Days of Penance
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The precept of fasting in an 1841 Catholic manual
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| Controlling authority | CIC canons 1249–1253; Paenitemini, norms II–IV; applicable episcopal-conference law |
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| Canonical character | Universal penitential discipline whose concrete observance is partly determined by episcopal conferences and the law of each Church sui iuris |
Days of Penance is the times established by the Catholic Church for the faithful to unite in prayer, works of piety and charity, self-denial, and especially the observance of fasting and abstinence prescribed by universal and particular law.[1][2]
Common penitential observance
Christ calls every Christian to conversion, and penance belongs to the whole of Catholic life. Canon 1249 adds common times and forms so that the faithful may join one another in a shared observance. On these days they devote themselves in a special way to prayer, works of piety and charity, fulfillment of their duties more faithfully, and self-denial according to the law.[1][2]
External discipline serves interior conversion. Fasting without repentance, justice, prayer, or charity is spiritually defective; interior sentiment that refuses every bodily or communal expression is likewise incomplete. The Church's days of penance train desire, make reparation for sin, unite the faithful with Christ's Passion, and turn resources and attention toward those in need.[2]
Universal Latin discipline
Canon 1250 identifies every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent as penitential times in the universal Latin Church. Abstinence from meat, or another food determined by the episcopal conference, is observed on Fridays unless a solemnity falls on that day. Abstinence and fasting together bind on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.[1][3]
Abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained majority until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors and parents must form even those not bound by age in an authentic spirit of penance. Illness, pregnancy, demanding labor, lack of suitable food, and comparable circumstances are assessed under the general principles of law and moral theology rather than ignored by a crude numerical rule.[1][3]
Particular law and Eastern discipline
Canon 1253 permits an episcopal conference to determine more precisely the observance of fasting and abstinence and to substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety. Consequently, the concrete Friday rule can differ by territory even though every Friday remains a penitential day under universal Latin law. Catholics should consult the current norms of the conference governing them.[1][3]
Eastern Catholic Churches possess their own ancient disciplines under the common Eastern code and proper law. Their fasts and abstinences cannot be reduced to the Latin minimum, nor may Latin Catholics assume that the customs of one Eastern Church govern all others. Diversity of discipline serves the same Christian conversion within the Catholic communion.[1]
Dispensation and solemnities
When a solemnity falls on Friday, canon 1251 removes that day's abstinence. A memorial, feast, civil holiday, parish festival, or personal celebration does not have the same universal effect merely because it is festive. Proper solemnities and particular law require exact attention to the applicable calendar and territory.[1]
Canon 1245 permits competent authority, for a just cause and in an individual case, to dispense from a feast-day or penitential observance or commute it to another pious work. Such relief is an exercise of pastoral governance, not a denial that penance is necessary. Voluntary penance beyond the law remains praiseworthy when undertaken prudently and without contempt for lawful authority or the duties of one's state in life.[1][2]
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Back to citation occurrence 1.3 Back to citation occurrence 1.4 Back to citation occurrence 1.5 Back to citation occurrence 1.6 Back to citation occurrence 1.7 Code of Canon Law, canons 1244–1253 — Canons 1245–1248 on Sundays and holy days, Mass participation, sacred rest, dispensation, and commutation; canons 1249–1253 on penitential days, fasting, and abstinence.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Back to citation occurrence 2.3 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1430–1439 and 2041–2043 — The forms and seasons of Christian penance, especially Friday and Lent, read with the precepts of the Church concerning days of fasting and abstinence.
- Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 Paul VI, Paenitemini, norms II–IV — The apostolic constitution's universal discipline of penitential days, Friday abstinence, the Lenten fast, age limits, and episcopal conferences' authority to substitute other forms of penance.