April 8, 2009

Q: What is the 'paschal fast'?

A: The liturgical season of Lent concludes with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening.  Thus, since Good Friday is also a day of fast, from the early centuries the so-called “paschal fast” has been the practice of the Church.  It begins on Good Friday and concludes with the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.  Although reference to the paschal fast is not found in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, it is included in  the Constitution on the Liturgy from the Second Vatican Council.  There, one finds in paragraph 110: “During Lent penance should not be only internal and individual, but also external and social. The practice of penance should be fostered in ways that are possible in our own times and in different regions, and according to the circumstances of the faithful.”  It goes on to say: “Let the paschal fast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday and, where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of the Sunday of the resurrection may be attained with uplifted and clear mind.”

This week’s apologist is Religious Sister of Mercy Esther Mary Nickel, a professor of sacred liturgy and sacramental theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. Send your question for Ask an Apologist to: editor@archden.org.