Chapter 26 — Part III — The Ten Commandments
Section 547. Q. For what cause are the fasts before the Nativity, the Rest of the Blessed Virgin and the Day of the Holy Apostles? A. The first two as preparatory exercises of abstinence, the better to honor the ensuing feasts of the Nativity, and of the Rest of the Mother of God; the last not only for like reason, but also in imitation of the Apostles, who fasted to prepare themselves for the work of preaching the Gospel. Acts xiii. 3.