Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the most important penitential days of the liturgical year. They are both days of fast and abstinence. The rule of abstinence binds all Catholics 14 years and older. Fasting means only one full meal per day should be taken. Eating between meals breaks the fast but drinking liquids does not. The rule of fasting binds people between the ages of 18 to 59. Abstinence means refraining from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent