Eat, Pray, Love: An Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day Dilemma

[No Vested Interest]

1. Fasting is for those between 14 and 59 years, assuming good health.

I am long past 59 and would enjoy a good seafood dish more than a steak any day.
So bring it on.

I personally believe the abstaining from meat rule is rather archaic, given the availability in the modern world of delicious meat substitutes. However, I do voluntarily abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent- when I remember.

In the (seemingly) distant past, when every Friday was a day of meat abstinence, it was far easier to remember to abstain, as long as one remembered what day of the week it was.

Edited to add: I personally believe that doing positive good is more worthy than abstaining or fasting, and I believe Pope Francis agrees, though I'm sure he does all of the above.