A question about fasting

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I gave up bread for Lent. So far so good.

BUT. I am SICK. Nothing appeals to be but plain toast. Does being sick exempt me from the food I chose to give up for Lent? I can probably convince myself to eat some plain rice, but I just want something super simple and right now that’s toast.
 
yes, the church says fasting must be observed for those who are of age and those who are healthy. Since you are sick, you probably can eat bread.

Ill pray for you. Get better soon
 
RedSparklyShoes said:
I gave up bread for Lent. So far so good.

BUT. I am SICK. Nothing appeals to be but plain toast. Does being sick exempt me from the food I chose to give up for Lent? I can probably convince myself to eat some plain rice, but I just want something super simple and right now that’s toast.
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I also gave up bread and I have been eating more potatoes thats for sure

also more salads and rice

I would stick to the fast but thats just my opinion - they sell non bread type crackers , I got some made from sesame seeds which topped with cream cheese and olives or salsa are pretty good

I will pray for you!
 
RedSparklyShoes said:
I gave up bread for Lent. So far so good.

BUT. I am SICK. Nothing appeals to be but plain toast. Does being sick exempt me from the food I chose to give up for Lent? I can probably convince myself to eat some plain rice, but I just want something super simple and right now that’s toast.
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Giving up bread for Lent is a personal devotion. You don’t need an exemption, you simply need to decide whether you want to continue this devotion while you are ill. Will it bring you closer to God to eat the bread or to give up the bread?
 
RedSparklyShoes said:
BUT. I am SICK. Nothing appeals to be but plain toast. Does being sick exempt me from the food I chose to give up for Lent?
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“giving up something” for Lent is completely voluntary. It is not required by the Church nor are there any rules to follow.

There is nothing to exempt you from. Eat your toast if you want.
 
mab23 said:
I also gave up bread and I have been eating more potatoes thats for sure

also more salads and rice

I would stick to the fast but thats just my opinion - they sell non bread type crackers , I got some made from sesame seeds which topped with cream cheese and olives or salsa are pretty good

I will pray for you!
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I wasn’t asking for alternatives. I’m doing fine with eating other things when I would normally eat bread. But I’m sick. Salad? Not a chance today. Potatoes, I might…but I don’t think I have any.
 
If having toast while you’re sick bothers your conscience, perhaps you can broker a deal with yourself (not with God, just to help yourself) to give up an additional thing once you feel better. Better yet, why not do a good deed for someone else?

If you look at any Catholic guideline for fasting, it will always make exceptions for the elderly, children, and people with health issues. 🙂
 
RedSparklyShoes said:
I gave up bread for Lent. So far so good.

BUT. I am SICK. Nothing appeals to be but plain toast. Does being sick exempt me from the food I chose to give up for Lent? I can probably convince myself to eat some plain rice, but I just want something super simple and right now that’s toast.
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You may be a bit confused about:

Fasting (one meal and two smaller meals - not to equal one meal) during Lent which is required on Ash Wed. and Good Friday

Abstinence (not eating meat) which is required on Ash Wed. and all Fridays during Lent

Voluntary personal Lenten Sacrifice practice to help you grow closer to God in which a person may decide to give up something or to take on something. This is something you choose on your own - voluntarily. You decide if you want to do this and how you want to do it. It is a good practice, but not a requirement.

Your question is about a voluntary practice - giving up bread, which is not a question about our Lenten Fast. (The Lenten Fast is required on Ash Wed. and Good Friday. Even on the required fast, the sick and elderly are not required if it causes a health problem.)

You picked to give up bread as a sacrifice during Lent, but you are not required to be “held” to this sacrifice. You get to decide to eat bread or not. (Hope you are feeling better soon.)

Peace.
 
RoseMary131 said:
You may be a bit confused about:

Fasting (one meal and two smaller meals - not to equal one meal) during Lent which is required on Ash Wed. and Good Friday

Abstinence (not eating meat) which is required on Ash Wed. and all Fridays during Lent

Voluntary personal Lenten Sacrifice practice to help you grow closer to God in which a person may decide to give up something or to take on something. This is something you choose on your own - voluntarily. You decide if you want to do this and how you want to do it. It is a good practice, but not a requirement.

Your question is about a voluntary practice - giving up bread, which is not a question about our Lenten Fast. (The Lenten Fast is required on Ash Wed. and Good Friday. Even on the required fast, the sick and elderly are not required if it causes a health problem.)

You picked to give up bread as a sacrifice during Lent, but you are not required to be “held” to this sacrifice. You get to decide to eat bread or not. (Hope you are feeling better soon.)

