SCCR Parish Blog

This is just a reminder that this coming Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, is one of only two days a year  that Catholics are required to fast.  (Good Friday is the other one).  This discipline is required of all Catholics who are between the ages of 18 and 59.  (That is, on or after your 18th birthday and before your 59th birthday).   Catholics younger and older than that are certainly welcome to engage in this fasting as well. Fasting is one of the precepts of the Church -- that is, the bare minimum for all disciples of Christ.  Among those precepts, Catechism paragraph #2043 reminds us of the purpose of fasting: This ancient practice commended by Christ Himself "prepare[s] us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart." The U.S. Bishops have a concise summary of what is required on the two fasting days.  Those who have medical reasons not to fast are of course exempt from doing so.  If you are i...

  Now that we are about to begin the Lenten season, which begins with Ash Wednesday, a day of fast and abstinence, I thought it might be helpful to read some of these fasting tips from a nutrition graduate student from a local blog. While on that subject, here's a reminder of what the Church requires for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the two days of fast and abstinence. And a little taste of the beautiful haunting hymnody of Lent.  Here is the melody for the chant, Again We Keep This Solemn Fast - and the lyrics .