Since 1985, in England and Wales abstinence from meat has been mandatory only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; on all other Fridays of the year, including Lenten Fridays, the faithful were allowed to choose between abstaining from meat or doing some other penance -- see this document. The bishops there have now chosen to restore the requirement of meatless Fridays.
HT Rorate Caeli
Please no snarky comments about the western fasting (or lack thereof) discipline.
4 comments:
I think that this is an excellent idea and I would be gladdened to see the American bishops follow this salutory example. That said, I will be interested to see how many Catholics actually follow the new guidelines. I have the uneasy sense that if this discipline were revived here, there would be scandalously little observance.
I expect the snarky comments have all been made in Rome. Why else would this have occurred? As for lack of discipline, the recollection of Fr. John Meyendorf is adequate. Years ago he told of a Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical event (as forgettable as they always are) where on alternate mornings the Latin or Orthodox liturgy would be celebrated. On the morning of the Roman mass, the Orthodox folks came in on a flurry of activity. The Catholics were hurriedly eating a buffet meal, bolting down pancakes, sausage, coffee, etc, all while furtively glancing at their watches. They had to finish "breakfast" (poorly named) in order to begin their "fast" of one hour before receiving communion. Fr. John, who spoke a number of languages used the word "incredible" to describe the scene. I'll go with that. That "fast" is still in force. It's one that's actually very hard to break. Remember the participants in the meeting mentioned here were the Catholic theologians sent to talk to Orthodox ones, not random inattentive and unobservant ones.
I think that anyone who can be scandalized by a one-hour pre-communion fast is trying rather too hard to gin up indignation.
Meanwhile, it occurs to me to wonder (because the English & Welsh bishops' statement did not discuss) what will happen to Lenten discipline in England & Wales? It seems to me that Lent really must involve more rigorous fasting than the rest of the year. Right now, that greater rigor takes the form of meatless Fridays during Lent (I know, I know, this seems as nothing to you Orthodox, but it is what it is). If every Friday (first class feasts presumably excepted) is now to be meatless, then in what will the greater rigor of Lent consist?
In the more traditional Roman Catholic Lenten Fast, observed by many traditional Catholics (i.e., those who assist at Masses of the Extraordinary Form), each day of Lent, excluding Sunday, is a day of fast and at least partial abstinence, with Lenten Fridays being days of fast and total abstinence.
In the traditonal Roman context, fasting refers to the ammount of food eaten, and abstinence refers to refraining from eating meat from mammals and fowl; seafood is allowed. Fasting generally means one full meal a day, and one or two smaller meals not to equal one full meal. In days of partial abstinence, meat of mammals and fowl may be taken once.
Also, if a major feast falls on a Friday, say, the Feast of St. Joseph, or the Annunciation, there may be a dispensation in abstinence or fast.
In the more modern practice, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and total abstinence, and all Fridays in Lent are days of total abstinence. Sundays, in both the traditional and modern practices, are never days of fast or abstinence.
I hope this helps.
Post a Comment