"The observance of Lent is the bond of our militia; by it we distinguish ourselves from the enemies of the Cross of Jesus Christ; by it we dodge the scourges of divine wrath; by it, sheltered by heavenly help during the day, we fortify ourselves against the princes of darkness. If this observance is relaxed, it yields to the dishonor of God's glory, the dishonor of the Catholic religion, and the peril of Christian souls; and there is no doubt that this neglect is a source of misfortune for peoples, disasters in public affairs, and misfortunes for individuals." (Benedict XIV, Brief Non Ambigimus, 30-05-1741).


Pope Paul VI, by means of the Apostolic Constitution Pӕnitemini of 17 February 1966, destroyed the traditional Lenten observance of fasting and abstinence.  In 2018, Bishop Faure, Superior General of the SAJM, ordered the congregation to abandon forever the modernist Lenten observance, and to be governed by what is prescribed by the 1917 Code of Canon Law:

Canon 1250:
The law of abstinence forbids the eating of meat and meat broth, but it does not forbid the eating of eggs, milk and any condiments, even if they are made of animal fat.

Canon 1251:
§1: The law of fasting prescribes that only one meal a day be eaten; but it does not prohibit the taking of some food in the morning and in the evening, provided that the custom approved in each place is observed in regard to quantity and quality.
§2: Neither is it forbidden to mix meat and fish in the same meal; nor is it forbidden to exchange the evening meal with the midday meal.

Canon 1252:
§1: The law of abstinence alone is to be observed every Friday of the year.
§2: The law of abstinence with fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays and Saturdays of Lent, and the three days of the Four Seasons, the vigils of Pentecost, of the Immaculate Conception, of the feast of All Saints, and of the Nativity of the Lord.
§3: The law of fasting alone is to be observed on all the remaining days of Lent.
§4: The law of abstinence, or of abstinence and fasting, or of fasting alone, ceases on Sundays or feasts of obligation, except for feasts falling in Lent, and vigils are not anticipated; the said law also ceases on Holy Saturday after noon.

Canon 1254:  
§1: Those who have attained the age of seven years are obliged to observe abstinence.
§2: The law of fasting obliges all from the time they have reached the age of twenty-one until they have begun their sixtieth year.



"Our Lord gave us the example during His life, here on earth: to pray and to do penance. Our Lord, being free from concupiscence and sin, did penance and offered reparation for our sins, thus showing us that our penance can be beneficial not only for ourselves, but also for others.

Pray and do penance. Do penance in order to pray better, in order to be closer to Almighty God. That is what all the saints did, and that is what all the messages of the Blessed Virgin remind us of.

Would we dare to say that this need is less important in our days than it was in times past? On the contrary, we can and must affirm that today, more than ever, prayer and penance are necessary because everything possible has been done to diminish and denigrate these two fundamental elements of the Christian life.

Never before has the world sought to satisfy, without limit, the disordered instincts of the flesh, even to the point of murdering millions of innocent unborn children.

In these times, when even Churchmen align themselves with the spirit of the world, we are witnessing the disappearance of prayer and penance, particularly in their character of reparation for sins and to obtain forgiveness of guilt.

At the Council the bishops called for a diminution of fasting and abstinence to such an extent that the prescriptions have practically disappeared. We must recognize the fact that this disappearance is a consequence of the ecuмenical and Protestant spirit which denies the necessity of our participation in the application of the merits of Our Lord for each one of us in the remission of our sins and the restoration of our divine filiation, that is, our character as adopted children of God.

In the past the commandments of the Church provided for:

Obligatory fasting on all days of Lent (except Sundays), on the days of the Seasons and on many vigils; Abstinence every Friday of the year, the Saturdays of Lent and, in many dioceses, every Saturday of the year.

What remained of those prescriptions was fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstinence for Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent.

One is surprised at the reasons for such a drastic decrease.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, for they shall be filled. Holiness is obtained through the Cross, penance and sacrifice. If we truly seek perfection, we must follow the Way of the Cross.

Let us listen, during this time of Lent, to the call of Jesus and Mary, and commit ourselves to follow them in this Crusade of Prayer and Penance.

May our prayers, our supplications and our sacrifices obtain for us from Heaven the grace for those who are in places of responsibility in the Church to return to the true and holy tradition, which is the only solution to revive and flourish again the institutions of the Church.
https://wwwmileschristi.blogspot.com/2018/02/del-ayuno-y-la-abstinencia-por-mons.html

Thanks, Sean, very much.  I never have seen the 1917 rules all in one place.  Very handy.
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Obligatory fasting on all days of Lent (except Sundays), on the days of the Seasons and on many vigils; Abstinence every Friday of the year, the Saturdays of Lent and, in many dioceses, every Saturday of the year.
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For Lent - I was always under the impression that the Traditional Lent was fasting/abstinence for all 40 days.  The above says it is fasting for 40 days and abstinence only for fridays/saturdays (and Ash Wednesday).  Interesting.

Yes, thanks, Sean for posting this. We would all be advised to go beyond the bare minimum this Lent. 

Here is a PDF, page 1 is the 1917 code and page 2 the 1983

Canon-Law-Fast-and-Abstience.pdf (fatima.org)

Here is a PDF, page 1 is the 1917 code and page 2 the 1983

Canon-Law-Fast-and-Abstience.pdf (fatima.org)

This is what I was curious about, we always broke the Lenten Fast at noon on Holy Saturday - glad it's from the old code...

On Sundays or feasts of precept, the laws of abstinence and of fast cease, except for feasts during Lent, nor are vigils anticipated; likewise, it ceases on Holy Saturday afternoon.