In the United States, Catholics age 14 and older are required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays in Lent. (Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl and soups or gravies made from them, but not saltwater or freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish or food products such as margarine and gelatin derived from animals which do not have any meat taste.)
    Catholics age 15 through 59 are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. (Fasting means refraining from consuming food or drinks considered to be food outside of one regular meal and two smaller meals each day. The smaller meals, if added together, should not exceed the main meal in quantity.)
    Catholics should abstain from any food or drink, except water or medicine, for at least one hour before receiving Holy Communion.
    Catholics are dispensed from fasting and abstinence on the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19) and the Solemnity of the Annunciation (March 25).  In many dioceses, the local bishop also dispenses Catholics from fasting and abstinence on the feast of St. Patrick (March 17).
    Individuals are excused from fasting and abstinence if they are sick, frail, pregnant, nursing, have other disabilities which make it difficult to understand or observe the practice; also excused are manual laborers who need more sustenance, guests who cannot excuse themselves from a meal without giving offense, and individuals in other situations of moral or physical difficulty or situations in which fasting or abstinence would prevent them from carrying out their responsibilities.

Thoughts on Fasting and Abstinence

Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and the starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our own spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbour. It revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.
                                                                                                                     -- Pope Francis, Lenten Message, 2018.

We must be careful not to practice a formal fast, or one which in truth “satisfies” us because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Fasting makes sense if it questions our security, and if it also leads to some benefit for others, if it helps us to cultivate the style of the Good Samaritan, who bends down to his brother in need and takes care of him. Fasting involves choosing a sober lifestyle; a way of life that does not waste, a way of life that does not “throw away”. Fasting helps us to attune our hearts to the essential and to sharing. It is a sign of awareness and responsibility in the face of injustice, abuse, especially to the poor and the little ones, and it is a sign of the trust we place in God and in his providence.
                                                                                                                   -- Pope Francis, Blessing of Ashes, 2014.


Learn More:
• Illustrated Guide to Fasting and Abstinence
• U.S. Bishops Pastoral Statement on Fasting and Penance (1966)
• Fasting As an Act of Love
• Why Catholics Fast

[Last Update: 02.15.23]