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Today is the last Friday of Advent. Advent in itself is a time of prayer, abstinence, and alms-giving. Do most people remember Advent as a holy season? Since Fridays have always been a day of mortification and prayer, it would be special to honour our Lord. Take the time to say a prayer, give to the needy, visit a shut-in, abstain from your favourite treat, or simply skip a meal. Its that simple and it is for a worthy cause.

Featured Term (selected at random):PAENITEMINI Apostolic constitution of Pope Paul VI, issued in 1966, by which the canonical norms of fast and abstinence were changed. While changing the norms, the Pope made it clear that divine law requires all the faithful to do penance. Accordingly the purpose of the new regulations was not to weaken the practice of penance but to make it more effective. The Church, therefore, "while preserving--where it can be more readily observed--the custom (observed for many centuries with canonical norms) of practicing penance also through abstinence from meat and fasting, intends to ratify with her prescriptions...

A dear FReeper FRiend reminded me that Glenn Beck is going to gather his family next Friday for a solemn day of fasting and praying for our nation. This post is a reminder for us ... for me ... to do the same.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) made an interesting appeal to conservative activists last week on a telephone town hall hosted by the conservative Susan B. Anthony List, the Minnesota Independent reports: To help stop the Democrats' health care bill, through the power of fasting and intercessionary prayer. Bachmann praised Sarah Palin for raising the alarm about "death panels" that would deny any health care to the elderly and mentally disabled. "Thank God that Sarah Palin said that," said Bachmann. "These are true." Bachmann also warned against the government forcing doctors to perform abortions, and urged callers to oppose it with all...

Weekends at 10 p.m. ET • Geraldo is live from Martha's Vineyard with the latest on Hurricane Bill and the president's upcoming stay!

There has been suprisingly little reportage of the actual details of would-be shopping mall terrorist, Mr. Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef's mindset and intentions. So as a public service, here the FBI agent's affidavit (pdf file) in easy to read format. Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef STATE OF ILLINOIS)) COUNTY OF COOK)AFFIDAVIT1. I, Jared Ruddy, Federal Bureau of Investigation, being duly sworn, state as follows: I am a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and have been so employed for more than two years. I am currently assigned to an FBI Counterterrorism squad as well as the...

Fasting reveals that Jesus requires us to combat and enables us to conquer the sinful desires and habits that continue to plague us. Fasting reveals that the Christian life is a life of charity. Many of the Church Fathers made this point by quoting Yahweh’s words in Isaiah 58: Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When...

"What did you give up for Lent?" I had grown up in Baptist and other conservative evangelical churches, so my friend's question held no meaning. I figured it was like a second chance at a New Year's Resolution for those who had already abandoned theirs.Even around here at the Christianity Today Inc. offices,where Christian History is based, it seems that Ash Wednesday passed with little notice. There were just as many donut trays by the coffee pots, and just as many hamburgers in the lunch room.That's surprising, especially since Lent is one of the oldest observations on the Christian calendar....

There are particular days of fast and abstinence in Lent when the whole Church participates in this Lenten practice as a community of believers. But individual Christians are invited to fast in ways that each determines from his/her own experience and circumstances. The following reflections might be helpful to all of us as we consider fasting in the season ahead of us.Here's what the Lord says of fasting through the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 58: Is this the manner of fasting I wish,of keeping a day of penance:That a man bow his head like a reed,and lie in sackcloth and ashes?Do...

The Best Kind of Fasting Fr. Miguel Marie Soeherman, MFVA 01/15/2007 — 2nd Monday, Ordinary Time (7am Mass — PCPA — Hanceville, AL)The question of fasting was at issue here. The people were very observant. They noticed how Our Lord’s disciples were not fasting while the Pharisees or John the Baptist’s disciples were. “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus asked. “As long as they have the Bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.”Our Lord’s response tells us about the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the OT, Yahweh was depicted...

