the prayer of the universal Church
for its children, and if a priest neglects to say it he commits a mortal
sin. It takes about an hour to say the whole divine office, but it is
not intended to be said all at once. It is so divided that it is said at
three times in the day. The part called "Matins" and "Lauds" is said
very early in the morning and before Mass. The part called "Little
Hours" is said later in the day; and the part called "Vespers" and
"Compline" is said in the afternoon. See, therefore, how anxious the
Church is for the good of its children, when it makes its bishops,
priests, and religious pray daily for all the faithful, and send up in
one voice the same prayer to the throne of God.

*392 Q. How should we keep the holy days of obligation?
A. We should keep the holy days of obligation as we should keep the
Sunday.

393 Q. What do you mean by fast-days?
A. By fast-days I mean days on which we are allowed but one full meal.

According to the traditional Catholic method of fasting, one may eat
"one full meal" each day with meat included, plus two smaller meatless
meals, both of which together do not equal the one full meal. No eating
between meals is allowed, although drinking beverages such as coffee and
tea are allowed and are not considered to break the fast. (Milk, juice,
and soft drinks are also considered not to break the fast, although they
are in fact foods and mitigate the effects of the fast and work contrary
to its intent because they satisfy one's hunger to some extent, since
they have food value.) They, therefore, who follow the above regulations
obey the Catholic method of fasting. Today the prescribed days of fast
for the whole Church are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (these are also
days of abstinence). However the Church today says that the meaning of
the law of fasting during Lent remains, although the extent of the
obligation has been changed. In other words, Lent remains as a season of
penance in the Church, but how it is to be observed is greatly up to the
individual, though no one may think himself excused from all penance
whatsoever, and those who are in the fasting age group should still
practice the Church's form of fasting, since fasting is a primary and
very efficacious form of penance.

Those who, for sufficient reasons, are excused from the obligation of
fasting, are not on that account freed from the law of abstinence, for
all who have reached their fourteenth birthday are