January 2018
LENTEN GUIDELINES
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of universal fast and
abstinence. Fasting is obligatory for all who have completed their 18th year and
have not yet reached their 60th year. Fasting allows a person to eat one full meal.
Two smaller meals may be taken, not to equal one full meal. Abstinence (from
meat* ) is obligatory for all who have reached their 14th year.
If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on
Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the
Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more
readily his Resurrection.
Fridays in Lent are obligatory days of complete abstinence (from meat) for
all who have completed their 14th year.
*Because Louisiana is known as “the sportsman’s paradise,” our menus can be a bit...well,....
diverse, and some of us are uncertain how to interpret the fasting and abstinence rules. A
good rule of thumb is “when in doubt, leave it out!”
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