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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

Can I Have Coffee When Fasting?

Question:

When fasting is it okay to have coffee and other drinks or must I have only water?

Answer:

The Church’s rule for fasting before communion is very clear:

A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine. (canon 919 §1)

The Church’s rule of fasting at other times is fairly vague:

The law of fasting allows only one full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and evening, observing—as far as quantity and quality are concerned—approved local custom. (Paenitemini, Pope Paul VI)

Fasting before communion rules out all beverages besides water.  When fasting at other times (e.g. Fridays in Lent) the Church does not explicitly forbid any kind of beverage so coffee or soda would be permissible.  Obviously meal replacement drinks would fall under food rather than beverages.

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