Penance: It's Not Just for Lent
This article was reprinted from the May 2004 Frassati Society newsletter.
Now that Easter is upon us, probably the last thing that you want to think about is Lent. Many of us spent forty days without something that we enjoy, and all of us went without eating meat every Friday for several weeks (or at least we should have). Isn't that enough? Well, there's something else to think about here. I've seen several references during the time that I've been Catholic that say that although abstaining from meat on Friday is only required during Lent, Friday remains a day of penance. I just ran past it for years,
The Church designates every Friday of the year (unless a solemnity is celebrated on that day) as one of the "penitential days and times in the universal church." The other one is the season of Lent (Code of Canon Law, 1250). It was on Friday that the Lord died on the cross for our salvation. This is not to exclude doing penance on other days, but Friday is the universal day.
Those who were around before the Second Vatican Council probably remember having to abstain from eating meat every Friday of the year. Believe it or not, that law is still on the books (Code of Canon Law, 1251). However, the conference of bishops in an area has the authority to allow the faithful to substitute another form of penance, including charitable deeds and prayers (Code of Canon Law, 1253). In the United States, this provision has been allowed during the Fridays outside of Lent. We are required to do some kind of penance every Friday, but, except during Lent, we do not have to abstain from eating meat.
On another note, I'd like to make a case for the practice of fasting, also known as "giving something up." Many have advocated "doing something positive" instead of "giving something up" as a penance. I am not questioning the legitimacy of doing a charitable work or saying an extra prayer, but there seems to be little need for me to try to make a case for it.
Giving up something we could lawfully have can be done to make reparation for the times we have done what we should not have. It can unite us to Christ and his suffering. It helps us to become detached from things that may become idols if we overuse them.
Fasting also makes good practice for resisting temptation. After all, people learning to deactivate bombs don't practice on real bombs. They use models. Likewise, we can practice resisting sin by giving up lawful things that we enjoy. If we fail in our practice, then we have only partaken of a lawful pleasure rather than having offended God.
We don't have to do a bread and water fast. In fact, I'd advise against it for most people (including myself). If you're an avid coffee drinker, give up that third or fourth cup. If you like to watch television, take an hour during the day in which you will not watch television. Pray for the grace to determine what the Lord wants you to do. Remember that even a small penance done with love for the Lord is pleasing to him.