 __________________________________________________ What's Fasting Got to Do with It? by Father Dwight Longenecker I posted a video on my blog the other day from YouTube. It was an interview with a Romanian hermit. This grizzled old warrior was asked the most important element in a successful prayer life. He looked away with watery eyes then looked at the interviewer and replied, "Purity of the body."He understood that what we do with our bodies affects our souls and minds and what we do with our souls and minds affects our bodies. Every spiritual tradition teaches the same truth: you must have mastery over your...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Pope Benedict exhorts Catholics to rediscover fasting this Lent Pope Benedict XVI Vatican City, Feb 3, 2009 / 11:49 am (CNA).- As Catholics around the world prepare to begin the Lenten season in just over three weeks, Pope Benedict XVI has published his Lenten Message for 2009. This year the Holy Father focuses his message on the meaning and value of fasting, emphasizing that it helps believers to prepare to do the will of God. The message, which the Pope penned on December 11, 2008, has as its title, a verse from the Gospel of St. Matthew: "He...

A 28-year-old Russian female, who visited Dubai on a tourist visa, and a 30-year-old male citizen of Lebanon, a salesman in a local store, were put on trial for drinking juice in a public place in the daytime during Muslim fasting. The police caught the two people red-handed at a gas station in Dubai, Emirat.ru reports with reference to Gulf News. In accordance with the Federal Penal Code of the United Arab Emirates, a public intake of food and beverages during daytime hours of the month of Ramadan is forbidden by Article 313. The article stipulates the punishment in the...

Now more than ever we need this powerful prayer tool of the 40 days of prayer and fasting. To sign up and commit see http://www.40daysofprayerandfasting.org/default.asp or do what you can. Last year great inroads in the fight against the culture of death were made. This is supernatural warfare here! Much is at stake in this election year. This prayer and sacrifice effort begins on September 24th. Please be a part. Ave Maria!

Catholic Bishop [Yanta] Makes Anniversary of Roe v. Wade "Day of Fast and Abstinence" By Peter J. Smith AMARILLO, Texas, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Catholic bishop has declared his diocese will observe the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion in the United States, as a day of penance for Catholics. Bishop John W. Yanta of the diocese of Amarillo said that Tuesday January 22 will be observed in his diocese as a "Day of Fast and Abstinence." The bishop said that day is a particular day of penance in the United States for violations...

Mormons have less heart disease — something doctors have long chalked up to their religion's ban on smoking. New research suggests that another of their "clean living" habits also may be helping their hearts: fasting for one day each month. A study in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is based, found that people who skipped meals once a month were about 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who did not regularly fast. People did not have to "get religion" to benefit: non-Mormons who regularly took breaks from food also...

I'm looking to learn more about fasting, and was hoping that some of you could point me in the right direction towards resources. Specifically I'm interested in the theological view(s) of fasting, different methods, different times to fast, etc.

Abortion Centers in 80 Cities in 33 States to be Prayerfully Picketed for 40 Days Starting Tomorrow WASHINGTON, DC, September 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "Today, people of faith and conscience from more than 80 cities in 33 states are kicking off the largest simultaneous pro-life mobilization in American history - the groundbreaking 40 Days for Life campaign," said David Bereit, national campaign director for 40 Days for Life. 40 Days for Life is an intensive pro-life campaign that focuses on 40 days of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil at abortion facilities, and grassroots educational outreach. The 40-day time frame is...

Abortion Opponents Prepare Nationwide Campaign Following Victory in Aurora, IL 40 Days for Life campaign begins Sept. 26 AURORA, Ill., September 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "On September 26, more than 80 cities in 33 states will follow the courageous example set by Aurora, Illinois, and join together for the largest and longest simultaneous pro-life mobilization in American history," said David Bereit, national director of the 40 Days for Life campaign. The 40-day pro-life campaign in Aurora that thwarted the scheduled opening of a new Planned Parenthood abortion facility was inspired by 40 Days for Life. Local pro-life leaders have collaborated...

(The following is excerpted from Dom Prosper Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for the Ember Days of September, in Volume XI of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.) "We have already spoken of the necessity of private penance for the Christian who is at all desirous to make progress in the path of salvation. But in this, as in all spiritual exercises, a private work of devotion has neither the merit nor the efficacy of one that is done in company with the Church, and in communion with her public act;...

On 07.07.07, we believe the largest prayer gathering in the history of this state will be held at LP Field, The Titans' Stadium in Nashville. Believers from around the country will converge on this city for a national, solemn assembly of biblical proportions. The mandate the Lord has given us comes from Joel 2:12 - 27: "Call a sacred assembly... gather the elders..." Every age group, every gender should be summoned. Since 2001, God has put it on our hearts that a national solemn assembly would be held in the significant city of Nashville. The vision at that time was...

