Ash Wednesday: Lent Begins
Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence. The norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat (mammals and fowl) are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.