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He should ask Cindy “Mother Moonbat” Sheehan for her recipe for a “fast shake” that somehow doesn’t count.

I was sitting behind a Catholic priest in a meeting a few weeks ago. A gentleman came up and was asking about fasting for Lent. The man said that he was of the understanding that he could eat toast and drink juice in the evening and wanted to know if that was correct. The priest told him that actually, he could even eat a grilled cheese sandwich, as long as he prayed continuously while eating it.

Now, I realize I'm not well versed in Catholicism. Southern Baptist boy here. But, I just assumed fasting meant fasting . . . as in NO food. Am I wrong about that?

This reminds me of the old joke about the two Jesuit seminarians who wanted to smoke.

Timothy: I asked Faddah O'Flaherty whether it was OK to smoke while I was praying, and he said no, it's a sacrilege.

Kevin: Oh? He told me the opposite....but of course, you have to know how to ask.

Timothy: Oh?

Kevin: Yeah. I asked him if it was OK to pray while I was smoking.

To answer your question, though: the Catholic definition of fasting has gotten considerably slacker over the centuries. At this point, a religious "fast day" means a day in which only one full meal is eaten. There can be two smaller snacks, which togther are not supposed to add up to a meal. The other thing is abstinence, which means: no meat.

Fasting is a lot, LOT stricter amongst the Eastern Churches. We used to observe the traditional Russian Orthodox liturgical calendar, which had approx. 180 fast days per year, and whoa, it was rigorous.