Question about fasting

[Lucy_1]

I struggle with gluttony, and I don’t want food to be an idol in my life. I was thinking about doing the fast that the Carmelites do from Sept 14 to Easter, excluding Sunday and feast days. It would be 2 snacks and dinner.

Do you think I can do it? I don’t want to make a commitment and then fail God. This is a sin that’s pretty entrenched in my life, and I’m not Catholic yet (RCIA), so I wouldn’t have the Blessed Sacrament to help me. I would like to please God and grow in holiness, but I’m unsure. Thank you for your prayers and advice

 

[JM3]

Talk to your priest about getting a spiritual advisor. Learn how to walk before you try to run.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Talk to your priest about getting a spiritual advisor. Learn how to walk before you try to run.

I second this. Doing something for the sake of doing it without understanding will do more harm than good. If you are not under guidance and spiritual direction, the whole point of your fasting could be moot. You may end up going through the actions without reaping the spiritual benefits. Go find spiritual direction first.

 

[Anathama_Sit]

Greetings SherylPatton,

JM3 and ConstantineTG are right on the money so to speak. I counsel you with the strongest emphasis on counsel that you seek spiritual direction before commiting to a fast of this nature.

I would seek the counsel of your parish priest. Follow his recommendations as to whom to go to spiritual direction. Follow the recommendations of whomever you have as a spiritual director. My only counsel in seeking a spiritual director is that they follow ALL the teachings of the Catholic Church.

I perfer to have a priest as my spiritual director because you are in close proximity to the Sacrament of Confession and the priest is In Persona Christi, which no one but a priest or a Bishop can be. In Persona Christi is powerful. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit does not work through others, but a priest standing in the person of Christ is very helpful in spiritual direction.

I forget what saint said of Obedience, but that the Devil fears Holy Obedience more than austerity. I shall have to look that up. I am quoting this, because obedience to one’s spriritual director can be more penitential at times than fasting, I know this from personal experience. If I am going to be honest, sometimes I would perfer to fast and abstain than follow some of his counsels, yet this I do know. Never once have I regretted or come to any harm following his counsels and obeying him. My spiritual director is a priest, so I feel that it is Christ who is guiding me through my spiritual director.

God bless.
Anathama Sit

 

[puzzleannie]

I struggle with gluttony, and I don’t want food to be an idol in my life. I was thinking about doing the fast that the Carmelites do from Sept 14 to Easter, excluding Sunday and feast days. It would be 2 snacks and dinner.

Do you think I can do it? I don’t want to make a commitment and then fail God. This is a sin that’s pretty entrenched in my life, and I’m not Catholic yet (RCIA), so I wouldn’t have the Blessed Sacrament to help me. I would like to please God and grow in holiness, but I’m unsure. Thank you for your prayers and advice

we cannot answer that as we don’t know you
you do understand Catholics are not bound by these fasting rules
the persons to ask first are your doctor especially if you have health issues or are not an adult, and second the priest who is preparing you for reception into the Church (in this instance, not the RCIA director or lay catechist, since this is a pastoral question). Since most of the world eats this way it should not be severe for a healthy person as long as the food is natural and healthy, not “snacks” meaning the garbage the food industry produces in plastic packages labeled that way.

missing from the question is “why am I fasting?” Fasting divorced from prayer and works of mercy is vapid and useless. The Carmelites who fast this way do so in the context of the support of their communal manner of life including almost constant prayer, their vows, and of the nourishment of the Eucharist. It is unwise to embark on something so strict without support.

 

[Lucy_1]

Thank you, I will talk to my priest.

 

[corsair]

Good advise given here. Its the same Fast that we do every Lent. It can be done. what you are talking about is considerably longer but you’ll never know unless you try. You may want to incorporate the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary with it.

However, small steps before the Marathon.

