Lent at Sacred Heart
We enter the desert of Lent like Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, to face our devils, our temptations head on. But we are not alone. The Lord Jesus Christ is with us. And so, too, is the Church, the entire community of faith observing Lent. Here is what the Catholic Church in the United States requires of us as baptized Catholics:
1. The days of FAST (only one full meal) and ABSTINENCE (no meat) are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. No dispensations are granted on these solemn days except for reason of sickness or those provided in canon law below. ALL OTHER FRIDAYS OF LENT are days of ABSTINENCE.
2. Those who are automatically dispensed from fast and abstinence regulaƟons outside the age limits noted below include: the physically or mentally ill, especially individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also included in the dispensation are women who are pregnant or nursing. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.
3. Those between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to FAST (only one full meal) as noted above. From the age of 14, people are also obliged to ABSTAIN: this oblilgation prohibits the eating of meat, but not eggs, milk products or condiments of any kind, even though made from animal fat.
4. The obligation to observe the laws of fast and abstinence is a serious one for Catholics. Failure to observe one penitential day in itself in not considered a serious sin. It is the intentional failure to observe any penitential days at all, or a substantial number of penitential days, that must be considered a serious matter.
5. The obligation, the privilege really, of receiving the Eucharist at least once a year —ofen called “Easter duty”—for those in the state of grace should still be fulfilled during the period from the First Sunday of Lent, February 17-18, 2024, to Trinity Sunday, May 25-26, 2024. However, the Church’s law does permit this precept to be fulfilled at another time during the year when there is just cause.
4. The obligation to observe the laws of fast and abstinence is a serious one for Catholics. Failure to observe one penitential day in itself in not considered a serious sin. It is the intentional failure to observe any penitential days at all, or a substantial number of penitential days, that must be considered a serious matter.
5. The obligation, the privilege really, of receiving the Eucharist at least once a year —ofen called “Easter duty”—for those in the state of grace should still be fulfilled during the period from the First Sunday of Lent, February 17-18, 2024, to Trinity Sunday, May 25-26, 2024. However, the Church’s law does permit this precept to be fulfilled at another time during the year when there is just cause.
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