The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-17
BISHOP NILAN'S
 LENTEN ADVICE
Regulations of Season of
 Fast and Abstinence to Be Read Tomorrow x

The following letter from Bishop Milan, of Hartford, will be read in all Catholic churches tomorrow. The letter contains the Lenten regulations as outlined by the Bishop of the dio- cese:
 EPISCOPAL RESIDENCE.
 Hartford. Conn. February 14, 1912. Reverend Dear Sir.
 The Lenten regulations may be sum marked as follows:
 1. The sick and all who are in deli cate health are not bound to either fast or abstain.
 2 The aged and those under tweu- ty-cne years of age are not bound to fast but must abstain on abstinence days.
 2. The abstinence days for the la boring class and all members of the household of laborers are Fridays, Ash Wednesday, and Wednesday and Saturday of Holy Week
 1. The abstinence days for all oth- CTS are Wednesdays and Fridays, and the second and last Saturday of Lent
 5. All who are engaged in an ex- hausting occur alton are not restricted in the number of meas and may eat meat at any meal except on abstin- ence days.
 6. Those who keep the fast are per- mitted to take only one full meal a day In the morning, however, they may take cup of tea, coffee or choco- | late with piece of bread. In the evening they may take a light colla- tion At this collation. it is lawful to use fish, eggs, cheese, butter and milk, but the quantity of solid food should not exceed ten ounces. Meat is all lowed only at the principal meal. This meal may be taken in the evening and the collation. at noon.
 On Sundays there is no restriction in the use of meat, but both meat and fish cannot be eaten at the same meal on any day of Lent.
 The faithful should remember that they enjoy the above dispensattonS by special indult of the Holy See, as the fasting and abstinence on every day of Lent. The mitigation of the laws of fasting and abstinence, however, should make them redouble their eff forts to obtain the mercy of God by other means Se'f-examination, regret for shortcomings, the correction of evil habits and more time given to prayer and pious reading should be the exercises of this spiritual breath ing-spelI. They should also choose some form of penance which, while not endangering bodily health, will make them spiritually stronger.
 One form of penance already prac- ticed by a great number is most com mendable, that is, the abstinence from intoxicating drink. In granting the dispensation to the laborfng. classes,  stitute for abstinence from meat, the abstaining from intoxicating drink. No one is Ignortant that the appetite for stimulants, if unrestrained, fre- quent'y exceeds the bounds of reason, and Is the mother of many vices in the individual, the cause of much mis- cry in the family, and a fruitful source of scandal.
 The purpose of penance is not only to appease the anger of God for past transgressions but to increase the fac ultieS of the soul in His service and bend the will to His law, as He says: Turn away from evil and do good Psa'mS XXXIIIs 15.) So, we com mand regular attendance at the pub l'c devotions. Eagerness for instruc- tions, meditation on the Passion of which the sacramentS give, will lead to better understanding of the duties of life, establish self-control. and make the Christian grow in the love of God and his ne' ghbor. The who'e aim and purpose of this discipline of penance may be expressed in the words of the Apostle: 'I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty; I so fight, not as body and bring it into subjection' g q Cor. TX, 26.) We are runners in a race whose course is shaped and whose length is det ermined by God Himself, of which the prize is an eternal crown; and we should not be overcome by the follies of the world, as though we had here a lasting city.
 Neither is it prudent to be content with an indefinite or general resolve to correct our faults-that is beating the air. The vice must be discov- cred and the fight begun. If it comes from the mind, that must be enlight- ened; if from the will, it must be sub dued and subjected to control; if from the lower senses, the body should be chastised by Iessening seIf-induIgence. In the meantime let us be mindful that "our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against princi- palities and powers" and therefore it is most important ''to take unto ourselves the arInor of God, that we may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things per fect.'' CEphesians VI, 12.)
 Sincerely yours,
 JOHN JOSEPH MILAN,
 Bishop of Hartford.