The rule
Keep the Church’s fast
This is the calculator’s twin: one honest look at the week. Friday abstinence, Ember days, Lent. Not a cleanse. Not keto. If fasting has become a way to punish the body, stop — talk to a priest and a doctor.
Today
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The feast that opens September Ember week. No required fast today. Ember Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday follow — traditional, not required in the U.S.
September 2026
Monday, September 14
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The feast that opens September Ember week. No required fast today. Ember Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday follow — traditional, not required in the U.S.
The floor
- Ages 14+: no meat on Fridays.
- Ages 18–59: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are fast and abstinence.
- Eucharistic fast: one hour before Communion.
- Ember days 2026 (traditional, not required in the U.S.):
- Lent: Feb 25, Feb 27, Feb 28
- Pentecost: May 27, May 29, May 30
- September: Sep 16, Sep 18, Sep 19
- Advent: Dec 16, Dec 18, Dec 19
Who should not
Pregnant and nursing mothers, the sick, the poor in food, and anyone for whom food is already a war are not called to this ascesis. The Church has always dispensed. That is mercy, not softness.
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