The Lenten Fast

[Brooklyn]

It use to be mandatory practice in the Church to fast all 40 days of Lent, excluding Sundays of course. This fast is no longer required by the Church, but I’m curious if anyone has decided to observe it. The fast means one full meal each day with two smaller snacks not equaling a full meal.

I’ve done it the last couple of years, and I will admit that I don’t look forward to it. I am going to do it again this year, but I’d like to know that I’m not alone. Anyone else out there?

 

[corsair]

The wife and I have followed the old Fast & Abstinence rules for the last 3 years. We have come to really feel more involved with Lent by doing this. That and doing the Triduum in the EF Mass brings us much joy come Easter morning.

 

[OraLabora]

It is still the practice at the Benedictine abbey I am associated with. The fast is broken only on Sundays and solemnities.

They use the OF Mass and a post-Vatican II monastic Divine Office.

 

[hamandcheese]

I’ve done it for the past few years and it can be tough not letting that one meal a day turn into an eight course dinner complete with a soup, fish and cheese course with a sorbet intermezzo. Be careful of that.

 

[Warandpeace]

I could try it…my job is very physically demanding though, so I am not sure. What do you consider a “snack?”

 

[texasag7599]

I do it every year. The first week or so is hard. Really hard.

After that, your body adjusts. If you have a thin build like me, watch your weight. It almost got away from me the first year I did it. I was losing weight so rapidly I was going to scrap the whole thing. I got back up to normal weight in a week after Easter.

For me, I have to eat more than I normally do at my one meal to make up for it. It’s a challenge.

 

[RuthTherese]

I’ve seriously thought about it and I’m not quite sure if I will or not. I am a college student with a consequently insane schedule, so I do routinely skip meals and, if you go by the church’s definition of fasting, I already fast on an almost-daily basis, though not by choice. I suppose I could just start offering up that sacrifice because it would be good for me, but I’m not sure if I want to encourage myself to skip meals when I already experience ill effects from my sporadic schedule…

 

[MorEphrem]

I follow the Syriac prescriptions of fasting until the 6th hour (i.e. noon) completely and then not eating anything that comes from animals (save mollusks and other “dregs of the catch”).

 

[steymard]

I’ve done it for the past few years and it can be tough not letting that one meal a day turn into an eight course dinner complete with a soup, fish and cheese course with a sorbet intermezzo. Be careful of that.

 

[Jennifoo]

I tried this type of fast a few years ago, but it didn’t work out. My stomach started to burn really badly. One priest- a very good, traditional one- warned me that this type of fasting can be dangerous to one’s health. When my stomach started to burn I spoke with the Abbot at a local Benedictine Abbey and he advised me to stop the fast and choose another penance. Another priest from that same abbey once mentioned that the traditional fast can cause permanent stomach problems. I did end up choosing another penance and haven’t attempted that traditional fast since. Instead, I eat less at every meal, avoid alcohol and desserts, and lean toward healthier foods. Also, don’t overlook the importance of avoiding gossip, detraction, complaining and laziness. I know some daily Communicants who fast and pray a lot, but will gossip all the time about anyone. Terrible.

I find it very significant that Saint Francis of Assisi fasted so severely that his internal organs were disintegrating. I honestly don’t think that the Lord desires that for us.

Hope this helps. May God richly reward your Lenten journey.

 

[Brooklyn]

I tried this type of fast a few years ago, but it didn’t work out. My stomach started to burn really badly. One priest- a very good, traditional one- warned me that this type of fasting can be dangerous to one’s health. When my stomach started to burn I spoke with the Abbot at a local Benedictine Abbey and he advised me to stop the fast and choose another penance. Another priest from that same abbey once mentioned that the traditional fast can cause permanent stomach problems. I did end up choosing another penance and haven’t attempted that traditional fast since. Instead, I eat less at every meal, avoid alcohol and desserts, and lean toward healthier foods. Also, don’t overlook the importance of avoiding gossip, detraction, complaining and laziness. I know some daily Communicants who fast and pray a lot, but will gossip all the time about anyone. Terrible.

I find it very significant that Saint Francis of Assisi fasted so severely that his internal organs were disintegrating. I honestly don’t think that the Lord desires that for us.

Hope this helps. May God richly reward your Lenten journey.