In my last sermon I stated that I was going to set aside a personal day of prayer and fasting for our nation. This note is to invite you to join me, if you are able, in fasting and prayer on Sabbath, May 5, 2007 or at a time more convenient for you. As I pointed out, we are involved in a spiritual warfare, and that this warfare is one we face daily in our personal lives. But the battle is also a national one, and I am tired of watching the attempts to shake this nation from its moral...

HOW TO KEEP THE FAST On fasting “For this kind is expelled only by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21). With these words the Lord Himself indicated to us two kinds of weapons in our combat against our enemy – the dark and evil spirits. At the same time, He indicated to His disciples the need for them to fast at a time “when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them” (Matt. 9:15). The grace of the Holy Spirit is taken away from us through our sins. And its return to us is achieved primarily by means of repentance, assisted by...

Protopriest Nikolai Dombrowski (+1979) Lent as a Divine Establishment and Spiritual Remedy Lent, in Church songs and the writings of the Holy Fathers, is called a spiritual healer. And so, what is lent? In accordance with Dal's Tolkovyi slovar' [Explanatory Dictionary], lent ["post" in Russian] is "the abstinence from non-lenten food and vain pleasures." The Church of Christ teaches that lent is religious-moral vigilance and the salvific labor of piety. Truly Christian fasting is not only abstinence of the body from the usual food, but the restraint of the soul from all that is sinful. This latter abstinence must be...

WILMINGTON, Del. — At 9:40 p.m. on New Year's Eve, Jim Thorpe stole away from his church's all-night prayer meeting to grab a last-minute latte at the local Starbucks. "I needed one more hit before the Great Denial," he says. The next day he and hundreds of people in his church began their first annual Starbucks fast. "It's a killer," says Thorpe. "I thought forty days without food was tough, but this is psychological warfare." Some churches, tuckered out after long, sobering group fasts in past years, are opting for "fun fasts" — giving up Starbucks, scrapbooking, even Bed, Bath...

by Tom O’Toole Other Articles by Tom O’Toole The Cease-Fire of Prayer and Fasting 08/26/06 “May He be prayed for continually; day by day shall they bless Him. May there be an abundance of grain upon the earth; On the tops of the mountains the crops shall rustle like Lebanon” (Ps 72:15-16). Vicky Moussaed, 17, and her family, have lived in Furn El Chebbak, Lebanon, all of their lives. Although they had to "change houses" due to the bombing, they have never considered leaving Lebanon because it is home and they are "proud to be here." And despite the turmoil, Vicky,...

Sheehan treated at Waco hospital 10:26 PM CDT on Friday, August 11, 2006 Associated Press WACO – Anti-war demonstrator Cindy Sheehan was hospitalized Friday evening for dehydration and exhaustion after fasting for more than a month and protesting earlier this week in 100-degree weather, friends and relatives said. Sheehan was listed in stable condition at Providence Health Center in Waco. Brenda Mauk, a nursing supervisor, declined to say what Sheehan was being treated for and declined to release additional information. Sheehan was taken to the Waco hospital after friends picked her up Friday afternoon at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport,...

Is Cindy Sheehan still fasting? She has now bought 5 acres in Crawford Texas so she can continue to garner media attention, but none of the media ask her about how her fasting is going. I was just wondering...

The late terrorist mastermind Abu Musab Zarqawi is doing more than pushing up daisies. He's fasting, too. Yes, that's Zarqawi -- or at least his ancestral tribal name -- along with his hometown of Zarqa, Jordan, listed on Code Pink's roll of protesters who are "fasting" in hopes that U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq. And how did the once-notorious terrorist's name wind up on the peace and social justice group's list, among celebrity fasters like the ice-cream-licking Cindy Sheehan? It was submitted by a merry prankster from the D.C. chapter of FreeRepublic.com, we've learned, a conservative group that...

Julia Field covered her auburn curls with a blazing pink cowboy hat and listened to her stomach growl. A year ago, the stay-at-home mom from Oak Park would never have imagined herself fasting to protest war. Until then, she had volunteered at her son's elementary school and belonged to the local PTA. Now, armed with a bright pink lawn chair and a motivating dose of outrage, Field has joined a national fast that began July 4 in Washington and has become--from 4 to 8 p.m. for two weeks--a one-woman anti-war crusade. "It might be a little lonely today," Field said...

