You know what Ember days are. (Today is one!)
Speaking of that, how does one go about observing it as different then a day in Lent.
Complete abstinence. Except in the US...where Ember Wednesdays were made days of partial abstinence. Then it makes no sense.
That explains why my SSPX calendar only shows half a fish (partial abstinence) for today, an Ember day. However, it still makes sense because an Ember Wednesday includes partial abstinence, whereas other Wednesdays in Lent do not. But it is no doubt better to practice full abstinence.
Below is the 1917 Code of Canon Law Canon 1252, on the times of fasting and abstinence.
Canon 1252. § 1. The law of abstinence alone is to be observed on all Fridays.
§ 2. The law of abstinence and fast together is to be observed on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays and Saturdays of Lent, the Ember days [all day], and on the Vigils of Pentecost, the Assumption, All Saints, and the Nativity.
§ 3. The law of fast alone is to be observed on the other days of Lent.
§ 4. On Sundays and days of obligation the law ceases except on a feast of obligation during Lent; and the vigils are not anticipated; likewise the law ceases on Holy Saturday at noon.
What surprised me is that Saturdays in Lent are supposed to be fasting and full abstinence, not only Fridays.
Does anyone know what changes there were between 1917 and Vatican II (or the 1983 Code of Canon Law)
(maybe this should be in one of the Ember day threads I've seen...)
