February 16, 2024 1:00 pm

Catholics abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent from age 14 onwards. (There is no upper age exemption for abstaining from meat.) Fasting: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also days of fast for Catholics. The norms for fasting are obligatory for ages 18–59. Fasting means a person may eat one full, meatless meal, as well as two smaller portions that together are not equal to a full meal. 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 us to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection. Those excused from fasting include the physically or mentally ill and individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excused are pregnant or nursing women. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.