Lenten Guidelines
In this season dedicated to acts of penance, the Bishops of the United States prescribe, as a minimal obligation:
- all who are fourteen years of age and older are bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent and Good Friday;
- all eighteen years of age and older, up to and including their fifty-ninth birthday, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, while the other two meals are to be light.
All are encouraged to participate in Mass and to receive the Eucharist daily, to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance frequently, to undertake spiritual reading, especially the study of Sacred Scripture, and to participate in parish Lenten devotions and educational programs — adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is especially recommended.
Also recommended is participation in Operation Rice Bowl which has aided countless hungry persons here in the archdiocese and throughout our nation and our world. Rice Bowls and Home Calendar Guides were distributed in the Religious Ed classes and are available at the Church doors.