17/02/2026
Here is everything you need to know about Fasting and Abstinence:โฃ
These are penitential practices that the Catholic Church asks us to observe to turn away from sin and return to God.โฃโฃโฃ
According to the Bible, Christ said that his disciples would fast once He had departed. The Church established "penitential days" for fasting and abstinence so that the faithful could unite in common practices of penance.โฃโฃโฃ
Fasting: Involves eating one main meal a day, plus two smaller meals that together do not exceed the main meal in quantity.โฃโฃโฃ
Fasting is required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, for those aged 18 to 59.โฃโฃโฃ
Abstinence: Involves refraining from eating meat, organs of mammals and poultry, and soups and creams made from them. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, and shellfish can be eaten, as well as animal derivatives such as margarine and unflavored gelatin.โฃโฃโฃ
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It is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and every Friday of the year in honor of Christ's Passion, unless it coincides with a solemnity.โฃโฃโฃ
It is practiced from the age of 14, and there is encouragement to "form children in a genuine spirit of penance."โฃโฃโฃ
Each Episcopal Conference may determine how to observe fasting and abstinence and may โsubstitute them in whole or in part with other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.โโฃโฃโฃ
Those exempt from these practices include the sick, frail, pregnant or nursing women, laborers, or others with physical impossibilities.โฃ
