So realized since I am now 60 I am not obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.
Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.
I would have thought woo-hoo, but then realize that since I do Intermittent Fasting – I only eat one meal a day anyway year round.
The requirement of abstinence is not abrogated by age as far as I can tell from Can. 1252.
It is probably a good thing I am not exempt from abstinence, or else I would have tried to figure out ways to torture Catholics 59 years and younger. Perhaps showing up at the Fish Fry bringing my own steak.
Plus since I voluntarily abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year, these Lenten practices are no departure from year-round habit. I don’t see that as a plus. Lent should feel more Lent-like. So this Lent I think I will fast from any food on Wednesday. At one time I might have considered this a somewhat crazy pious practice that I would be unlikely to maintain.
The one thing that Intermittent Fasting (IF) has taught me was that most of my food cravings were psychological. Included in this was that I had trained my body to expect food throughout the day. I have also learned that it now doesn’t take much to fill me. I picked Wednesday since it is a traditional fast day to add. Although to be honest, since after work after on Wednesday I cycle, go to bible study, and then Eucharistic Adoration. So getting home after 10 PM means that the day is almost over anyway, so skipping my one meal is not as big of a deal. I find a day when I am home all day; I am much more tempted to want to raid the refrigerator.
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2 comments
The age should really be updated to reflect the common physical health in the modern world if it is useful at all (there is always a presumption of “as able”).
This canon has always confused me by its wording. The “beginning of their sixtieth year” some would argue (and in some cultures is understood) to be what westerners call their 59th birthday.
The point, of course, is not legalistic but spiritual.
I would not have mentioned it(do not let your right hand know…)if not for the anonymity of the internet but this year I also have decided to fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday besides abstaining on Friday’s. I am praying that God will sustain me to make good on my fasting this Lent but I have also played around with the idea of doing this fast year round. If I do fast year round, the thought came to me also about what to do next Lent if fasting does not seem such a sacrifice as it has in the past. Not sure what to do.