SIN
“And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the
eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and
did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat.” (Genesis 3:6)
Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and
ate what was made forbidden by God.
BECAUSE OF ORIGINAL SIN,
our intellect became clouded, and our will became weak. Our
weakened will sometimes makes us choose to do evil over
good. Our clouded intellect fools us to think that something
evil is good.
“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of
the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other,
to prevent you from doing what you would” (Galatians 5:17)
BY BAPTISM,
we are cleansed of original sin, but the consequences of
original sin - suffering, ignorance, and inclination to sin remain.
Hence, we continue sinning.
NATURE OF LENT FASTING
During the 40 days of Lent, Canon law defines fasting as eating only one full meal and
two collations (smaller meals). The collations should not
combine into a single meal. Snacks in between are
1. WE CONTEMPLATE ON THE MISERY OF prohibited.
FALLEN HUMANITY
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou
return to the earth, out of which thou was taken: for
dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.” (Genesis
3:19)
2. WE ARE REMINDED OF THE STRUGGLE
OF GOOD VS. EVIL
Because of our weak will, our life is a continuous
struggle. Therefore, we should train our will to do what
WHY DO WE FAST?
is good and to reject what is evil.
1. To make things hard for ourselves in reparation for our sins
“Our whole life is checkered with the conflict between
what I want to do and what I ought to do…[b]etween the “One fasts or applies physical discipline to ‘chastise one's own
soul,’ to ‘humble oneself in the sight of his own God,’” (Paul VI,
attraction of evil and the call of good…How can I gain
Paetimini)
self-control, self-mastery? Through self-denial. That
means only that I make a habit of denying myself the
2. To train our will so that we may resist temptations
nicer things, the easier things, the pleasurable things
that I might innocently have. And why? To develop self- “by this bodily fast dost curb our vices, lift our minds, and
control—so that when temptation comes, the habit of bestow strength and rewards.” (Preface for Lent)
self-denial and my acquired self-control will make it
"The fast is the weapon of protection against demons” (St.
Basil the Great)
easy for me to do the right thing.” (Fr. John Delaney)
3. To participate in the sufferings of Christ
3. WE DO PENANCE
“Penance simply means that very human trait of trying WHO SHOULD FAST?
to make up for the evil that we do. It means a keener
sense of justice. We impose penalties on ourselves for
All Catholics who are between 18-59 years old should fast on
our own wrongdoing. It means a deeper understanding
the prescribed days, under pain of mortal sin.
of the suffering and passion and death of Christ, the
appreciation of the evil of sin in the suffering Body of
Christ, So, penance of sin and avoidance of sin.” (Fr. WHEN SHOULD WE FAST?
John Delaney)
Fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
At the end of Lent comes Easter, where Christ emerged However, just as God loved us infinitely, so we should also
victorious in the struggle against Satan. Only by turning away love Him beyond the bare minimum required from us. This
from our sins, denying ourselves, and following Christ do we means that it is advisable to also fast on other days of Lent,
share in His victory over sin. especially Fridays.
ABSTINENCE
Abstinence is the prohibition to eat meat (i.e., flesh and
organs of mammals and fowls). Aquatic animals like fish are
allowed.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
1. We fast/abstain not for health reasons
nor for losing weight.
[We fast] for the sake of God, not for one's own self…When
this is not verified, the Lord is displeased with His people:
"Today you have not fasted in a way which will make your
voice heard on high.... Rend your heart and not your

STIN
garments, and return to the Lord your God." (Paul VI,

FA G
Paenitemini)

2. Fasting and abstinence is compulsory,

regardless of whether you were imposed with
ashes on Ash Wednesday or not.
and

ABSTINENCE
WHO SHOULD ABSTAIN?
All Catholics 14 years old and above should abstain on the
prescribed days, under the pain of mortal sin.

WHEN SHOULD WE ABSTAIN?

The universal law of the Church requires abstinence for all
Fridays throughout the year. However, the CBCP has granted
a dispensation for Filipinos wherein we are only required to
abstain during the Fridays of Lent. On other Fridays, we are
required to either abstain or do a pious or charitable act. UP STUDENT CATHOLIC ACTION
Delaney Hall, Parish of the Holy Sacrifice,
University of the Philippines Diliman
1101 Quezon City, Philippines