Fasting and other penances

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I know you need a spiritual director to undertake penances that are big, but what’s an ok amount of fasting? Assuming you’re not old/young, not sick/pregnant, don’t have a physically demanding job or hobbies, how much can you fast? Obviously you want to be able to carry out your duties, and if, say, you get really grouchy if you get hungry you’d probably want to choose a different pennance-- no use in fasting if you’re going to be a jerk, lol. But excluding all that, could you, say, only eat one meal a day?

What are other kind of penances do you do? I remember that St Therese said she only did penances against her own self love, and they did her more good than corporal penance.

So that could be: not speaking up to defend yourself, choosing the longest line in the grocery, giving up to or social media

And then of course our pennance must be done for love of God, as it counts for nothing otherwise.

I’ve just been thinking about it a lot these days, and wanting to grow in love and holiness and was wondering what your thoughts are.
 
I find it helpful to fast in accordance with a prescribed program, such as the Church’s guidelines for fast days, a particular fast set down by a private devotion (e.g. “we’re all fasting on bread and juice for 24 hours”) or a fast I obtain from my doctor or nutritionist, rather than me having to decide how much fasting is enough. Ideally fasting is supposed to cause enough minor annoyance to be a penance without it seriously affecting your work, your health, etc. I think fasting is something people should work out with their doctors because different people have different needs and someone who is driving all day or doing heavy physical labor or has diabetes is going to have different needs than someone who is sitting at an office desk all day and taking a train home.
 
Another possible penance is prayer ( it’s best you receive a prayer from a priest but if you don’t want to ask one just increase your prayer regime and keep it daily; I am referring here to formulaic prayers from prayer books). Or reading from the Bible, daily, even if you don’t feel like it.
Or just deciding to try to do everything you are asked to do by others (family, bosses, friends) within your capacity, without complaining and trying to rejoice the fact that you just work for others.
But I advise you to still ask a priest about your desire to do more penances because Christian effort is paired by temptations that come when you struggle most, to test you, and if you’re not ready for it the extra penance can lead you to depression, anger against God etc. the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I think fasting is something people should work out with their doctors because different people have different needs and someone who is driving all day or doing heavy physical labor or has diabetes is going to have different needs than someone who is sitting at an office desk all day and taking a train home.
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In other words, fasting is not OK if you would be putting anyone’s health or safety in danger. It is intended for self-mastery and as a renunciation of inordinate desire, not for eroding self-control by denying the brain enough calories to run reliably. Fasting is a means to learn the difference between our needs and our desires–how can we know, without any experience of being in need? It is also a means by which we can identify with the poor, those who have needs they cannot meet for themselves by simply reaching out and obtaining what they need for themselves.

That is to say that various forms of penance are not interchangeable but rather complementary:
“Do you want your prayer to fly to God? Then make two wings for it: fasting and almsgiving.”
–St. Augustine
 
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There are a lot of things we can fast from other than food. Such as entertainment activities, the Internet, even complaining.

Fasting from something else other than food might be more practical in this day and age given the types of activities we typically do daily (such as driving a car rather than walking) and the fact that developed countries these days are not facing an issue of insufficient food, whereas one reason for fasting in earlier centuries was to make sure there was enough food to go around to everybody in the community because you couldn’t just truck food in from the next region over.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
There are a lot of things we can fast from other than food.

Fasting from something else other than food might be more practical in this day and age given the types of activities we typically do daily (such as driving a car rather than walking) and the fact that developed countries these days are not facing an issue of insufficient food, whereas one reason for fasting in earlier centuries was to make sure there was enough food to go around to everybody in the community because you couldn’t just truck food in from the next region over.
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You can fast from anything (other than grace, the life of God) in which there is a pronounced gap between our desires for ourselves and our need. Our need for grace and for God has no limit and our desire for God should only grow, so unless we mean fasting from a false view of God it would be nonsensical to try to fast from that!! Fasting is meant to detach us from grasping on to anything else.
 
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I’ve been trying to cut down on mindless snacking (ie I want a sweet taste in my mouth ATM, but I’m not hungry or “hangry”).

I’m also trying to train myself to only eat meals when I’m hungry, but at work I have to eat when I have the opportunity, rather than when my body dictates.
 
I agree about fasting from things other than food, especially without a spiritual advisor. This culture we live lends toward becoming a little obsessed with diet and it’s easy to get swept up in that and become more attached to food rather than less, without some serious help. Not saying it can’t be done just to proceed with caution if going outside the churches prescribed fasts. But if one
wants to fast and has a doctors go ahead then water and bread is usually the recommended one and the amount being as much as the person requires of both. I who have a good few illnesses, choose non food or just go without things I like and frequently chose extremely plain or dull/uninteresting food over nicer food as a fast. Like a plain tasteless piece of fish rather than fish with sauce or batter etc. I cant see this does me any harm and is acceptable when offered in the name of love. It also helps to detach one from the pleasures of the flesh.
 
Yeah, eating plain food or unprocessed food is a good penance (I like junk food) with the added benefit of being better for you.
 
Well for fasting I would undertake something that could also be beneficial to the body. And people may disagree but a real fast means giving up food for a certain period of time not just restricting food. You will probably feel more hungry and cranky if you just restrict food and eat 3 small meals than if you just skip a few meals for several hours but then eat a satisfying meal afterwards. Of course both can be penances so just choose whichever one you prefer. There are plenty of other mortifications you can undertake such as taking a cold shower, sleeping on the floor, just denying yourself small comforts here and there. And of course Interior mortifications like not complain about something
 
I was thinking of trying to eat spicy things, but it has the potential for corruption.
 
Constancy said:
I know you need a spiritual director to undertake penances that are big, but what’s an ok amount of fasting?..
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The older tradition is four penitential periods of fast and abstinence, as are still practiced in the eastern Catholic churches – before Nativity(Christmas), Before Pascha (Easter), before the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29) and before the Dormition (Assumption) of Our Lady.

Protein foods in particular (flesh meat, eggs, and milk foods), are abstained from in order to subdue the passions, but also to imitate Christ’s 40 days. See St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae II, II, Question 147. Fasting

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3147.htm
 
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