lent!
Sunday, February 19, 2023
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7)
As we prepare to enter into the holy season of Lent, we should prepare to observe a strict routine of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Below are 13 articles worth reading at this time:
- Fasting and Abstinence Rules
- History of Lenten Fasting: How to Observe the Traditional Lenten Fast
- Why do we fast? St. Thomas Aquinas Explains
- Lenten Embertide Fast
- How the Traditional Latin Mass Reinforces Lent as a Fast
- Stational Churches for Each Day of Lent
- What is Ash Wednesday & what are the rules for this day?
- Read One Spiritual Book this Lent
- Book Recommendations for Lent
- 10 Traditional Catholic Charities: Almsgiving During Lent
- Each Feria Day in Lent has a Proper Mass
- Holy Communion in Lent: The Most Pleasing to God
- Printable Lent Preparation Guide
While it is important that we observe prayer, fasting (including abstinence from meat), and almsgiving throughout all of Lent, there should be a particular focus on beginning and ending Lent well. This can take the form of starting and ending with 40 intense hours.
Why 40 Hours?
40 hours is significant because Our Blessed Lord was dead for 40 hours before His Resurrection. 40 is also a number of completion as shown by His 40 day fast in the desert, the Great Flood which lasted 40 days, and the 40 years of wandering in the desert by the Chosen People after their deliverance from Egypt.
40 Hours is also connected with Mardi Gras immediately preceding Lent. As a result of the excesses of Fat Tuesday and the carnival season, the Church instituted the practice of observing the 40 Hours Devotion in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Father Weiser remarks:
In order to encourage the faithful to atone in prayer and penance for the many excesses and scandals committed at carnival time, Pope Benedict XIV, in 1748, instituted a special devotion for the three days preceding Lent, called ‘Forty Hours of Carnival,’ which is held in many churches of Europe and America, in places where carnival frolics are of general and long-standing tradition. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed all day Monday and Tuesday, and devotions are held in the evening, followed by the Eucharistic benediction.
The Church also instituted the Votive Feast of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ Deformed in the Passion for the Tuesday after Quinquagesima (i.e., Fat Tuesday) as a means of making reparation for the sins of Mardi Gras. In fact, our Blessed Lord Himself asked for such reparation to His Holy Face in apparition to Mother Pierina in 1938:
See how I suffer. Nevertheless, I am understood by so few. What gratitude on the part of those who say they love me. I have given My Heart as a sensible object of My great love for man and I give My Face as a sensible object of My Sorrow for the sins of man. I desire that it be honored by a special feast on Tuesday in Quinquagesima (Shrove Tuesday – the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday). The feast will be preceded by novena in which the faithful make reparation with Me uniting themselves with my sorrow.
Start And End Lent Well
Beyond making reparation this Tuesday for the sins of Mardi Gras and the mortal sins of those who will violate the laws of fast and abstinence, we can start Lent well by observing a 40 hour fast. In fact, as St. Thomas Aquinas relates, the Lenten Fast at his time was characterized by no food taken on either Ash Wendesday or Good Friday, if possible. This is a significant sacrifice, far beyond the "one meal and two smaller meals" statement which most Catholics associate with fasting days.
Beyond beginning our Lenten fast with a 40 hour fast from all solid food, which should open our minds to heavenly things and allow us to perform penance, we should conclude Lent with the same vigour. In honor of the 40 hours our Blessed Lord's soul was separated from His Body in death, let us offer an intense beginning and end of Lent this year for the honor of God, as far as our health permits us to do so.
May God grant us the strength to begin and end well so that, like St. Paul, we may say: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."
Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Click for the Full Image
As we prepare for another holy season of Lent, I wish to share this chart developed by Tyler Gonzalez showing the changes over time to the Lenten fast. His contributions to this chart and the subsequent annotations were invaluable. I am not aware of any such comparison ever having been created. We would do well to see in this image the great discipline of our forefathers and to rekindle some of these practices this Lent in our fasting.
Key of Terms and Annotated Citations:
A collation is a small repast allowed originally only in the evenings of fast days.
A frustulum is a small repast allowed originally only in the mornings on fast days.
Xerophagiae is a diet of simple, dry, uncooked food, such as raw nuts, bread, fruits and vegetables. Fish and oil are not part of it neither are flesh and animal products. It was a precept to fast on these only during Holy Week by custom and/or decree until the time of Gregory the Great who mentions nothing of it. It may still have been a custom at that time but no mention of it is made in the decretals.
The Passion Fast is a term which refers to the fast which began for some as early as sunset on Holy Thursday and as late as 8am on Good Friday. No one was allowed to eat any food during that time until sunset on Holy Saturday, which since most fasted for Communion extended until morning on Easter Sunday. It was often called a “40hrs Fast” and represents the original Lenten fast. For those who were to weak to follow this fast the minimum fast at this time was that of xerophagiae.