You bring up some very good points. With the material abundance of our western society, there are so many things we can “fast” from: TV, Internet, listening to music, spending money on things we don’t really need, or just eating a lot less and skipping our favorite foods. As far as gossiping, etc., that should be something we try to avoid at all times, not just something to give up for Lent.

I’ve wondered why the Church has so relaxed their rules on fasting, but maybe it’s because giving up food has become one of the least ways to mortify ourselves.

Just a thought.

 

[Jennifoo]

You bring up some very good points. With the material abundance of our western society, there are so many things we can “fast” from: TV, Internet, listening to music, spending money on things we don’t really need, or just eating a lot less and skipping our favorite foods. As far as gossiping, etc., that should be something we try to avoid at all times, not just something to give up for Lent.

I’ve wondered why the Church has so relaxed their rules on fasting, but maybe it’s because giving up food has become one of the least ways to mortify ourselves.

Just a thought.

Yes I realize gossip is not to be given up only in Lent, but to point out that a lot of Catholics see no problem with it, so it’s wise for them to start somewhere. Often if someone has a bad habit or sin, giving it up during Lent helps them to give it up permanently. Sad to say, but I never hear homilies about this, yet the Bible equates it with murder. Very few devout Catholics will ever commit physical murder, but will murder others with gossip. Many think that as long as something is true, it’s okay to spread it, but that’s wrong- that’s the sin of detraction. Father Hardon wrote a very sobering article about it. I can’t recall the website but you could google it.

May God richly reward you Lenten journey.

 

[MorEphrem]

As far as gossiping, etc., that should be something we try to avoid at all times, not just something to give up for Lent.

I’ve wondered why the Church has so relaxed their rules on fasting, but maybe it’s because giving up food has become one of the least ways to mortify ourselves.

Just a thought.

Food is not solely fasted from in a sense of spiritual athleticism to see how much one can mortify oneself. It is a sacrifice to God as well as an act of disciplining; to eliminate the external distraction of food and increase our amount of prayer. While we should always try to avoid vice, it is a simple fact of life that we fail - with Lent, we should more diligently than ever assess our failures and be able to combat our failures more successfully with our increase of pray so that we can start off on a good footing to eliminate it for the rest of the year.

In St. Isaac of Nineveh’s rules for monastic life, he writes that one cannot simply fast from food alone as a sacrifice to God. He says that there are other beings [incorporeal] that do not eat but also do not pray *. Accompanying an increase of fasting there should be an increase of prayer. As such, fasting should not be seen as a separate component of devotion but a complimentary element - hence why Latins still have even the [greatly reduced] fast before the Eucharist.

As for why the Latin Church has eased its fasting rules, this is a modernization. I’ve heard it being done for the perceived practical and demanding limitations of jobs and schoolwork. I assume its thought of being non-pastoral if the Church were to require something of the individual that would greatly try their physical and mental strength. The current widespread Latin practice of giving up only one thing comes from the practice that children used to be encouraged to do in the pre-concilar Church to prepare themselves for the fast.

I hope this post is edifying.*

 

[Brooklyn]

Food is not solely fasted from in a sense of spiritual athleticism to see how much one can mortify oneself. It is a sacrifice to God as well as an act of disciplining; to eliminate the external distraction of food and increase our amount of prayer. While we should always try to avoid vice, it is a simple fact of life that we fail - with Lent, we should more diligently than ever assess our failures and be able to combat our failures more successfully with our increase of pray so that we can start off on a good footing to eliminate it for the rest of the year.

In St. Isaac of Nineveh’s rules for monastic life, he writes that one cannot simply fast from food alone as a sacrifice to God. He says that there are other beings [incorporeal] that do not eat but also do not pray *. Accompanying an increase of fasting there should be an increase of prayer. As such, fasting should not be seen as a separate component of devotion but a complimentary element - hence why Latins still have even the [greatly reduced] fast before the Eucharist.

As for why the Latin Church has eased its fasting rules, this is a modernization. I’ve heard it being done for the perceived practical and demanding limitations of jobs and schoolwork. I assume its thought of being non-pastoral if the Church were to require something of the individual that would greatly try their physical and mental strength. The current widespread Latin practice of giving up only one thing comes from the practice that children used to be encouraged to do in the pre-concilar Church to prepare themselves for the fast.

I hope this post is edifying.*

I would be very careful in making such judgments of the Church’s teachings. It is easy to say that relaxation of fasting rules is a “modernization”. I’ve been guilty of doing this myself. But Holy Mother Church is guided by the Holy Spirit, and she has changed her rules all throughout her 2000 year history. At one time, Catholics were not allowed to receive daily communion. In the early Church, public penance was required for mortal sins and even then, Catholics were not allowed to receive communion. Rules change as society changes. It is important to remember that rules are not dogma, and that they represent the minimum of what is required for us, such as confession once a year, or a one hour fast before Communion. Rules can often be a starting point, and from there we can grow spiritually.

Please be careful about making judgments of the Church.

 

[ajecphotos]

It is very hard to do. I started on saturday gone myself and i am finding it extremely difficult but i am determined to carry it through for the love of God.

 

[MorEphrem]

Please be careful about making judgments of the Church.

One can readily disagree with the prudence of a decision, even as a priest. Plus it is a judgment exclusively restricted to the Latin Church - if it was some kind of dogmatic truth to eliminate fasting, it would’ve been binding to the entire Church.

 

[MorEphrem]

Perhaps you also used “Catholics” several times in your last post when you really meant “Latins.” This is indicative of the fact that the prescriptions are not universal and one can disagree with the prudence of the decision simply because other Churches that are equally “Catholic” have contradicting pastoral prescriptions. I’m not passing any “judgment.”

 

[Brooklyn]

Perhaps you also used “Catholics” several times in your last post when you really meant “Latins.” This is indicative of the fact that the prescriptions are not universal and one can disagree with the prudence of the decision simply because other Churches that are equally “Catholic” have contradicting pastoral prescriptions. I’m not passing any “judgment.”

Thank you for the correction. This is indicative that “rules” are not equivalent to “dogma” and they can be changed by the Church at any time.

I’ve given this more thought, and it occurs to me that in the Western culture, we live very soft lives and are not use to any real physical hardships at all. We go into panic mode if we don’t have the internet.

So to ask people who are not use to any kind of mortification to do a 40 day fast is just asking too much. They won’t be able to do it. The Church, in her wisdom and led by the Holy Spirit, realizes this and made the rules much more accessible to the average person. Hopefully they will grow and take on more spiritually as they grow.

You can’t expect a baby to run a marathon.

But I disagree with you that we have the right to question the rules the Church makes. We either obey or disobey, and we will have to pay the consequences of our actions.

 

[MorEphrem]

I’ve given this more thought, and it occurs to me that in the Western culture, we live very soft lives and are not use to any real physical hardships at all.
…
You can’t expect a baby to run a marathon.

That is an absurd justification, I hope you realize. Orthodox and Eastern Catholic children grow up in the same society as Latins and yet can adhere to a much stricter fast. One doesn’t just jump into fasting, but they have to be eased into it. If you start fasting over a period of 10 years and you’re generally in good health it should be no challenge other than subjecting one’s own volition.

As for the baby in a marathon analogy, that’s a false analogy. It is completely possible with devotion and patience to enter into a full fast. It is not physically impossible for someone from the West to fast properly, but it is impossible for a baby to run a marathon because it’s simply an absurd expectation. I know plenty anecdotal situations in which converts or Catholics who become genuinely interested in the East are able to enter into fasting.

To divorce fasting from one’s prayer life creates a serious deficiency. And what most Latins do is because they’re not obliged to fast they take it they don’t need to fast, as though our prayer lives can only be as deep as a Church requires.

But I disagree with you that we have the right to question the rules the Church makes. We either obey or disobey, and we will have to pay the consequences of our actions.

That is just patently untrue. Ask any well-versed priest and they’ll tell you you can disagree with the prudence of decisions. I said nothing about being disobedient, and external obedience has nothing to do with agreement.

 

[brycehecht]

Yes, I will observe the full 40 day lenten fast. I find the fast to reap overwhelming amounts of spiritual benefits. I have a very small breakfast (glass of water, piece of fruit), a normal lunch (simple sandwich, small bag of chips, water bottle), and for dinner I eat a regular meal, though much smaller portions. I completely abstain from pop, fast food, and snacks in between meals.