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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, February 24, 1966
COMPLETE TEXT
Pope’s Decree On Fast And Abstinence
Following is a translation of
the Italian text of the apostolic
constitution on fast and abstin
ence issued on Feb. 17 by Pope
Paul VI.
“Be converted and believe
in the Gospel”.
It seems to us that we must
repeat these words of the
Lord today at a moment
when—with the closing of the
second Vatican Ecumenical
Council—the Church con
tinues along its path with more
vigorous steps. Among the
grave and urgent problems
which in fact summon our pas
toral concern, it seems to us
that not the least is to re
mind our sons—and all
religious men of our times—
of the significance and im
portance of the divine precept
of penitence. We are prompted
to this by the fuller and more
profound vision of the Church
and its relationship with the
world given us recently by
the supreme ecumenical as
sembly.
During the council, in fact,
the Church, in an effort to
arrive at a more profound
meditation on the mystery of
itself, examined its own na
ture in all its dimensions and
scrutinized its human and
divine, visible and invisible,
temporal and eternal ele
ments. By first of all examin
ing more thoroughly the link
which binds it to Christ and
His salvific action, it has
underlined more clearly how
all its members are called
upon to participate in the work
of Christ and therefore to par
ticipate also in His expiation.
In addition, it has gained a
clearer awareness that, while
it is by divine vocation holy
and without blemish, it is
defective in its members and
in continuous need of con
version and renewal, a re
newal which must be imple
mented not onty interiorly and
individually but also ex
ternally and socially.
Lastly, the Church has con
sidered more attentively its
role in the earthly city, that
is to say, its mission of show
ing man the right way to use
earthly goods and to collabo
rate in the “consecration of
the world.” But at the same
time it has considered more
attentively its task ofprompt-
ing its sons to that salutary
abstinence which will forearm
them against the danger of
allowing themselves to be de
layed by the things of this
world in their pilgrimage to
ward their home in heaven.
For these reasons we should
like today to repeat to our
sons the words spoken by
Peter in his first speech after
Pentecost: “Repent. . . for
the forgiveness of your sins”.
And at the same time we want
to repeat once more to all
the nations of the earth the
invitation of Paul to the Gen
tiles of Lystra: “Turn. . .
to the living God”.
Chapter I
The Church—which during
the council examined with
greater attention its relations
not only with the separated
brethren but also with non-
Christian religions—has
noted with joy that almost
everywhere and at aU times
penitence has held a place of
great importance,since it is
closely linked with the inti
mate sense of religion which
pervades the life of most
ancient peoples as well as with
the more advanced expres
sions of the great religions
connected with the progress of
culture.
In the Old Testament the
religious sense of penitence
is revealed with even greater
richness. Even though man
generally has recourse to it
in the aftermath of sin to
placate the wrath of God, or
on the occasion of grave
calamities, or when special
dangers are imminent, or in
any case to obtain benefits
from the Lord, we can never
theless establish that external
penitential practices are ac
companied by an inner atti
tude of “conversion”, that is
to say of condemnation of and
detachment from sin and of
striving toward God. One goes
without food or gives away his
property (fasting is generally
accompanied not only by
prayer but also by alms) even
after sins have been forgiven
and independently of a request
for graces. One fasts or
applies physical discipline to
“chastize one’s own soul*’,
to “humble oneself in the
sight of his own God”, to
“turn one’s face toward Je
hovah”, to “dispose oneself
to prayer”, to “understand”
more intimately the things
which are divine, or to pre
pare oneself for the encounter
with God.
Penance therefore—al
ready in the Old Testament—
is a religious, personal act
which has as its aim love and
surrender to God: fasting for
the sake of God, not for one’s
own self. Such it must re
main also in the various peni
tential rites sanctioned by law.
When this is not verified, the
Lord is displeased with His
people: “Today you have not
fasted in a way which will
make your voice heard on
high. . . Rend your heart and
not your garments, and re
turn to the Lord your God.”
The social aspect of peni
tence is not lacking in the Old
Testament. In fact, the peni
tential liturgies of the Old
Covenant are not only a col
lective awareness of sin but
constitute in reality a condi
tion for belonging to the people
of God.
We can further establish
that penitence was repre
sented even before Christ as a
means and a sign of perfection
and sanctity. Judith, Daniel,
the prophetess Anna and many
other elect souls served God
day and night with fasting and
prayers, and with joy and
cheerfulness.
Finally, we find among the
just ones of the Old Testament
those who offered themselves
to satisfy with their own per
sonal penitence for the sins
of the community. This is what
Moses did in the 40 days when
he fasted to placate the Lord
for the guilt of his unfaithful
people. This above all is how
the character of the Servant of
Jehovah is presented, who
“took on our infirmities” and
in whom “the Lord hath laid
on Him the iniquity of us all”.
AH this, however, was but
a foreshadowing of things to
come. Penitence—required by
the inner Ufe, confirmed by
the religious experience of
mankind and the object of a
particular precept of divine
revelation—assumes “in
Christ and the Church” new
dimensions infinitely broader
and more profound.
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Christ, who always prac
ticed in His life what He
preached, before beginning
His ministry spent 40 days
and 40 nights in prayer and
fasting, and began His
public mission with the
joyful message; “The king
dom of God is at hand.”
To this He added the com
mand: “Repent and believe
in the Gospel”. These words
constitute, in a way, a com
pendium of the whole Chris
tian life.
The kingdom of God an
nounced by Christ can be en
tered only by a “change of
heart” (“metanoia”), that is
to say through that intimate
and total change and renewal
of the entire man—of all his
opinions, judgments and deci
sions—which takes place in
him in the light of the sanctity
and charity of God, the sanctity
and charity which were mani
fested to us in the Son and
communicated fully.
The invitation of the Son
to “metanoia” becomes aU
the more inescapable in
asmuch as He not only
preaches it but Himself offers
an example. Christ, in fact,
is the supreme model for
those doing penance. He willed
to suffer punishment for sins
which were not His but those
of others.
In the presence of Christ
man i s illumined with a new
fight and consequently re
cognizes the holiness of God
and the gravity of sin. Through
the word of Christ a message
is transmitted to him which
invites him to conversion and
grants forgiveness of sins.
These gifts he fully attains
in baptism. This sacrament,
in fact, configures him to the
passion, death and resurrec
tion of the Lord, and places
the whole future of the life
of the baptized under the seal
of this mystery.
Therefore, following the
Master, every Christian must
renounce himself, take up his
own cross and participate in
the sufferings of Christ. Thus
transformed into the image
of Christ’s death, he is made
capable of meditating on the
glory of the resurrection.
Furthermore, following the
Master, he can no longer live
for himself, but must live for
Him who loves him and gave
himself for him. He will also
have to live for his brethren,
completing “in his flesh that
which is lacking in the suf
ferings of Christ. . .for the
benefit of his body, which
is the church”.
In addition, since the Church
is closely linked toChrist,the
penitence of the individual
Christian also has an intimate
relationship of its own with
the whole ecclesial com
munity. In fact, not only does
he receive in the bosom of
the Church through baptism
the fundamental gift of “me
tanoia,” but this gift is re
stored and reinvigorated in
those members of the Body
of Christ who have fallen into
sin through the sacrament of
penance. “Those who ap
proach the sacrament of pen
ance receive from the mercy
of God forgiveness for
offenses committed against
Him and at the same time be
come reconciled with the
Church on which they have in
flicted a wound by sinning,
and the Church cooperates
in their conversion with
charity, example and prayer”.
And in the Church, finally, the
little acts of penitence im
posed each time in the sacra
ment become a form of par
ticipation in a special way in
the infinite expiation ofChrist
to join to the sacramental
satisfaction itself every other
action he performs, his every
suffering and sorrow.
Thus the task of bearing
in his body and soul the death
of the Lord affects the whole
life of the baptized person at
every instant and in every
aspect.
Chapter II
The preeminently interior
and religious character of
penitence and the new won
drous aspects which it
assumes “in Christ and in the
Church” neither excludes nor
lessens in any way the exter
nal practice of this virtue, but
on the contrary reaffirms its
necessity with particular ur
gency and prompts the Church
—always attentive to the sign
of the times-to seek, beyond
fast and abstinence, new ex
pressions more suitable for
the realization, according to
the character of various
epochs, of the precise goal
of penitence.
True penitence, however,
cannot ever prescind from
physical asceticism as well.
Our whole being, in fact, body
and soul, (indeed the whole
of nature, even animals with
out reason, as Holy Scripture
often points out) must parti
cipate actively in this re
ligious act whereby the crea
ture recognizes divine holi
ness and majesty. The neces
sity of the mortification of the
flesh also stands clearly re
vealed if we consider the fra
gility of our nature, in which,
since Adam’s sin, flesh and
spirit have contrasting de
sires. This exercise of bodily
mortification - far removed
from any form of stoicism-
does not imply a condemnation
of the flesh which sons of God
deign to assume. On the con
trary, mortification aims at
the “liberation” of man, who
often finds himself, because
of concupiscence, almost
chained by his own senses.
Through “corporal fasting”
man regains strength and the
“wound inflicted on the dignity
of our nature by intemperance
is cured by the medicine of a
salutary abstinence”.
Nevertheless, in the New
Testament and in the history
of the Church—although the
duty of doing penance is mo
tivated above all by partici
pation in the sufferings of
Christ—the necessity of an
asceticism which chastises
the body and brings it into sub
jection is affirmed with
special insistence by the ex
ample of Christ Himself.
Against the real and ever
recurring danger of forma
lism and Pharisaism the Di
vine Master in the New
Covenant openly condemned—
and so have the Apostles, Fa
thers and supreme pontiffs—
any form of penitence which
is purely external. The inti
mate relationship which exists
in penitence between the ex
ternal act, inner conversion,
prayer and works of charity
is affirmed and widely de
veloped in the liturgical texts
and authors of every era.
Chapter III
Therefore the Church-
while it reaffirms the pri-
mancy of the religious and
supernatural values of peni
tence (values extremely suit
able for restoring to the world
today a sense of the presence
of God and of His sovereignty
over man and a sense ofChrist
and His salvation)—invites
everyone to accompany the in
ner conversion of the spirit
with the voluntary exercise of
external acts of penitence:
A—It insists first of all
that the virtue of penitence
be exercised in persevering
faithfulness to the duties of
one’s state in life, in the ac
ceptance of the difficulties
arising from one’s work and
from human coexistence, in a
patient bearing of the trails
of earthly life and of the utter
insecurity which pervades it.
B—Those members of the
Churcn who are stricken by
infirmities, illnesses,poverty
or misfortunes, or who are
persecuted for the love of jus
tice, are invited to unite their
sorrows to the suffering of
Christ in such a way that
they not only satisfy more
thoroughly the precept of peni
tence but also obtain for the
brethren a life of grace and
for themselves that beatitude
which is promised in the
Gospel to those who suffer.
C—The precept of penitence
must be satisfied in a more
perfect way by priests, who
are more closely linked to
Christ through sacred charac
ter, as well as by those who in
order to follow more closely
the abnegation of the Lord and
to find an easier and more
efficacious path to the per
fection of charity practice the
evangelical counsels.
The Church, however, in
vites all Christians without
distinction to respond to the
divine precept of penitence by
some voluntary act, apart
from the renunciation imposed
by the burdens of everyday
life.
To recall and urge all the
faithful to the observance of
the divine precept of peni
tence, the Apostolic See in
tends to reorganize penitential
discipline with practices more
suited to our times. It is up
to the bishops—gathered in
their episcopal conferences—
to establish the norms which,
in their pastoral solicitude
and prudence, and with the
direct knowledge they have of
local conditions, they consider
the most opportune and effi
cacious. The following, how
ever, is established:
In the first place, Holy
Mother Church, although it has
always observed in a special
way abstinence from meat and
fasting, nevertheless wants to
indicate in the traditional triad
of “ prayer — fasting —
charity” the fundamental
means of complying with the
■divine precepts of penitence.
These means were the same
throughout the centuries, but
in our time there are special
reasons whereby, according to
the demands of various locali
ties, it is necessary to incul
cate some special form of
penitence in preference to
others. Therefore, where ec
onomic well being is greater,
so much more will the wit
ness of asceticism have to
be given in order that the sons
of the Church may not be in
volved in the spirit of the
“world”, and at the same time
the witness of pharity will
have to be given to the bre
thren who suffer poverty and
hunger beyond any barrier of
nation or continent. On the
other hand, in countries where
the standard of living is lower
it will be more pleasing to
God the Father and more use
ful to the members of the
Body of Christ ifchristians—
while they seek in every way
to promote better social
justice—offer their suffering
in prayer to the Lord in close
union with the Cross ofChrist.
Therefore, the Church,
while preserving—where it
can be more readily ob
served—the custom (observed
for many centuries with
canonical norms) of practicing
penitence also abstinence
from meat and fasting, in
tends to ratify with its pres
criptions other forms of peni
tence as well, provided that it
seems opportune to episcopal
conferences to replace the
observance of fast and ab
stinence with exercises of
prayer and works of charity.
In order that all the faithful,
however, may be united in a
common celebration of peni
tence, the Apostolic See in
tends to establish certain
penitiential days and seasons
chosen among those which in
the course of the liturgical
year are closer to the paschal
mystery of Christ or might
be required by the special
needs of the ecclesial com
munity.
Therefore, the following is
declared and established;
1. L By divine law all the
faithful are required to do
penance.
2. The prescriptions of ec
clesiastical law regarding
penitence are totally reorgan
ized according to the follow
ing norms:
H. L The time of Lent
preserves its penitential
character. The days of peni
tence to be observed under
obligation throughout the
Church are all Fridays and
Ash Wednesday, that is to say
the first days “Grande Qua-
resima” (Great Lent), ac
cording to the diversity of the
rites. Their substantial ob
servance binds gravely.
2. Apart from the faculties
referred to in YI and VIII
regarding the manner of ful
filling the precept of peni
tence on such days, ab
stinence is to be observed
on every Friday which does not
fall on a holy day of obli
gation, while abstinence and
fast is to be observed on
Ash Wednesday or, according
Con’d, next page
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Ralph Desposito. (Jim Daly Photo)
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