Peace.
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👍
 
RedSparklyShoes said:
I gave up bread for Lent. So far so good.

BUT. I am SICK. Nothing appeals to be but plain toast. Does being sick exempt me from the food I chose to give up for Lent? I can probably convince myself to eat some plain rice, but I just want something super simple and right now that’s toast.
Click to expand...
USCCB has published:

****Q. So does that mean that when we give something up for Lent, such as candy, we can have it on Sundays?
A. Apart from the prescribed days of fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and the days of abstinence every Friday of Lent, Catholics have traditionally chosen additional penitential practices for the whole Time of Lent. These practices are disciplinary in nature and often more effective if they are continuous, i.e., kept on Sundays as well. That being said, such practices are not regulated by the Church, but by individual conscience.
****Q. ** I understand that all the Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat, but I’m not sure what is classified as meat. Does meat include chicken and dairy products? **
A. Abstinence laws consider that meat comes only from animals such as chickens, cows, sheep or pigs — all of which live on land. Birds are also considered meat. Abstinence does not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat. Thus, such foods as chicken broth, consomme, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are technically not forbidden. However, moral theologians have traditionally taught that we should abstain from all animal-derived products (except foods such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste). Fish are a different category of animal. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted.
usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm
 
I think the regulations of the Church for Lent are minimal, but I have never been able to follow the fasting guideline.

I don’t know what possesses people to give up, or to suggest to children that THEY give up stuff like chocolate – for lent.

The “mortification” that is really required or advised by the Church is a spiritual one, isn’t it? to concentrate on some sin that we really need to overcome, not just temporarily,but for good?

As a Catholic I hate to hear seemingly superficial Catholics brag at work that they are giving up chocolate for lent. Who cares? What scandal does that superficiality create in those non-catholics who mock Catholics for it?

Isn’t there a verse in Isaiah about “true fasting”? And what is it? something about giving alms to the poor and feeding the hungry, etc.?

I’m not mocking anybody’s spirituality, about fasting. This thread convinces me of the struggle we all go through to overcome ourselves, in any way, and try to grow closer to the Lord.

Even the Jews, in the OT, gave up leavened bread, replaced by unleavened bread, for a week or 8 days, at best. During the holy month, in Islam, people “fast” during daylight hours, but replenish themselves after sunset.

Isn’t there something in the NT about avoiding the “leaven” of the Pharisees, which was a type of prideful sin, in itself?

No doubt, that if we can control our urgings for food itself, we are well disciplining ourselves for purifying ourselves of some strong attachments to sin. God bless.
 
sirach2v4 said:
I think the regulations of the Church for Lent are minimal, but I have never been able to follow the fasting guideline.

I don’t know what possesses people to give up, or to suggest to children that THEY give up stuff like chocolate – for lent.

The “mortification” that is really required or advised by the Church is a spiritual one, isn’t it? to concentrate on some sin that we really need to overcome, not just temporarily,but for good?

As a Catholic I hate to hear seemingly superficial Catholics brag at work that they are giving up chocolate for lent. Who cares? What scandal does that superficiality create in those non-catholics who mock Catholics for it?

Isn’t there a verse in Isaiah about “true fasting”? And what is it? something about giving alms to the poor and feeding the hungry, etc.?

I’m not mocking anybody’s spirituality, about fasting. This thread convinces me of the struggle we all go through to overcome ourselves, in any way, and try to grow closer to the Lord.

Even the Jews, in the OT, gave up leavened bread, replaced by unleavened bread, for a week or 8 days, at best. During the holy month, in Islam, people “fast” during daylight hours, but replenish themselves after sunset.

Isn’t there something in the NT about avoiding the “leaven” of the Pharisees, which was a type of prideful sin, in itself?

No doubt, that if we can control our urgings for food itself, we are well disciplining ourselves for purifying ourselves of some strong attachments to sin. God bless.
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I have had Lents where I have given up sweets, and it made Easter all the more special: Jesus is risen!!! AND I can have sweets again.

This can be seen both ways:
  • it may take the focus away from the real thing (that is, looking forward to the Easterr CHOCOALTE instead of the Easter MIRACLE
  • or it may make the whole waiting-for-Easter deeper because body and mind/soul are so close together, and it just STRESSES the happiness of Easter.
I felt more that the second one was true, for me.

This Lent I am doing something else, after some discerning. I am in a very fragile state right now and had to take this into considerationw hen choosing what to do for Lent.

I also didn’t make the mistake anymore to ask people on the interent whether I “had to” give up this or that. For a person struggling with scrupulosity that is NOT a good idea.
 
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