God Bless

 

[Mrs_Sally]

The comments about obideince before austerity are spot on. If gluttony is a problem, work toward normal portions or less rich foods first -ie an ordinary diet. Depending on what your priest says, you can go on to additional fasting or penance as he directs. However, through all this you should be praying and giving alms (the third leg of the stool). If you stop having seconds, you can calculate an average amount per meal and donate that. Or donate the foods you would have eaten to a food pantry.

Welcome home and God bless you in your journey into the Fullness of the Faith!

 

[fred_conty]

I’m no expert on the subject but I have two eyes and a lot of years.
It seems too me that some try to eat their way out of unhappiness.
And an important element to stop is to know the source.
Boredom with life, a job, a marriage, or something else.
Unhappiness in some other area.

It might be DNA.

It might be something as simple as a sweet tooth that won’t quit.

But one thing I know for sure, fasting might work for a while, but
it is not the answer for the longer term.

I know of one person who made it a rule to eat only good food.
THis was the rule before, during and after, between meals.
He lost a lot of weight at the end of one year and feels better than
he has ever felt. He did say that he did not try to cut back on food
but just eat wholesome food only. That is a penance in itself.

Good luck

 

[Giuseppe_Gavino]

I struggle with gluttony, and I don’t want food to be an idol in my life. I was thinking about doing the fast that the Carmelites do from Sept 14 to Easter, excluding Sunday and feast days. It would be 2 snacks and dinner.

Do you think I can do it? I don’t want to make a commitment and then fail God. This is a sin that’s pretty entrenched in my life, and I’m not Catholic yet (RCIA), so I wouldn’t have the Blessed Sacrament to help me. I would like to please God and grow in holiness, but I’m unsure. Thank you for your prayers and advice

With God anything is possible! I have a food problem too and I also tried taking on a huge fast once, let’s just say it did not turn out well and not because God let me down but because God was trying to get it through my thick skull that I do not have the power to change things. He had to show me that my ways are not His ways. God likes to do this because His ways require perseverance and perseverance requires a lot of trust and a lot of love from us. As the others have said talk to a priest and if you have a medical condition then also check with your doctor before you start a fast.

 

[Lucy_1]

It seems too me that some try to eat their way out of unhappiness.
And an important element to stop is to know the source.
Boredom with life, a job, a marriage, or something else.
UnhI know of one person who made it a rule to eat only good food.
THis was the rule before, during and after, between meals.
He lost a lot of weight at the end of one year and feels better than
he has ever felt. He did say that he did not try to cut back on food
but just eat wholesome food only. That is a penance in itself.

Good luck

Thank you. I’m not trying to fast in order to lose weight. I just want to mortify the sin, so I was going to practice the corresponding virtue of temperance.

 

[yinekka]

You have been given a lot of good advice here, particularly being told to check with your doctor if you should be undertaking a fast such as you described.

Fr Thomas Dubay in Deep Conversion Deep Prayer takes it for granted that the reader has removed mortal sin from his/her life and then goes on to say that a deeper prayer life is not possible unless we root out the deliberate venial sins in our lives and overeating is one of them. He advises only to eat those foods which are going to benefit our bodies - as someone here has recommended.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Thank you. I’m not trying to fast in order to lose weight. I just want to mortify the sin, so I was going to practice the corresponding virtue of temperance.

But temperance is not fasting. Fasting is a penance that goes beyond temperance into giving up a good (normal amount of food) for a greater good (increased spiritual awareness). Temperance or moderation is life is often the hardest virtue to achieve because we don’t see virtual in ordinariness.

Gluttony has many aspects, overeating is the most common. It includes being picky about what we are willing to eat, wanting only rich or fancy foods, and also making extraordinary rules about food. So, strange as it sounds to our modern ears, someone who fusses about only eating “health foods” (ie, Oh I never touch red meat/potatoes/fried foods etc.) to the extent that they cause a burden for others, are actually being gluttonous. Interesting thought.

