Mailbag time!
The Question:
Hi Kendra, I was wondering if you were going to write a post about how Valentine’s Day is on Ash Wednesday & how you guys will address that at your house. My thought was to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day the day before like the vigil. But I’m having a hard time as to how best to explain that to my kids that are mostly still little (my oldest is 10 but has autism). I’d love to hear your thoughts on this if you have the chance. Thanks!
-Anna
All Catholics from the completion of their twenty-first year to the beginning of their sixtieth year are bound to observe the Law of fast. . . . Only one full meal is allowed on a day of Fast. Two other meatless meals are permitted. These meals should be sufficient to maintain strength in accordance with each one's needs. Both of these meals, or collations, together, should not equal one full meal. . . . Solid foods between meals is not permitted. Liquids, including coffee, tea, milk and fruit juices are allowed.
In connection with problems arising from the Laws of Fast and Abstinence, a confessor or priest should be consulted. Dispensations may be granted for a serious reason concerning health or the ability to work.Abstinence from meat on abstinence days is obligatory for Catholics aged fourteen to sixty. (But our whole family abstains from meat every Friday of the year, and the little kids don't even notice. It's the fifteen year old boy who suffers it!) Even though none of my kids are bound by the fast, and most of them aren't even bound to the abstinence from meat, *I* am still bound to make sure that they know that Ash Wednesday is a penitential day: "As regards those of a lesser age, pastors of souls and parents should see to it with particular care that they are educated to a true sense of penitence." Faces full of heart-shaped candy isn't going to do that. So, if we were faced with the dilemma of secular Valentine's Day parties on Ash Wednesday itself, I would make a point of giving Ash Wednesday precedence. We would, of course, go to Mass and receive ashes. Everyone of every age in our family receives ashes (ashes are a sacramental rather than a sacrament, and so can be received by babies, the mentally disabled, and even non-Catholics). If I could keep my kids home from preschool or school that day, I would. If I couldn't, I wouldn't sweat it for very little kids. For more mature little kids and all kids past the age of reason (First Communion age), if they needed to go to school, I'd make them a deal that we'd have plenty of treats and early Valentines on Fat Tuesday, and they could bring their school Valentine treats home and save them to eat on Sunday. But fasting from treats on Ash Wednesday seems like a given, even though it's not written in canon law. I think it's GREAT to start kids early on the concept of OUR family culture. We do things differently because we're Catholic, but most importantly because we're Tierneys (and Tierneys are awesome). If we are to succeed in keeping our kids Catholic for their whole lives--the goal, obviously--they are going to have to do a LOT of things differently than the rest of society. Waiting to eat Valentine candy, or better yet, stuffing our faces on Fat Tuesday instead, is small potatoes. I trust my kids to handle it. I'm sure each of us can figure out a way that works with our own family circumstances, to give Ash Wednesday the place it deserves. Related reading . . .
CREATING A FAMILY CULTURE
----------- And when you figure out when you're doing Valentine's Day, if you need some quick, Catholic, Valentines, there are free printables on the blog here:SEVEN FREE PRINTABLE CATHOLIC VALENTINES
And three sets in the digital shop, formatted for easy double-sided printing!
