What is the difference between fasting and abstinence?
Fasting in this sense means eating one full meal, along with two small meals. The two small meals combined should not be more than the one full meal, and there should be no additional snacking in-between.
Abstinence refers to not eating meat. See below for details.
When do we fast and abstain?
The only days you must fast and abstain from meat are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, as a way for all Catholics to join in a common observance of penance. Fridays during Lent (other than Good Friday), you should abstain from meat, but are not required to fast.
Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are bound by the obligation to fast. Exceptions include those in poor health, manual laborers, and women who are pregnant or nursing. Those exempt from the fast should observe the day with some substitute sacrifice. Please note that everyone 14 and over should abstain from eating meat.
What’s the rule about meat?
During Lent, you should consume no meat on Fridays. This includes beef, pork, poultry, etc. but does not include fish, amphibians, reptiles or shellfish (cold blooded). Many Catholics also continue this rule for all Fridays, instead of just Fridays during Lent.
Everyone 14 and over are bound by the law of abstinence from eating meat.
When does Lent actually start/stop? What about Sundays?
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues until the Easter Triduum on Holy Thursday. Sundays can be excluded from the penitential atmosphere of Lent because Sundays should be days of celebration of Christ's resurrection for our salvation. The Easter Triduum begins with Holy Thursday mass and includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and the Easter season begins on Easter Sunday.
Why is Lent 40 days long?
40 days is included several times in the Bible as a time of preparation and reflecition. Moses was on the Mountain of God for forty days, it took Elijah forty days to reach the cave where he had his vision, Nineveh had forty days to repent, and perhaps most well recognized, Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness praying and fasting before he began his ministry. As Christians, we imitate our Lord by preparing forty days for the celebration of his resurrection. According to the Catechism fo the Catholic Church, "By the solumn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the ministry of Jesus in the desert." (CCC 540)
Is giving something up for Lent mandatory?
No, but it is a custom and a tool to encourage spiritual training. By giving up something we enjoy, we exercise discipline and allow ourselves to focus on what is important. This should also be a time of spiritual and prayerful reflection, so it is beneficial to say a prayer each time we miss whatever pleasure it is we have given up.
How is the date of Easter decided?
Easter falls on the first Sunday after the Paschal (Passover) full moon. It can fall anytime between March 22nd and April 25th.