Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-02-28
LENT BEGINS TODAY.
Rules Governing Members of Catholic
Church During Lenten Season.

Today is the beginning of Lent, and
the following schedule of the pre-
scribed rules of the Catholic church
to be observed by its members has
been announced by the Bishop and
promulgated by the church officials:
/. Ash Wednesday falls ON the 28th
of February.
2. All the days of Lent are fasting,
except Sunday.
3. All persons who have completed
their 21st year, unless ligitimately
dispensed, are obliged to keep the
fast. Custom allows cup of coffee,
tea or chocolate, with a small piece
of bread to be taken in the morning.
In the evening a collation. not exceed
ing the fourth part of an ordinary
meal is allowed.
A. BY dispensation the use of flesh
meat is allowed at the principal meal
on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays. except the Saturday in
Holy w3ek.
8. The use of fish aud fieshmeat is
not allowed at the same meal during
Lent.
6. All under twenty-one years of
age, those who are engaged in hard
work, the sick and convalescent, and
persons who can not fast without
serious injury to nealth, are exempt
from the fast. Persons excused from
fasting on account of tender age. hard
labor and sickness, are not restricted
to the use of flesh meat at only one
meal on the days on which it is allow
ed. Those who entertain any reasona-
BILE doubt about their obligations to
fast or abstain ought to apply to their
pastors for advice or dispensation.
Z. The time for fulfilling the
Paschal duty is extended in this
diocese from the first Sunday in Lent
to Trinity Sunday.
In virtue of special faculties given
in letter of the Sacred Congregation
Of Propaganda to the Ordinaries of
the United States on the 18th of
March, 1905, and renewed in 1905, !
hereby grant all laborers in this
diocese to eat meat at one meal on
the davs of abstinence.
From this permission however, are
excluded all Fridays in the year, Ash
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of
Holy week, and the Vigil of Christ
mas. It shonlI also be remarked that
on those days on which the use of
meat is thus allowed, fish and flesh
can not be eaten at the same meal.
This permission to eat meat on cer-
tain days of abstinence extends not
only to the laborers themselves, but
also to their family, so that every
member of their family participates
in the privilege of the adult.
Those who make use of this dis
pensation are earnestly exsorted to
perform some other work of penance
on those days, such as the abstaining
from the use of Intoxicating drink or
some other act of modification.
most earnestly call the attention
of pastors to the second chapter of
III, "Plenary Council of Baltimore De
Matrimonii Sacramento, and
especially to decree 1873 ON page 81,
which treats of mixed marriages.
These marriages, so opposed to tire
spirit of the church, and SO desrimen-
tai to religion, are becoming more
frequent every day, to the great
damage of souls, if not to the eternal
loss, and pastors should show their
zeal in this important matter by COM
plying with the above mentioned de-
cree so that by their frequent and
earnest exhortations they may, at
least, lessen the number. Please
announce to the people frequently,
the necessity of giving timely notice,
about two or three weeks in advance,
to the effect that they intend to con-
tract such marriage, and that they
should make no arrangements as to
time, without first consulting the
priest.
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