Will fasting be lifted for Valentine's Day, which falls on Ash Wednesday?

It happens occasionally that Valentine’s Day falls within the season of Lent, but this year the holiday of love falls on Ash Wednesday. This leads to questions being raised about the need for fasting.

It has been 73 years since Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday have coincided, the last year being 1945. Expect it to happen again in 2024 and 2029.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity, and for Roman Catholics, it is a day of fasting and abstinence to begin the penitential season of 40 days to prepare for the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as Christians believe.

In addition to greeting cards, flowers and jewelry, Valentine’s Day also includes heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and dinners at home or in restaurants. That’s where the conflict of fasting/abstinence and celebrating with food and treats comes in.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains that Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence from meat.

And the bishop of Allentown, the Most Rev. Alfred A. Schlert, said the diocese “didn’t feel that it was appropriate to lift the rule” of fasting and abstinence for local Catholics on Valentine’s Day.

For members of the Latin (Roman) Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from ages 18 to 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 are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onward. Medical conditions, such as diabetes, can be exceptions to the fasting rules.

Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to observe the particular law of their own sui iuris (“of one’s own right”) church. The beginning of the Great Fast (Lent) for Eastern Christians does not begin with Ash Wednesday, which is not observed, but two days earlier on what is called Pure or Clean Monday.

Will the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown grant a dispensation from the fasting and/or abstinence on Ash Wednesday, such as when the feast of St. Patrick falls on a Friday in Lent? The St. Patrick dispensation to allow the eating of meat on Friday has been granted in the past, but a dispensation on Ash Wednesday for Valentine’s Day will not occur, according to the Schlert.

“The last time it happened was in 1945 when Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day coincided,” Schlert said during a recent visit to Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville. “Now, it will happen some more times more frequently in the near future. It won’t be as long apart the next two times.”

In the last 10 years, Valentine’s Day has occurred in Lent three times: 2008, 2013 and 2016, and it will happen two times in the next 10 years, both times on Ash Wednesday as noted above.

“We have in the past, like when St. Patrick’s Day is on a Friday in Lent, we have lifted the requirement to not eat meat,” Schlert said. “Now just to be clear, whenever we have lifted it as we have in some years, that does not mean you don’t have to do penance. It means you can pick another day to do penance.”

On the former General Roman Calendar, the feast of St. Valentine was observed on Feb. 14. However, the calendar was revised in 1969, with St. Valentine’s feast day removed. Feb. 14 is now observed as the feast day of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who are the “Apostles of the Slavs” and the patron saints of all Europe.

While SS. Cyril and Methodius have detailed histories, St. Valentine’s history has little information, but there are stories that indicate there were three Valentines, all martyrs. The one originally celebrated is named St. Valentine (Valentinus) of Rome, a priest who was arrested for marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted. Both were serious crimes and he was beheaded by Emperor Claudius II in the third century. Even though the feast day was removed from the calendar, the three Valentines remain saints.

Schlert said, “There are only two days in the universal law of the Church, the Code of Canon Law, that are days of fasting and abstinence (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). We didn’t feel that it was appropriate to lift the rule.”

There are other days that the traditions of Valentine’s Day can be observed, Schlert said.

“Quite honestly, the day before is Mardi Gras, so there can always be some festivities on Mardi Gras,” Schlert said. “Also, Valentine’s Day is midweek, so many couples go out on the weekend before or the weekend after Valentine’s Day anyway, so Saturday night would offer them a good opportunity to celebrate.”

And even if Valentine’s Day is on Ash Wednesday, it doesn’t mean that signs of love and affection can be expressed, Schlert said.

“It should still be a day about love, and that doesn’t take it away just because of not having meat or chocolates or things like that,” he said.

Some dioceses and archdioceses in the country have issued statements about not giving the dispensation, with those without statements issued by their bishops assumed to also keep the fasting and abstinence practices.

The neighboring Diocese of Harrisburg released a statement from the Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer, bishop and Pottsville native, regarding the Ash Wednesday obligations of fast and abstinence and its coincidence with Valentine’s Day this year.

“This year Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine’s Day, a largely secular celebration, particularly in the United States,” Gainer said “There have been inquiries if a dispensation from the obligations to fast and abstain from meat will be given. As Catholics, we recognize Ash Wednesday as the solemn beginning of a period of prayer, penance and works of charity. Its spiritual importance is evidenced by the large number of faithful choosing to attend Mass on this day. In view of the significance of Ash Wednesday, the obligations of fast and abstinence are naturally the priority in the Catholic community. Valentine’s Day can appropriately be celebrated on another day, such as Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which happens to be Mardi Gras, a time of celebration prior to the Lenten journey.”