Fasting And Abstinence In The Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church observes the discipline of fasting or abstinence at various times each year, especially during Lent. For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food, which may or may not include abstinence from meat (or another type of food). The Catholic Church teaches that all people are obliged by God to perform some penance for their sins, and that these acts of penance are both personal and corporate. The purpose of fasting is spiritual focus, self discipline, imitation of Christ, and performing penance.
Contemporary Roman legislation is rooted in the 1966 Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI, Paenitemini, and codified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Abstinence is required throughout the year on Fridays, though the bishops' conferences in some areas allow other penitential acts (e.g., prayer, abstinence from another food, giving up an unhealthy or unnecessary habit). During Lent, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, both abstinence and fasting are required of Catholics who are not exempted for various reasons. Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are obliged to follow the discipline of their own particular church.
The Catholic practice of abstaining from meat popularized the Friday fish fry.
Read more about Fasting And Abstinence In The Roman Catholic Church: Eastern Practice, Eucharistic Fast
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