Catholics must get back the tradition of the “Friday fast”, the day of the week when the faithful abstain from eating meat to commemorate the Passion and the death of Christ.
English and Welsh bishops requested this in a communiqué dated 5 September and signed by Markus Stock, General Secretary of the English and Welsh Episcopal Conference.
In this note, they urged the faithful to “return” to this “practice of penitence,” for the entire year.
And this is precisely what is new about the proposal: a return to this “healthy habit,” not just during Lent, but every Friday each year.
The bishops wrote: “Friday is the designated day of penitence as it commemorates the pain and death of the Lord.”
The communiqué went on to say: “Bishops, however, have now decided to re-establish the practice of penitence which should be fulfilled by simply abstaining from eating meat and praying on top of this sacrifice.”
The prelates also gave an indication of the date by which this “decision” would come into effect: 16 September 2011, which is a Friday.
In the document, the bishops of England and Wales also recognised that “simple acts of witnessing, coupled with sincere prayer, can be a strong boost to faith.”
Finally, the bishops noted that traditional acts of Catholic devotion, such as making the sign of the cross in a careful and respectful way, saying the Angelus prayer as well as a prayer before and after meals, are “simple actions during which we dedicate a few moments of our daily lives to God the Almighty and show our love and trust in His goodness and providence.”
If these acts of devotion have been lost or even forgotten, in particular in our homes and at school, then we can only but gain from learning to bring them to life once more.”
Friday fasting is a way to testify the Christian faith to others, bishops concluded, “in a simple and direct way.”