Lenten Fasting Regulations

Lent is a time we are called to conversion of our hearts through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lent means "spring" or "new birth." It is a time to be reconciled, a time to fit ourselves back into God's rhythm.

The U.S. Catholic bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day.

By fasting we signify our oneness with the Lord, acknowledge our need for conversion, and give witness to our solidarity with those less fortunate. Traditionally, the canonical obligation of fasting has been understood in the church as the taking of only one full meal a day.

Other forms of penance that we are encouraged to observe during Lent include:

• Prayer – In prayer, we encounter and walk with God. Opportunities for prayer can include attending Mass, praying the liturgy of the hours, praying within the family, visiting a chapel, prayerfully reading the Bible, praying the rosary, or praying before the Blessed Sacrament.

• Almsgiving – This penitential practice entails giving money or other resources for the benefit of those in need. One possible source of this money is that which has been saved from fasting or other means of self-denial. In our diocese, we are encouraged to give alms to the Ashes to Easter project, which benefits missionaries from our diocese.

Lenten observance

Lent runs from Ash Wednesday, February 13 until the Mass of the Lord’s Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday, March 28.

Lenten weekdays are not commemorated on solemnities and feasts. Ash Wednesday and the days of Holy Week take precedence over all solemnities and feasts.

Volume II of the Liturgy of the Hours is used from Ash Wednesday through Pentecost Sunday, the close of the Easter season.

All memorials of saints occurring during Lent are observed as optional. Hence, they may be omitted or observed as commemorations.

Alleluia is not sung or said from the beginning of Lent until the Easter vigil; nor is the Te Deum sung at the Office of Readings on Sundays of Lent.

During Lent the altar should not be decorated with flowers, and musical instruments may be played only to give necessary support to the singing. On the fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, and on solemnities and feasts, musical instruments may be played and the altar decorated with flowers.

The readings for the Lenten Masses have been chosen in relation to the themes of baptismal renewal and penance. The Gospels and readings from the Hebrew Scriptures have been selected for their mutual relationship.

Optional prayers over the people are given in the Sacramentary after the Order of Mass. During Lent any one of these may be prayed in place of the usual blessing given at the end of Mass. The Ordo suggests specific blessings throughout the season.

The sacraments of initiation are celebrated during the Easter solemnities, and preparation for these sacraments is part of the distinctive character of Lent. The Rite of Election occurs in this diocese on the first Sunday in Lent and the period of final preparation of the elect should coincide with the Lenten season.

It is fitting that the Lenten season include, both for the individual Christian as well as for the whole Christian community, a penitential celebration, so that all may be helped to prepare to celebrate more fully the paschal mystery. For pastoral need, the sacrament of penance may be celebrated on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and in such situations, opportunities for celebrations of reconciliation should be encouraged.

The Triduum

Triduum — the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Easter — is a single liturgical prayer but one that is prayed over these three days. This is the Paschal mystery, the living story of redemption, the most solemn and powerful moment of the church year.

The Easter Vigil celebration must begin after sunset.

Easter is not a single day, but a holy season, 50 days. The Paschal candle remains in a prominent place and is lighted at all liturgies -- Jesus, the light of the world is risen! Each Sunday we are sprinkled and renew our baptismal promises.