Lenten Regulations of Fast and Abstinence

Dear Friends in Christ,

As we enter the holy season of Lent, I would like to call your attention to the spirit of this time by reviewing our Church’s regulations and offering some other suggestions for your practice during these 40 Days.

By Divine Law the faithful are bound to do penance. The example of Jesus Himself is the source of the Church’s laws on this subject. Therefore, the Church requires of her members that some form of penance by those 14 years of age and older is to be observed on all Fridays throughout the year. This obligation is in itself a serious one.

Lenten Regulations of Fast and Abstinence

1. Everyone 14 years of age and older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays of Lent. If for some serious reason a person must eat meat on a Friday in Lent, some other form of self-sacrifice should be performed.
2. Everyone who is at least 18 years of age and not yet 60 is bound also to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
a. On these two days of fast only one full meal is allowed. Two other meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals on these days is not permitted, but liquids are allowed.
b. Where health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige.
Other Lenten Observances

3. In order that our love for Christ and identification with Him may be deepened, all Catholics during the period of Lent are encouraged to participate at daily Mass and to receive Holy Communion often; to participate in the devotional life of the Church; to give generously to religious and charitable works; to assist the sick, the aged and the poor; to practice voluntary fast, penance and self-denial, especially regarding alcoholic drink and social entertainment; and to pray more fervently, particularly for the intentions of the Holy Father.
4. Lent is an admirable time to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation or confession, especially in the setting of a communal Penance Service. In this way the social and ecclesial aspects of sin and reconciliation may be underscored.
5. Ash Wednesday falls this year on February 25. Easter Sunday is on April 12 and the Easter Season concludes on the Feast of Pentecost, May 31. Catholics are bound to receive Holy Communion at least once a year, especially within the Easter Season, unless for good reason the precept is fulfilled at some other time.
6. The Way of the Cross and other prayer services should also be publicly celebrated during the Lenten Season. They are celebrated at St. John’s on the Fridays of Lent at 6:15PM in Vietnamese and 7:30PM in English.
7. The Sacred Triduum from Holy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday (April 9-12) is especially recommended as a fitting conclusion to the Lenten Season. Please check our special schedule for these liturgical celebrations.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand