Prayers and Reflections for the Season of Lent. Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia. All Rights Reserved.

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"Do you wish your prayer to fly towards God? Give it two wings: fasting and almsgiving." -- Saint Augustine.

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR LENT

• Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. Owing to the special circumstances in our Vicariate, abstinence is to be observed on every Wednesday in Lent. Out of devotion, abstinence is to be observed on every Wednesday during the year.
  
  
• The law of fast obliges all adults up to the age of 60 to refrain from eating between meals and to limit their eating to one full meal and two lighter meals for the day. The practice limits the intake of food and water so as to imitate the suffering Christ during His passion and throughout His earthly life. All Christians are called to fast and to consider Jesus, Mary, and the saints as examples of mortification. No one should consider this obligation lightly.
  
  
• All Catholics 14 years and older are bound by the law of abstinence from meat and meat products on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as well as on the Wednesdays of Lent (our Vicariate) .
  
  
• Those individuals who have a medical condition in which fasting or abstaining may be considered harmful are not obliged to fast or abstain, but should perform some other act of penance or charity instead. Please consult a priest/your confessor in this matter.
  
  
• EASTER DUTY may be fulfilled any time between the First Sunday in Lent and Trinity Sunday. The Duty is to go to Confession and receive Holy Communion at least once during that period.
  
  
  
  

GENERAL OBSERVANCES DURING LENT

• The faithful are exhorted to maintain a spirit of penance and prayer during the Lenten season. Spiritual activities like attending daily Mass and receiving Holy Communion, reading passages from the Bible, saying the family rosary and keeping aside a few minutes of the day for personal prayer and reflection help towards keeping a prayerful spirit.
  
  
• The Stations of the Cross are recited on weekdays / Fridays during Lent followed by Holy Mass. Please make it a point to attend the service along with your family members and encourage your friends to do so as well.
  
  
• The faithful are encouraged to do acts of penance and charity during the Lenten season beyond what is prescribed by law. It is commendable to abstain from smoking, watching too much television, indulging in idle talk, etc. Charity includes almsgiving, kindness, concern and heplfulness towards all, especially the old, the sick and the unfortunate.
  
  
• Parents must to see to it that minors, though not bound by the law of fast and abstinence, are educated in the authentic sense of penance and encouraged to do acts of penance suitable to their age.
  
  
• All members of the faithful are encouraged to avail themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), since it is a true encounter with the loving, forgiving Saviour, Who takes away the burden of our sin, forgives our failing and is the source of peace and joy.

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Picture of the Cross:
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