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Last Friday, WND founder Joseph Farah floated the idea – not really anticipating significant reaction. “Was I ever shocked,” he said. “By 8 a.m. Friday, by email inbox was running over with enthusiastic support for the idea, with about 1,000 people letting me know they would be participating by enlisting friends, family members, church groups, Bible studies and neighbors. They were marking the date on their calendar. Their only reservation was that the date was nearly five months away. They wanted to do something sooner.” Because of the overall response by email now from thousands of Americans, Farah is asking...

Freepers, We still need pray-ers to sign up for the prayer vigil for the upcoming election that will last round the clock for 72 hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The way it works is that freepers take a time slot to commit to praying during that particular time of day. Time is in Eastern Standard time, so will need to convert it to your time zone if you're not on the Eastern side of the US. Also encouraging you to fast at this time if you feel led. It can be an absolute fast, a partial fast, or a...

Freepers, As we have done in the past, I would like to set up a prayer vigil for the upcoming election that will last round the clock for 72 hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The way it works is that freepers take a time slot to commit to praying during that particular time of day. Time is in Eastern Standard time, so will need to convert it to your time zone if you're not on the Eastern side of the US. Also encouraging you to fast at this time if you feel led. It can be an absolute fast,...

Jesus told us in the WORD the power of fasting and praying. May we know it and believe it; receive it.

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...