8th Week in Ordinary Time and Ash Wednesday
Lenten Practices
Meditation on Ash Wednesday & Lent
On Ash Wednesday, the ship of Lent sets forth and we climb on board. The holy season of Lent is framed by two gestures: the imposition of ashes on our foreheads and the kissing of the Cross, of Christ’s wounds, on Good Friday. The whole drama of human life is enshrined between those two gestures. And if you look at the Cross, you will see how Christ’s death opens out unto Resurrection and the Resurrection as a prelude to the Ascension. At the foot of the Cross, there is often depicted a skull or dust, signifying Ash Wednesday; at the top of the Cross, imagine a flurry of angels, the hand of the Father beckoning the ascending Christ to come heavenward and to be seated at His right hand. So, the whole drama of human life is there, the life-long journey to Christ: from dust to the friendship of angels, from return to the earth to a beckoning, lifting hand. And to carry us together from one to the other the Body of Christ: Jacob’s ladder, a chariot, a ship.
Regulations on Fasting & Abstinence during Lent
Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In addition, all Catholics 14 years old and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent. Fasting as explained by the U.S. bishops means partaking of only one full meal. Some food (not equaling another full meal) is permitted at breakfast and around midday or in the evening—depending on when a person chooses to eat the main or full meal. Abstinence forbids the use of meat, but not of eggs, milk products or condiments made of animal fat. Abstinence does not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat. Thus, such foods as chicken broth, consommé, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are not forbidden.
Penitential Disciplines: Prayer, Almsgiving & Fasting
“There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other. When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery. Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you. Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor. Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others. Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart. Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give him yourself you are never without the means of giving. To make these acceptable, almsgiving must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit. When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in almsgiving overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others. “
Saint Peter Chrysologus. Sermo 43: PL 52, 320, 322
Nature and dignity 