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Those Were the Days of Giants! A Brief Reflection on the Fasting and Abstinence that were once common in Advent and LentBy: Msgr. Charles Pope I was explaining to a new Catholic recently that the color purple (violet) used in advent is akin to its use in Lent, in that both are considered penitential seasons. Hence we are to give special attention to our sins and our need for salvation. Traditionally we would also take part in penitential practices of fasting and abstinence.Of course, in recent decades Advent has almost wholly lost any real penitential practices. There is no...

Fasting out of loveGod doesn't want a fulfilled obligation; he wants our hearts Published: February 21, 2009     By Tara LittleAssociate EditorThe 40-day penitential season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates in the Easter Triduum, the celebration of Christ's passion, death and resurrection. Christians observe Lent primarily through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Lent reflects the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying before his public ministry began. While Moses (Exodus 34:28) fasted to prepare for God's revelation, Jesus took it a step further by doing the...

Fasting found to reduce cardiac risk factors, such as triglycerides, weight, and blood sugar levelsMurray, UT (4/03/11) – Fasting has long been associated with religious rituals, diets, and political protests. Now new evidence from cardiac researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute demonstrates that routine periodic fasting is also good for your health, and your heart. Today, research cardiologists at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute are reporting that fasting not only lowers one's risk of coronary artery disease and diabetes, but also causes significant changes in a person's blood cholesterol levels. Both diabetes and elevated cholesterol are known...

Anyone with me on this?

What are the Ember Days? The Lenten Ember Days are this Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. In fact, Ember days occur four times during the year. Some who are younger or converts may have never heard of Ember Days. They were once quite important in the life of a Catholic. Where does the word, Ember, come from? In English, The word "ember" comes from the Anglo-Saxon ymbren, which means a circuit or revolution, to go around in a circle, relating to the annual cycle of the year, having to do with the seasons (from ymb, around, and ryne, a course, running)....

To answer this let us first clarify what fasting entails. It involves more than the occasional fast, such as on Good Friday. To be effective, fasting requires disciplined eating habits all the time. There are certainly days when a person should make a greater effort at abstaining from food and drink. These are what we usually consider days of fasting and they must be practiced regularly. But, still, there are never days when a person is allowed to abandon all restraint. A person must always practice some restraint over his appetites or those periodic days of fasting arc valueless. Always...

What is it to do fasting and abstinence? And, when do I do it? What does it mean to "fast"?To fast is to do without food.  Its purpose is to experience the effects of not eating.  It also serves to be a penance or a sacrifice - for the purpose of strengthening us.  When we don't eat, for even a little while, we get hungry.  When we get hungry, we have a heightened sense of awareness.  If, when we eat too much, we have a sluggish feeling, when we fast, we have a feeling of alertness.  Fasting is a wonderful...

Not sure how many would remember, but mid to late summer last year there were all the sudden like tons of reports about an Indian mystik/fakir type who supposedly didn't eat or drink, and hadn't for years. Last I recall, they were going to have clinicians or something from France or Switzerland examine him and kind of quarantine him to try to find out what was going on. The missing piece - the piece that stands out most in my mind - was that I never heard any reports that he had like a box of Twinkies stashed in his...

Putting the 'Ember' in SeptemberAn Ancient Church Tradition Takes on New RelevanceThe South Asian newswire service ANI last month carried a headline one doesn’t see every day. It began, “Hindus laud Australian Catholic Church …” Now, before divulging the rest of the headline, it should be noted that “Hindus” is a bit of an exaggeration. The article quotes only one member of that faith, self-proclaimed “Hindu statesman” Rajan Zed of Reno, Nevada, who previously made the news for protesting the Mike Myers film The Love Guru. Even so, the full headline is worth noting: “Hindus laud Australia Catholic Church for...

Pick Up Your Weapon And Get In The Fight.Dear Friends and Family,One of the most consistent and important themes of my almost 20 years of preaching and teaching has been that of spiritual warfare. This is, in fact, one of the most consistent and important themes of the Church’s preaching and teaching throughout the ages.St. Paul cautioned us in the sixth chapter of his Letter to the Ephesians that, “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in regions above…” He was referring to fallen angels, or the demonic...

Quix: I'd already felt an urg to fast this week before a prophetic/cleansing weekend thing at our church. This call resonates with me, too. The other docs below I included FYI. All, of course, for discerning prayerful pondering. 24 DAYS of INTENSE CHANGE! Here was a wordgiven at Firstfruits last weekend!July 16, 2010"I have said to you that the waters will not overtake you. Throughout the times you are walking in, I see you sinking and the waters rising above your head. Stay buoyant with Me. Stay in faith over these next 30 days. If you sink, there are many...

