- Wednesday, Friday and Saturday it is 2 small meals and 1 regular.
- Wednesday and Saturday, only meat at the regular meal.
- Friday no meat at all like all Fridays.
This would apply to those following the practice aged between 21 to 59. The sick and those in labour intensive jobs were always are exempted from the obligation.
As always, such fasting and abstinence has a greater purpose. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, through these activities, and through prayer, we use the Ember Days to "thank God for the gifts of nature, . . . teach men to make use of them in moderation, and . . . assist the needy."
Ember Days mark the beginning of Autumn and a small sacrifice by the prayers of the faithful is made for benefit of priests being ordained on the Ember Saturday - as it was on the Ember Saturdays of the year that priestly ordinations often took place.
Unless one does a small amount of penance, Ember Days are meaningless! Our Lord wants us to follow His example as he fasted in the Desert before beginning his public life of 3 years. Christ said that fasting was required to expel some demons. In our own time to combat evil, always inspired by the devil, prayer and fasting seems like a good strategy!