1. Water is not allowed during the day outside of sunset repast. (Butler, Moveable Feasts, Fasts…, 1839, p.155) (C.f. AP. S. Prudentius, hymn, vi, p.188)
2. On the Sunset Repast. (Butler, p.149) (Tertullian, De Jejun, c.x., p.549); (Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs…, 1958, p.170)
3. When the collation was allowed by indult. (Butler, p. 149)
4. When the collation was allowed to the laity. (Butler, p. 152)
5. The original size of the collation. (Butler, p.152)
6. When the collation became ¼ of a meal/8 ounces. It became ¼ of a meal in the 16th century. (Laymann, Theologia Moralis, Lib. IV, Tract. VIII, Ch. I, pp.186-187, 1630)
7. The origin of the frustulum originated around the time of St. Alphonsus Liguori c. 18th century (The Jurist, 1952, p.188) The more common opinion is that St. Alphonsus speaks of electuaries and not a frustulum which were popular in his time. That the origins of the frustulum can be traced to his time is true as a kind of proto-frustulum. However, the greater proof lies in the claim that the frustulum was not explicitly allowed until the end of the 19th century. (Catholic Encyclopedia, Lent)
8. Fish in Lent permitted in its simple “less dainty” form in the 7th Century. The allowance of shellfish permitted around the 10th century (Butler, Moveable Feasts, Fasts…, 1839, p.146)
9. That animal products were not had on days of abstinence. (Weiser, p.170) (Cf. Decretals of Gratian, Letter of Pope St. Gregory the Great to Saint Augustine of Canterbury, 604 AD).
10. That Sundays were days of abstinence. (Thurston, Herbert. "Lent." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9, 1910.)
11. The Passion Fast. (Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs…, 1958, p.201) (Cf. The writings of Saint Irenaeus in 202 AD as quoted in The Church History of Eusebius V 24, 12; PG, 20, 502f)
12. Xerophagiae in Lent. (Butler, p.203-204)
13. On wine in Lent. (Dom Prosper Guéranger, The Liturgical Year: Lent, 1887, p. 5) (Cf. St. Cyril of Jerusalem [Catech. iv])
14. On when liquids other than wine and water allowed. (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIa IIae,qu.cxlvii,art.vi,ad eum.) (Rev. Antoine Villien, "A History of the Commandments of the Church", p. 315). Since liquids do not break the fast the kind of liquid and/or when it can be taken is now a non-matter. This discourse by St. Thomas was the beginning of this radical change which would not become a general custom until around the 15th century when food became allowed at the collation. Until then liquid was strictly speaking only allowed twice a day.
15. When the time of the meal changed to 3pm. (Butler, p.149) (St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, Second Part of the Second Part, q.147, a.7)
16. When the time of the meal changed to 12pm. (Butler, p.150) (Durandus a S. Porciano, in 4 dist., 15 quaest., 9., art. 7)
17. When the time of the meal became a defunct matter. (CIC/17, c.1252)
18. Not less than a second meal for collation size. (Jone, p. 263) (McHugh and Callan, pp. 3118-3119). As of 1951 the United States Conference of Bishops adopted the relative norm as the law for the US and as such now allows the collation to be more than 8 ounces.
19. The quality of food at the collation-Fish, warm fish, animal products. (Butler, p. 153) (Metropolitan Catholic Almanac and Laity’s Directory, 1839, Baltimore.) (Villien, p. 312)
20. The consumption of both fish and flesh meat at the same meal. (Butler, p.163)
Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Fasting is one of the chief means of penance we can perform to make satisfaction for sin, as our Lady of Fatima repeatedly called for. However, in a modern Church that legislates fasting only two days a year, we find a woefully lacking answer to Heaven’s incessant calls for penance and reparation. Understanding the decline of fasting over time in the Church should inspire us to observe these older customs and to encourage other Catholics to do so for the purpose of making satisfaction for sin.
While the purpose of fasting has remained the same, how fasting is observed has changed. As more Catholics seek to rediscover the traditions of earlier centuries and piously observe these traditions, they are often confused by the changing disciplines and exceptions for certain times, places, and circumstances. St. Francis de Sales remarked, “If you’re able to fast, you will do well to observe some days beyond what are ordered by the Church.”
This book explains fasting and how it has changed over the centuries in one of the most complete compilations yet written. Unfortunately, most summaries of fasting are either inaccurate or incomplete. However, rather than being a mere academic exercise, the purpose of studying the history of fasting is ultimately to help us rediscover these more ancient practices in an attempt to better observe our Lord and our Blessed Mother’s call for penance and reparation for sins.
As Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once remarked, "It is a long-established principle of the Church never to completely drop from her public worship any ceremony, object or prayer which once occupied a place in that worship." The same may be said for matters concerning either Holy Days of Obligation or fast days. What our forefathers held sacred should remain sacred to us in an effort to preserve our catholicity not only with ourselves but with our ancestors who see God now in Heaven.
It is available in English, Spanish (La Guía Completa del Ayuno y Abstinencia en el Catolicismo), and Polish (Wszechstronny przewodnik katolickiego postu i wstrzemięzliwośći)!
Ordering Options:
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PDF Version of Any of those Languages ($9.99): https://meaningofcatholic.com/shop/
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
In the Church, each of the twelve months of the year is dedicated to a particular facet of the Catholic Faith. However, the particular focus assigned to each month is not a dogmatic matter which has been defined by the Church’s solemn authority. Rather, these devotions have been practiced by the faithful and grown as popular piety. February is devoted to the Holy Family, the Purification of Our Lady, and our Lord's Passion.
On the Holy Family by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
In Mary we praise that which places her above all others, that is, fruitfulness of offspring together with virginity. For never has it been known in this world that anyone was at the same time mother and virgin. And see of Whom she is mother. Where does your astonishment at this so wondrous dignity lead you? Is it not to this, that you may gaze in wonder yet never sufficiently revere? Is she not in your veneration, nay, in the esteem of Truth itself, raised above choirs of angels? Does not Mary address the Lord and God of all the angels as Son, saying: Son, why hast thou done so to us?
Who among the angels may thus presume? It is enough for them, and for them their greatest honour, that while they are spirits by nature they have become and are called angels, as David testifies: Who makest thy angels spirits. Mary, knowing herself mother, with confidence calls that Majesty Son Whom the angels in reverence serve. Nor does God disdain to be called that which He disdained not to be. For the Evangelist adds a little later: He was subject to them.
Who was subject to whom? A God to men. God, I repeat, to Whom the angels are subject: Whom principalities and powers obey: was subject to Mary; and not alone to Mary, but to Joseph also, because of Mary. Admire and revere both the one and the other, and choose which you admire the more: the most sweet condescension of the Son, or the sublime dignity of the Mother. For either am I at a loss for words: for both are wondrous. For that God should obey a woman is humility without compare; and that a woman should have rule over God dignity without equal. In praise of virgins is it joyfully proclaimed: that they follow the lamb withersoever he goeth. Of what praise shall you esteem her worthy who also goeth before Him?
Learn, O Man, to obey. Learn, O Earth, to be subject. Learn, O Dust, to submit. The Evangelist in speaking of thy Maker says: He was subject to them; that is, without doubt, to Mary and to Joseph. Be you ashamed, vain ashes that you are. God humbles Himself, and do you exalt yourself? God becomes subject to men, and will you, eager to lord it over men, place yourself above your Maker? O would that God might deign to make me, thinking such thoughts at times in my own mind, such answer as He made, reproving him, to His apostle: Go behind Me, Satan: because thou savorest not the things that are of God.
For as often as I desire to be foremost among men, so often do I seek to take precedence of God; and so do I not truly savour the things that are of God. For of Him was it said: And he was subject to them. If you disdain, O Man, to follow the example of a Man, at least it will not lower thee to imitate thy Maker. If perhaps you cannot follow Him wheresoever He goeth, at least follow in that wherein He has come down to you.
If you are unable to follow Him on the sublime way of virginity, then follow God by that most sure way of humility; from whose straitness should some even from among the virgins go aside, then must I say what is true, that neither do they follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth. He that is humble, even though he be stained, he follows the Lamb; so too does the proud virgin; but neither of the two whithersoever He goeth: because the one cannot ascend to the purity of the Lamb that is without stain, nor will the other deign to come down to the meekness of the Lamb, Who stood silent, not merely before the shearer, but before the one that put Him to death. Yet the sinner who makes after Him in humility, has chosen a wholesomer part than the one that is proud in his virtue; since the humble repentance of the one washes away uncleanness, but the pride of the other contaminates his own virtue.
Truly blessed was Mary who possessed both humility and virginity. And truly wondrous the virginity whose fruitfulness stained not, but adorned her; and truly singular the humility, which this fruitful virginity has not troubled, but rather exalted; and wholly incomparable the fruitfulness which goes hand in hand with her humility and her virginity. Which of these things is not wondrous? Which is not beyond all comparison? Which that is not wholly singular? It would be strange if you did not hesitate to decide which you regard as most worthy of praise: whether the wonder of fruitfulness of offspring in virginity, or of virginal integrity in a mother: sublimity of Offspring, or humility joined to such dignity: unless it be that we place both together above each one singly: and it is truly beyond any doubt more excellent and more joyful to have beheld these perfections united in her, than to see but one part of them.