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord - There are many threats to the United States on the horizon (i).  Some of them include:   1) Nuclear Annihilation - A nuclear exchange over Taiwan with China which is building both missile defense (ii) and civilian fallout shelters (iii).   2) Earthquake – If the Lord wanted, could he not send an earthquake powerful enough to bring crippling destruction to the West Coast?   3) Terrorist Attack – As we saw by the Christmas bomber, we are no safer since 9/11, given we still don't screen for Muslims at airports.  Also, the Department...

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord - There are many threats to the United States on the horizon (i). Some of them include: 1)Nuclear Annihilation - A nuclear exchange over Taiwan with China which is building both missile defense (ii) and civilian fallout shelters (iii). 2)Earthquake – If the Lord wanted, could he not send an earthquake powerful enough to bring crippling destruction to the West Coast? 3)Terrorist Attack – As we saw by the Christmas bomber, we are no safer since 9/11, given we still don't screen for Muslims at airports. Also, the Department of Home Security considers a...

SCIENTISTS are studying an 82-year-old man who claims he has not had any food or drink for 70 years. Prahlad Jani’s claims are being put to the test at a hospital in Ahmedabad, where he is being closely monitored and studied by India’s Defence Research Development Organisation, which believes he may have a quality which could help save lives, The Telegraph reports. He has so far spent six days without food or water under the strict observation of doctors who say his body is yet to show any signs of hunger or dehydration. Mr Jani is regarded as a "breatharian"...

Indian doctors are studying an 83-year-old holy man who claims to have spent the last seven decades without food and water. Military doctors hope the experiments on Prahlad Jani can help soldiers develop their survival strategies.The long-haired and bearded yogi is under 24-hour observation by a team of 30 specialists during three weeks of tests at a hospital in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.Two cameras have been set up in his room, while a mobile camera films him when he goes outside, guaranteeing round-the-clock observation.His body will be scanned and his brain and heart activity measured with electrodes."The observation...

As a Greek Orthodox priest, I am compelled – in the Holy Name of our Lord Jesus – to rebuke and renounce this Bill as being demonic. Although there might be some good things within the Bill, they are totally negated by the presence of this ungodly attempt to make every working American culpable to the blood of these precious little ones, who are being slaughtered by the thousands– for PROFIT – everyday of the year! Would you drink a glass of the most expensive bottled water, if you knew that a drop of deadly poison had been placed in...

Blow the Trumpet! Call the Assembly! The Blessings of Fasting     Every Lent, as the church invites us to draw closer to the Lord, it calls us to take up the ancient practice of fasting. Every Ash Wednesday, we are urged to return to the Lord “with fasting, and weeping, and mourning” as we turn away from our sins and seek God’s mercy. Every year, we are called to “blow the trumpet in Zion” and “proclaim a fast” (Joel 2:12,15).Even though God’s people have been fasting for thousands of years, this revered practice has declined in recent decades....

This was just to awesome not to share. Link to Loving Hands Video

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord - There are many threats to the United States on the horizon i. Some of them include: Nuclear Annihilation - A nuclear exchange over Taiwan with China which is building both missile defense ii and civilian fallout shelters iii. Earthquake – If the Lord wanted, could he not send an earthquake powerful enough to bring crippling destruction to the West Coast? Terrorist Attack – As we saw by the Christmas bomber, we are no safer since 9/11, given we still don't screen for Muslims at airports. Also, the Department of Home Security considers a...

  Rev. Richard John Neuhaus long wondered about the phenomenon of innumerable Catholics, pious and not, practicing and not, who throng to churches at all hours of Ash Wednesday to receive ashes on their foreheads on the first day of Lent. He was unable to pinpoint a reason why the annual ashes exceed both the Lord's birth and resurrection in popularity; in fact, ashes have become such the rage that even some Protestant churches have begun distributing them. Motives aside, the fact remains that on Ash Wednesday a formidable team of Catholics in trains, planes, and office corridors offer...

By Mary DeTurris PoustHow fasting fuels spiritual growth, charity The ancient practice has fallen out of fashion among Catholics, but it helps us detach from the material world and creates an empty space for God to fill  Fasting and abstinence were once staples of Catholic life. There was a time not so long ago when you could spot Catholics in a restaurant simply by looking at what was on their plates on a Wednesday or Friday. But with changes in Church rules and individual mindsets, fasting slowly began to fall out of fashion. Today, in popular Catholic culture at least, fasting is...

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord - There are many threats to the United States on the horizon i. Some of them include: Nuclear Annihilation - A nuclear exchange over Taiwan with China which is building both missile defense ii and civilian fallout shelters iii. Earthquake – If the Lord wanted, could he not send an earthquake powerful enough to bring crippling destruction to the West Coast? Terrorist Attack – As we saw by the Christmas bomber, we are no safer since 9/11, given we still don't screen for Muslims at airports. Also, the Department of Home Security considers a...

Why Fast? Excerpt from Billy Wilson's Fasting Forward Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (Joel 1:14-15 NKJV). Why is fasting important to the Christian? What purpose does it have in our life? What do we hope happens when we fast? Perhaps you are looking for one good reason that you should participate in this...

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...

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...