This day marks beginning of three weeks of mourning for fall of Jerusalem and loss of our holy Temple The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of the Holy Temple. This also marks the beginning of a 3-week national period of mourning, leading up to Tisha B'Av. The 17th of Tammuz is the first of four fast days mentioned in the prophets. The purpose of a fast day is to awaken our sense of loss over the destroyed Temple - and the subsequent Jewish journey into exile. Agonizing over these...

Liberals, appeasers and other America haters at home and abroad can now rejoice: Cindy Sheehan and her rabble rousing group called Codepink: Women for Peace, are going to single handedly force President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq. Sheehan, and her strange feminist sisterhood, have recently adopted a plan to join the ranks of Mahatma Gandhi and Cesar Chavez by conducting a hunger strike in order to make a peaceful political statement. The women plan to fast until President Bush pulls US troops out of Iraq. According to Codepink “hundreds of celebrities, veterans, mothers, and concerned citizens across the country...

06 March 2006 Lent sets in for the Orthodox believers Moscow, March 6, Interfax - On Monday the Orthodox begin to observe Lent. It will last seven weeks and end before Easter, which falls on April 23 this year. The Lent tradition originated in the early, still undivided Christian Church. On the first two days and the last day of Lent, the Church recommends moderation in food, avoiding meat, eggs and milk products. Expectant mothers, the sick and those engaged in hard work can keep a less strict fast. However, the food restriction is not the only Lenten demand. As...

RULES TO PUT ONESELF IN ORDER FOR THE FUTURE AS TO EATING First Rule. The first rule is that it is well to abstain less from bread, because it is not a food as to which the appetite is used to act so inordinately, or to which temptation urges as in the case of the other foods. Second Rule. The second: Abstinence appears more convenient as to drinking, than as to eating bread. So, one ought to look much what is helpful to him, in order to admit it, and what does him harm, in order to discard it. Third...

SAN JUAN — A human rights organization sympathetic to undocumented immigrants celebrated the end of 100 days of collective fasting Sunday in response to the “unwelcome presence of hatred on our border” by the Minutemen, a group that aims to stop illegal border crossings. From a 78 year-old woman to a 10-year-old boy whose grandmother drowned in the Rio Grande, 165 people participated in the 3-month-long protest by taking turns not eating for 24 hours at a time. “When we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that our lives are all that really belong to us,” Juanita Valdez-Cox,...

In November, 2001, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the adaptation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Following confirmation by the Holy See in February, 2002, the following became particular law for the dioceses of the United States of America: In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when the 22nd falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee...

Thousands of pilgrims are pouring into the dense jungle of southern Nepal to worship a 15-year-old boy who has been hailed as a new Buddha. Devotees claim that Ram Bomjon, who is silently meditating beneath a tree, has not eaten or drunk anything since he sat down at his chosen spot six months ago. Witnesses say they have seen light emanating from the teenager's forehead. "It looks a bit like when you shine a torch through your hand," said Tek Bahadur Lama, a member of the committee responsible for dealing with the growing number of visitors from India and elsewhere...

If you've ever watched a ventriloquist act, it's likely that you eventually came around to realizing that it wasn't really the dummy doing all the talking. It took me a while, but finally, I did. It appears that now we have a certain group of Muslims -- in particular, the Council on American Islamic Relations -- attempting to put words into the mouths of our elected officials by urging Muslims to contact their House Representatives and push them into signing a House Resolution recognizing the Islamic fast, otherwise known as Ramadan. Yes, this is the same Council on American Islamic...

Visions of Coming Calamities Roxanne Brant God has given me two visions in the past eight years that have changed my life and ministry. In these two visions, He has shown me events to come that will affect the lives of every man, woman and child in this nation, … as well as throughout the world. Jesus said to me, “..My people need to be informed and prepared for the difficult times ahead,…I want My people to not only be informed, but to seriously and diligently devote themselves to the building up their faith and to seeking My guidance in...

Not eating meat on Fridays used to be synonymous with being Catholic. Restoring abstinence would not only revive tradition but signal solidarity with the poor.THE RENEWAL inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council sprang in large part from the liberating discovery of the depth and variety of Catholic tradition. Yet paradoxically the post-conciliar reforms were sometimes implemented in a spirit of philistine dismissal of “tradition” as nothing more than the dead hand of the past. In shedding a past perceived as sterile and oppressive, much that was profound and life-giving was also lost. One of the saddest casualties of that process...

