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You followed every rule. One meal. No seconds. And according to Aquinas, it still counted for nothing.

In this episode, we unpack why Lent falls before Easter — not after — and why that order matters more than most people think. Then Aquinas goes further: what kind of fasting actually works, and what kind quietly fails.

There’s a “fast of joy” that has nothing to do with penance. Fasting on a Sunday of Lent isn’t holy — it’s sinful. And the one-meal rule isn’t a loophole. Eat immoderately at that single meal, and the entire merit of the fast evaporates. Aquinas cares about intention. He always has.

The problem was never the rule. It was the person keeping it.

Read The Relevant Articles of the Summa Theologica Here:

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 147. Article 5. Whether the times for the church’s fast are fittingly appointed.

Summa Theologica. Part 2 of 2, Question 147. Article 6. Whether it is requisite for fasting that one eat but once.

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