O Lord, who threw out these forty days? Dear and Gentle Reader: Some folks grumble about the laws of fasting and abstinence from flesh meat during Lent. All I can say of those folks are , "what a bunch of nancies"! Our disciplinary laws are really quite lax compared to those of the past. Just look at our fast before receiving Holy Communion - just one hour, and that is reduced to just 15 minutes for the sick. It used to be from midnight until reception of the Sacrament, then reduced to three hours; and for priests celebrating several Masses they could not eat or drink - even water - between the Masses. Jump into my historical time machine, if you will,  and view the Lenten fast in the Middle Ages. During the 40 days of Lent only one meatless meal was taken between noon and 3pm. A small "snack" - meatless - was allowed in the evening. Sundays and solemn feast days such as "Lady Day" March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation, were the exception to this rule...