Ash Wednesday Distribution of Ashes & Mass
The present laws of the Church regarding fasting and abstinence during the Season of Lent are as follows:
1. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting. On days of fasting, one full meal is allowed. Two lesser meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to one’s needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted. Catholics who have completed their 18th year are bound by this law until the beginning of their 60th year.
2. Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent are also days of abstinence. On days of abstinence, meat should not be eaten at any meal. The law of abstinence binds all Catholics who have completed their 14th year.
The obligation to observe, as a whole or “substantially,” the penitential days specified by the Church is a serious obligation. The Code of Cannon Law states: “On these days (of Penance), the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence…”

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