What is a Fast Day? There is a long tradition of fasting in the Church. Sometimes this was done as penance so that God would forgive our sins. Sometimes a whole family or town would fast for a day to express sorrow or to ask God for pardon. For example, Abraham Lincoln ordered several fast days during the Civil War. We know that the Jews fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. Christians, to distinguish themselves from their Jewish neighbors, fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. We read from the Didache, a late first century or early second century document that Christians wanted to be different from the Jews, although they followed Jewish custom in fasting for the forgiveness of sin. Persons who are sick or recovering from an illness are not expected to fast. Neither does the Church expect older people to observe fast days. Didache 8:1 Nowadays, the Church mandates two days a year as fast days. On those days, Catholics are forbidden to eat more than a single full meal. They may have two simple light snacks. These two days are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. These are also days when meat is forbidden. What do we mean by days of Abstinence? Here in the US, Catholics used to be teased as ‘mackerel snappers’ because they ate only fish on Fridays. That particular custom originated when the Church forbad eating meat on Fridays. So Catholics ate fish instead. This exclusion of meat from the diet as a sign of simplicity and repentance is not really called fasting. This is called abstinence from meat, and the Church asks Catholics to abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent and Advent. Communion Fast The Church also expects that people will normally fast for at least one hour prior to receiving Holy Communion. Obviously, this applies to those in good health who are under 65 years of age.
And let not your fastings be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and the fifth day of the week; but do ye keep your fast on the fourth and on the preparation (the sixth) day.