And can we wonder that God, of Whom it is written that He is wonderful in his saints, shows Himself in His own Mother yet more wondrous still. Venerate then, Ye spouses, this integrity of flesh in our corruptible flesh. Revere likewise, Ye virgins, fruitfulness in virginity. Let all men imitate the humility of God's Mother. Honour, Ye angels, the Mother of your King, you who adore the Offspring of our Virgin; Who is your King and our King, the Healer of our race, the Restorer of our fatherland: Who among you is so sublime, yet among us was so lowly: to Whose Majesty as well from you as from us let there be adoration and reverence: to whose Perfection be there honour and glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
From a sermon of Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444) on the Nobility of the Holy Family:
Firstly, let us consider the nobility of the bride, that is, the Most Holy Virgin. The Blessed Virgin was more noble than any other creature that had been born in human form, that could be or could have been begotten. For Saint Matthew in his first chapter, thrice enumerating fourteen generations from Abraham to Jesus Christ inclusive, shows that she descends from fourteen Patriarchs, fourteen Kings, and fourteen Princes… Saint Luke also, writing on her nobility in his third chapter, proceeds in his genealogy from Adam and Eve until Christ God…
Secondly, let us consider the nobility of the bridegroom, that is, Saint Joseph. He was born of Patriarchal, Royal, and Princely stock in a direct line as has been said. For Saint Matthew in his first chapter established a direct line with all the aforementioned fathers from Abraham to the spouse of the Virgin, clearly demonstrating that all patriarchal, royal, and princely dignity come together in him…
Thirdly, let us examine the nobility of Christ. He was, as follows from what has been said, a Patriarch, King, and Prince, for He received just as much from His mother as others from father and mother… From what has been said above, it is clear that the nobility of the Virgin and of Joseph is described by the aforementioned Evangelists so that the nobility of Christ be manifest. For Joseph, therefore, was of such nobility that, in a certain way, if it be permitted to say, he gave temporal nobility to God in Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Observe Candlemas on February 2nd
The Feast of Candlemas, exactly 40 days after Christmas, commemorates Mary's obedience to the Mosaic law by submitting herself to the Temple for the ritual purification, as commanded in Leviticus. This day is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus.
The Feast of the Purification is called Candlemas for the traditional blessing and distribution of candles on that day. It is customary to bring candles from home to be blessed -- at least 51% beeswax candles that one uses for devotional purposes (candles for the family altar, Advent candles, etc.) -- so they can be lit after dusk on All Saints' Day (1 November), during the Sacrament of Unction, and during storms and times of trouble. Nowadays, though, for those few parishes continuing this ancient observance, the parish will often provide the candles.
Mass on Candlemas is typically preceded by a procession with lighted candles and the singing of anthems. The lighted candles are held during the reading of the Gospel and from the beginning of the Canon of the Mass to Communion. Learn more by clicking here.
Also, the Catholic Church has adopted this ancient custom in what is known as the “Churching of Women,” by which women are given special prayers after the birth of a child. Learn more on this ancient custom of our Faith by clicking here.
Thursday, December 29, 2022
As Catholics, we are still bound to abstain from meat each Friday of the entire year, not just in Lent. This is required during the season of Christmas - even on Friday in the Octave of Christmas.
The 1917 Code of Canon Law stipulated that the requirement to abstain from meat (i.e., Friday penance) was required each and every Friday of the year unless that particular Friday was a Holy Day of Obligation:"On [Sundays] or feasts of precept, the law of abstinence or of abstinence and fast or of fast only ceases, except during Lent, nor is the vigil anticipated; likewise it ceases on Holy [Saturday] afternoon" (1917 Code, Canon 1252 § 4). [Translation taken from THE 1917 OR PIO-BENEDICTINE CODE OF CANON LAW in English Translation by Dr. Edward Peters]
Friday in the Octave of Christmas is not a feast of precept (i.e., a Holy Day of Obligation), nor is any Friday in the Christmas Season. The 1917 Code of Canon Law outlined the rules of fasting and abstinence in Canons 1250-1254.
The 1983 Code and the myriad of weakening dispensations offered between 1917 and the present have led to a continual decline in penance and devotion. Due to the errors and ambiguities in the 1983 Code, it must be rejected, and the older Code must be used. One of these errors is the unprecedented novelty of solemnities like Easter Friday breaking the immemorial tradition of Friday abstinence. Yet even in the modernized 1983 Code, Friday in the Octave of Christmas is not a "Solemnity," and even by the 1983 standards, is thus still a required day of abstinence from meat.
Let us not be so keen to forget our Lord's sacrifice on the Cross. Pray and do penance on this and all Fridays.
Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.
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