 

[Lucy_1]

But temperance is not fasting. Fasting is a penance that goes beyond temperance into giving up a good (normal amount of food) for a greater good (increased spiritual awareness). Temperance or moderation is life is often the hardest virtue to achieve because we don’t see virtual in ordinariness.

Gluttony has many aspects, overeating is the most common. It includes being picky about what we are willing to eat, wanting only rich or fancy foods, and also making extraordinary rules about food. So, strange as it sounds to our modern ears, someone who fusses about only eating “health foods” (ie, Oh I never touch red meat/potatoes/fried foods etc.) to the extent that they cause a burden for others, are actually being gluttonous. Interesting thought.

Thank you for the insight. Especially the clarification on temperance.

 

[Lucy_1]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I have prayed about it, and decided that I will cut out all junk food, except for holidays and birthdays. I’m also going to fast (breakfast: 1 pc. whole wheat toast, lunch: 1c tomato spinach soup, normal dinner) on Wednesdays and Fridays.

I really don’t get very hungry. I mostly eat out of habit, so I don’t think this way of eating is too restrictive. Are Catholics supposed to abstain from meat on Fridays throughout the year or just during Lent? I’ve heard contradictions about this practice

 

[JM3]

vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19660217_paenitemini_en.html

Therefore, the following is declared and established:

I. 1. By divine law all the faithful are required to do penance.

1. The prescriptions of ecclesiastical law regarding penitence are totally reorganized according to the following norms:

II. 1. The time of Lent preserves its penitential character. The days of penitence to be observed under obligation throughout the Church are all Fridays and Ash Wednesday, that is to say the first days of “Grande Quaresima” (Great Lent), according to the diversity of the rites. Their substantial observance binds gravely.

1. Apart from the faculties referred to in VI and VIII regarding the manner of fulfilling the precept of penitence on such days, abstinence is to be observed on every Friday which does not fall on a day of obligation, while abstinence and fast is to be observed on Ash Wednesday or, according to the various practices of the rites, on the first day of “Grande Quaresima” (Great Lent) and on Good Friday.

III. 1. The law of abstinence forbids the use of meat, but not of eggs, the products of milk or condiments made of animal fat.

1. The law of fasting allows only one full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and evening, observing—as far as quantity and quality are concerned—approved local custom.

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM

Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

 

[Anathama_Sit]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I have prayed about it, and decided that I will cut out all junk food, except for holidays and birthdays. I’m also going to fast (breakfast: 1 pc. whole wheat toast, lunch: 1c tomato spinach soup, normal dinner) on Wednesdays and Fridays.

I really don’t get very hungry. I mostly eat out of habit, so I don’t think this way of eating is too restrictive. Are Catholics supposed to abstain from meat on Fridays throughout the year or just during Lent? I’ve heard contradictions about this practice

Greetings SherylPatton,

Sorry to ressurect an old topic, but I am very heartened to see your plan. That sounds very good.

There is a principle the Desert Fathers are big on. Extremes meet. That is a good place to be. To eat to much is just as harmful as eating too little.

God bless.
Anathama Sit

 

[MissRose73]

I would start slow as going right to strict fasting is like jumping into a deep pool without knowing how to swim decently. I would recommend talking to your parish priest for spiritual guidance and also your doctor to ensure that fasting for a day will not harm your health.

Its best to start slow by perhaps cutting back on foods that are more pleasurable for you like junk foods, fried foods, soft drinks, candy etc to eat and portion sizes smaller as a sacrifice.

For health reasons, I do not do a full fast. I will reduce my portion sizes instead. During Lent, I will eat several small meals in lieu of not eating all day as to not harm my health.

 

[Lucy_1]

Thank you JM3 and Anathama Sit

 

[Anathama_Sit]

Thank you JM3 and Anathama Sit

Greetings SherylPatton,

Happy to have been of assistance to you. If you need prayer during this time, I will be glad to offer it up for you.

God Bless You,
Anathama Sit