...Whilke such a process of theosis and sanctification has myriad manifestations, I am convinced that there are few better ways to do that than through the ancient and venerable practice of fasting. In our day, we have become so estranged from this practice that the very word is often a source of complete bafflement to many.... Most Christians today in the West are radically estranged from the theology and spirituality of fasting, and it is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the churches today.... Such spirituality in the West has dealt what he [Robert Taft, S.J.] called "a death blow to...

Today, as Good Friday looms tommorow with another innocent victim being crucified by a mob on the liberal's cross of "laws" (that a hate-filled judge says can be ignored) and "laws" (that a hate-filled judge says can be ignored "must" be followed to the letter. The media is promoting her death, and is ignoring contrary news and information. That, we may not be able to overcome. But the publicisn't the only Witness to this murder. So, while she is being slowly starved to death to "preserve" our rights to abortion, hatred, revenge, pride, and to conceal previous assaults, let us...

I am joining the call of Harvard University students in their pledge to fast until the feeding tube is restored to Terri Schiavo. This blog is launched to endorse and support that cause in its immediate urgency. In this, the final week of Lent, I answer this call and begin my fast at 1AM EST on March 23, 2005. All that you can is all that I ask. Believe it.

by Fr. James Farfaglia Other Articles by Fr. James FarfagliaContact this Author Lent Is a Spiritual Workout 02/09/05 Any worthwhile achievement requires immense effort. When speaking to the Corinthians, St. Paul uses images from the world of sports to explain that the spiritual life requires continual exertion and struggle. St. Paul knew that the Greeks would understand these images since they hosted the original Olympics. In This Article...Raise the Bar During LentGo Against the Culture: Deny Yourself!Self-Mastery is Training for Freedom Raise the Bar During Lent "Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one...

Click here for each day's prayers, reflections and proposed action steps.

Our dearest uncles/aunties Praise the Lord I thank all your love. I thank all your prayers. I happy so much. I thought you remove my message. I did not think you pray for our pappa, our mummy, me, my younger sister Hepzy, my youngest brother Lesly. Also all tsunami victims in India. I praise God your prayers. I praise God your love. Tears come from my eyes see your love. Again and again I praise God. Again I thank you all. Our pappa came back from tsunami refugee camps. We were afraid. Because we not know when another tsunami come....

The Translation of the Seventy [Jewish day of fasting] by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov At the beginning of the period of the Second Beit Hamikdash, the Second Temple, the people of Israel lived under Persian dominion. After the fall of the Persian Empire, Greece inherited her place, and Israel was subjugated to Greece. Ptolemy, one of the Greek Kings who succeeded Alexander (The 'Great') of Macedonia, wanted the Jewish Sages to translate the Torah into Greek. The way he went about it, however, proved his motives were highly questionable. He did not assemble the Jewish scholars all in one place so...

The greatest present we can possibly give to our men and women in the Service is a Freeper day of prayer and fasting. A day of prayer and fasting must be accompanied with our confession of personal sin and of the sins of this Nation. We must commit ourselves to turning from our sins and living our lives for God. With a pure heart we can make our requests known to the LORD concerning the brave men and women fighting for our freedoms. I truly believe that it is our sincere prayers that the LORD uses to keep our men...

I would like to invite as many paople as possible to Fast and Pray on Monday, Nov. 1st for the re-election of George Bush on Tuesday. This election is a crucial one in our nations's history and quite possibly may effect the survival of our country and way of life. In the Bible, fasts were proclaimed in order to devote time to prayer and let God know that you were serious about what you were praying for. In Esther's time, a fast was called to save the Jewish people from Haman's treachery. "Esther 4:13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther,...

OCCULT INFLUENCE IN THE ELECTIONS ~by Jim Chosa (Native American of the Chippewa Tribe) Day Chief Ministries, Inc. www.daychief.org October 27, 2004 Greetings! Several days ago, around 3:30 AM, the Holy Spirit woke me up. As I came awake, I realized I was moving forcefully against an occult shield covering one of the presidential candidates. For the next hour I continued to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit to nail this dark shield and break it wide open so the real spiritual character of the candidate could be seen by those seduced by a high level spirit of sorcery....