Fasting...

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A good weapon against gluttony, which one of the seven deadly sins.

Useful in mortifying yourself and offering it up for some cause.

Helps to appreciate in the long run the food you do have when you can eat.

When you do finally break the fast and do eat until you are satisfied, the effects of the fast are no longer felt. Is any past fast currently affecting you bodily? Of course not. Is any past fast currently affecting you spiritually? Not now, but in the future when you enter into Eternity it will. It will positively affect you. And what is a little temporary bodily discomfort in exchange for a little extra eternal joy?

Note that all those days you did fast in the past. . .if you would have chosen not to fast, would you currently be any worse or better off body-wise? Exactly, because the body is a zero-sum element.
 
I view fasting as a useful tool to help us practice detachment.

If I fast, I only eat one meal. No small snacks that are not “full meals”. Yet, I am not up to only bread and water yet.

I generally, during any day follow One big meal, and only a small bit the other times to stave off major hunger. Obstain from Meat on Wednesday and Friday.

Until, I can bring myself to get engaged in the world fully via service, I do this for now until I gain the virtue of fortitude.

– Cadian :knight1:
 
Cadian: Is there a reason why you do it on Wednesday?

And do any of you say a special prayer that day while fasting?

Still have no clue why gluttony is a sin too… after all … my thinking is that …it is just food.

~Jury
 
I think it’s just the over indulgence of ‘self satisfying’ that makes it the mortal sin, as with any other of the 7. One cannot be tuned in to ‘self alone’ and get along well in life. But of course many try…
 
I think fasting is a bit like Nike: you gotta “Just do It!”

(I hate Nike, by the way, but they have a good catch-phrase).
 
Juris said:
Cadian: Is there a reason why you do it on Wednesday?
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Wednesday, Friday fasting/abstinence tradition is from an anciet Jewish tradition, that was adopted by the first Christians. During Lent we do fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstinence every Friday. Although Friday is nolonger an abstinence day outside of Lent, it is still a day of penence. If you don’t observe abstinence/fasting on Fridays you must do something else as a penitent act ( a small service to the poor, some volunteer work etc. if you can ).

I just am trying to be a little more strict with myself throughout the year to help practice detachment so I abserve both Wednesday and Friday fasting/abstinence. And I am being kinda strict with myself because although I am a cradle Catholic, I had a LONG break in the faith. So its like training real hard to get back in shape. 😉

– Cadian :knight1:
 
judechild said:
I think fasting is a bit like Nike: you gotta “Just do It!”

(I hate Nike, by the way, but they have a good catch-phrase).
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Fr. John Corapi says “Just do It!” when he speaks about the Rosary. 😃

– Cadian :knight1:
 
Fasting need not always be from food. Sometimes it can be “fasting” from some words I might utter in impatience or something else the Lord would have me fast from.

Sometimes fasting from food is highly impractical and damaging as it causes uncharitableness or even spiritual pride.
 
Epistemes said:
Fasting need not always be from food. Sometimes it can be “fasting” from some words I might utter in impatience or something else the Lord would have me fast from.
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Ok to be more correct then fasting is a form of Mortification in the catagory of self denial. And your example is an example of this type of Morification that is offered in prayer. 😉
Epistemes said:
Sometimes fasting from food is highly impractical and damaging as it causes uncharitableness or even spiritual pride.
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This is a little too general as a statement. Fasting is not “highly impractical” it CAN be in certain circumstances but, not as a general rule.

Any Mortification can become a source of spiritual pride if done to “boast” of ones “piety” etc. 😉

– Cadian :knight1:
 
The Sisters of the Resurrection abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. They told me the Friday abstainance was for Jesus and Wednesday was for Mary.
 
Cadian said:
Fasting is not “highly impractical” it CAN be in certain circumstances but, not as a general rule.
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Right, hence the adverb “sometimes.”
Any Mortification can become a source of spiritual pride if done to “boast” of ones “piety” etc. 😉
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Not “if done to,” which implies a conscious end result, but can lead to even involuntarily. If any mortification leads to spiritual pride, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, intentionally and unintentionally, it is best to give it up.
 
Epistemes said:
Right, hence the adverb “sometimes.”
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Oops sorry. :o
Epistemes said:
Not “if done to,” which implies a conscious end result, but can lead to even involuntarily. If any mortification leads to spiritual pride, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, intentionally and unintentionally, it is best to give it up.
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Confused. Are you implying that one should not practice any form of mortification? The voluntarily or involuntarily, intentionally or unintentionally language is kinda wide open. It could make one who is scrupulous ( one of my crosses ) think that one should never practice any mortifications like voluntarily obstaining etc. And one must only do so upon direction of a Spritual Advisor and/or the Church. :confused:

– Cadian :knight1:
 
Cadian said:
Are you implying that one should not practice any form of mortification?
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No.
The voluntarily or involuntarily, intentionally or unintentionally language is kinda wide open. It could make one who is scrupulous ( one of my crosses ) think that one should never practice any mortifications like voluntarily obstaining etc. And one must only do so upon direction of a Spritual Advisor and/or the Church.
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That’s because it is wide open, but this doesn’t mean we should try to mortify our passions. We merely have to recognize our limits.

Abba Antony once said, ‘Some have afflicted their bodies by asceticism, but they lack discernment, and so they are far from God.’

A hunter in the desert saw Abba Antony enjoying himself with the brethren and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brethren, the old man said to him, ‘Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.’ So he did. The old man then said, ‘Shoot another,’ and he did so. Then the old man said, 'Shoot yet again and the hunter replied ‘If I bend my bow so much I will break it.’ Then the old man said to him, ‘It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brethren beyond measure they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs.’ When he heard these words “the hunter was pierced by compunction and, greatly edified by the old man, he went away. As for the brethren, they went home strengthened.
 
since you ask I think the best fast is when you abstain from that which causes you the most problems, presents the most temptation, most often becomes an occasion for sin, – which is very often the very thing you “just can’t live without.”
 
I fast on Fridays. Only drink liquids. No solids. It helps me to have better control over my will. And I use it along with prayer and almsgiving (giving to the poor).
 
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