MERGED: Ash Wednesday/Lent Fasting Questions

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nodito said:
In addition to going meatless, you could fast from:

TV
Soda
Sweets
Driving
Internet (CAF!)
Magazines
Music
Coffee
Sleeping in (or just wake up extra early)
Smoking
Facebook

… 🙂 I have no trouble thinking of things to sacrifice, but a world of trouble keeping them!
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:o Me to.
 
fencersmother said:
DarkLight, I have been in your shoes several times. Instead of “giving up” something for lent, I tried then (as now) to greatly increase my daily prayers.

Saying the rosary every day? Say another decade.
Pray for the poor, the lonely , the unborn.

Prayer time spent praying for someone else is most excellent. Especially pray for those, perhaps, to whom one has been uncharitable, or those for whom we have a lingering antipathy.
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Good Advice.
👍
 
Kathrin said:
Are there other people here who are afraid every time a fast day approaches? Afraid they might not make it, afraid it might affect their health… maybe with borderline health problems who are not so straight forward that they would have consulted a doctor… and who at the same time don’t want to focus too much on this fear and lsoe the spirituality of that day because of it?

Anyway I am such a person… and since I have had some health problems I did consult a priest about it who could help me with a specific problem, but still it might be nice to have some support from other people who have similar problems… or do you think that will just again put too much focus on it? And better not write about it and focus on the spiritual and do the fasting on our own, if we can, health-wise?

Anyway I am writing from Europe so it’s soon bed-time for me, but maybe I’ll send this off after all… maybe it will just help somebody else and/or me to know we are not alone?
(which we never are anyway, since Jesus knows all the suffering)

I am much more at ease than other years though I think :)))

Kathrin
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Canon 919 excuses the elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them from the Eucharistic fast, particularly if it would cause them increased problems with health.

As far as “fast days” are concerned, it’s my understanding that the fast requirements (1 regular meal…without meat, of course…and two smaller snacks) can be modified for people who would have health issues (again, like the elderly, the infirm, but also those who are required to engage in very physically demanding jobs where the lack of energy could actually be hazardous for them). I can’t point to canon law to back me up there (so that much you should take as an opinion). But it would be worthwhile to speak with your pastor about it. He might be able to offer some suggestions or might be willing to at least partially dispense you from the requirement.
 
I already did ask a priest about the specific issue…
As right now I am feeling ok I think I will try the fast as good as I can… I do know that it is not the purpose of fasting to endanger one’s health. 🙂

One of my other issues is also that I have a very big problem with going to sleep when I am hungry. This in part is just out of habit (eating something before going to sleep), but also still liked to a fear that came from when I used to have really bad problems with low heart rate, and often I also have low blood pressure, so I am also a bit afraid to go to sleep all hungry. So usually I take my one meal really late, so over the day I only one or two times eat something really small on fast day (a piece of fruit, some bread,…) I do take coffee because it makes sense medically, for blood pressure and to prevent headahces (just gotten over a very bad migraine attack or something similar to that now anyway).

I do think though that after midnight I would be allowed to eat normally again anyway… however, I somehow still feel that would be like “cheating”, however maybe it would not be cheating as I also (since I often go to bed late) am careful that I don’t eat after mdinight the evening before the Fast Day.
 
I am of an age where I am not required to fast, but I am going to anyway.
However, I am diabetic, diet controlled.

I would like to ask any of you who fall into my category what is a good way to fast.

I was thinking of maybe an egg sandwich for breakfast, something small, like a small amount of fruit for lunch, a reasonable snack for afternoon and a regular meatless meal for dinner.

Does this sound like too much. I have kinda always been confused with what really constitutes fasting.

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated.
 
lakotak said:
I am of an age where I am not required to fast, but I am going to anyway.
However, I am diabetic, diet controlled.

I would like to ask any of you who fall into my category what is a good way to fast.

I was thinking of maybe an egg sandwich for breakfast, something small, like a small amount of fruit for lunch, a reasonable snack for afternoon and a regular meatless meal for dinner.

Does this sound like too much. I have kinda always been confused with what really constitutes fasting.

Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated.
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That sound about what I’ll be doing, except I leave out the afternoon snack. It’s fasting with the two very small meals for breakfast & lunch & then the meal for supper. Enough to keep the blood sugar in check without risking a problem.
 
Since you are not obligated to fast because of (a) your age and (b) your diabetes, it is really up to you. It definitely sounds like fasting to me, though.
 
shouldn’t we have stricter fasting requirements? there are only 2 official days of fasting, the rest is up to us i guess whether we want to do it or not

how come we don’t have something like muslims do during ramadan?
 
Many years ago, pre-Vatican II there were stricter rules about fasting during Lent. Unfortunately, these were largely ignored by otherwise observant Catholics; especially, in the United States.
One of the great reforms by V II was not to have rules that made otherwise good Catholics into sinners. These rules, over the years, led many otherwise good people to leave the True Church, and led many non-Catholics to not consider becoming Catholics.
Not everyone is capable of saintliness.
 
angell1 said:
shouldn’t we have stricter fasting requirements? there are only 2 official days of fasting, the rest is up to us i guess whether we want to do it or not

how come we don’t have something like muslims do during ramadan?
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You want to go hardcore? Go for it! Just be sure that you don’t become a “whited sepulchre.”

I know a lot of folks who go above and beyond, but they don’t shout it from the rooftops.

Also, by giving a “bare minimum” standard, that leaves room for personal, individual growth in holiness. Just because it isn’t mandated, doesn’t mean folks don’t do it.
 
Forget the muslims.

I used to fast on every Friday but they disappeared and now I must start again but I am very weak.

I used to fast until 3pm when I would say the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then have something like soup which would taste beautiful after a day of fasting.

I would of course abstain from goodies for the rest of the day.

I think it is great that you want to fast more, just try and do your best on Fridays the day Jesus died and each weak try to extend it slightly.

🙂
 
i know what the US requires as “fasting” but what do other country’s Bishops consider as fasting?
 
I haven’t been able to find a codified list by country. However, if you Google “[country name] Catholic fasting lent” or “[country name] bishops conference fasting lent” you can find the relevant info.
 
So, this morning, and this will have to get me through until quite late today, I had a glass of water with a diluted iron and vitamin C tablet in it; a cup of coffee with some rice milk (will also keep me going plus help to keep blood pressure up, plus ok it’s a habit 😉 (as for milk, I have heard different things about whether or not it is ok, and I am not sure if it depends on the region where you are, to be safe I bought a small container of rice milk yetserday ;), and for solid food a kiwi for more vitamin C and just a bite of bread because it all seemed a bit acidic to me (and I had to take a medicine too).
I am sure this is only a smaller meal and I hope I will make it on it until late.

Now, this question I asked at “Ask an Apologist” and somebody else too, but I am not sure will I get an answer. I remember asking a priest about it before but I am unsure again:
Does the Holy Communion count as one of the small meals, does anybody here know the answer here for sure?

Kathrin
 
Kathrin said:
So, this morning, and this will have to get me through until quite late today, I had a glass of water with a diluted iron and vitamin C tablet in it; a cup of coffee with rice milk, and for solid food a kiwi for more vitamin C and just a bite of bread because it all seemed a bit acidic to me (and I had to take a medicine too).
I am sure this is only a smaller meal and I hope I will make it on it until late.

Now, this question I asked at “Ask an Apologist” and somebody else too, but I am not sure will I get an answer. I remember asking a priest about it before but I am unsure again:
Does the Holy Communion count as one of the small meals, does anybody here know the answer here for sure?

Kathrin
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For certain it does not.
 
markomalley said:
For certain it does not.
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Ok, now I have to ask this anyway… so at Ash Wednesday mass today, ebcause I was really hungry, I felt like my body was taking some tiny nourishment out of the Host (I wasn’t thinking at the time that this was a problem, so I let my body do that readily); could that be, and if yes, does it still not count as a small meal?
 
My arms feel extremely weak. If you have ever been drunk, it’s that feeling of heaviness in your arms before you are wasted type feeling. I have eaten breakfast (protein shake) and lunch (half a baked potato)
I don’t know if this weakness has to do with my fasting. I was fine last year, but I wasn’t on psych meds, either. I’m not sure what to do.
 
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