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A Buddhist monk successfully finished the "doiri" (entrance into the hall), a ritual of fasting and prayer that is part of the "sennichi kaihogyo" (1,000-day walk) monk training, on Oct. 21 -- becoming the 13th person since the end of World War II to complete the grueling procedure. Kogen Kamahori, 41, chief monk of Zenju-in at Enryaku-ji temple in Otsu, became the first person to successfully complete the doiri since the monk Endo Mitsunaga did so eight years ago. Sennichi kaihogyo refers to the 1,000 days of training that take place over a period of seven years for Buddhist monks...

Standing at your deathbed, the Apostles cried aloud in wonder: The Palace of the King withdraws: the Ark of holiness is raised on high. Let the gates be opened wide that the Gate of God may enter into abundant joy, She who asks without ceasing for great mercy on the world. Several years ago, I was sharing with an Orthodox pilgrim the thought that the Dormition fast, though short, was very intense spiritually and that hardships seemed to befall people more in those two weeks than in the long Apostles’ fast. Without hesitation he responded, “Of course! Lent is...

Since a lot of people talk about various personal health issues here for a number of reasons, I wanted to pass along two documentaries I watched recently and thought have good information for people to review. First, is one called "Fat Head". It is done by a science writer that basically refutes the "Supersize Me" documentary. It discusses how a high carb, low fat and protein diet is the cause of obesity in America, and it's exactly what the government and health groups are demanding people follow to "get healthy". It gives an excellent easy understanding of why this does...

A five day diet which mimics fasting could slow down ageing, add years to life, boost the immune system and cut the risk of heart disease and cancer, scientists believe. The plan which restricts calories to between one third and a half of normal intake has been developed by academics at the University of Southern California. But now they have found that a calorie-restricted diet comprising of vegetable soups and chamomile tea has the same affect. And dieters only need to follow the Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) for five days a month, eating what they like for the rest of...

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart...

For the Church, Lent like Advent is a "powerful season" a season of waiting and preparing and therefore a time for sacrifice, repentance, and purification. But, in our hedonistic society of today these words seem to strike a rather discordant note. So, is it fair to ask : how do we speak today about sacrifice and how do we practice it ?? Lent lasts for 40 days - as many days as Jesus Christ spent in the desert before he took on his mission of salvation. 40 is a sacred number in the Bible : the Deluge lasted for 40...

Lent is a season of penance and ascetical warfare. The enemy is concupiscence, the world, and the devil. The goal is pure hearts so that we can joyfully celebrate the resurrection of our Lord at Easter, the greatest feast of the liturgical year. In a way, Lent should be a microcosm of our entire struggle on earth, just as the Paschal feast of Easter is a microcosm of our heavenly triumph in Christ. Yet, a good Lent takes focus and discipline, and it can easily be wasted.In my own experience, I often begin the lenten season with the best of intentions. I imagine...

The Church's traditional teaching on fasting is not widely known or followed in our day. For those Orthodox Christians who are seeking to keep a more disciplined fast, the following information may be helpful. Though the rules may appear quite strict to those who have not seen them before, they were developed with all of the faithful, not only monks, in mind. (Monks do not eat meat, so rules regarding the eating of meat cannot have been written with them in mind. Similarly rules regarding marital abstinence apply only to the laity and married clergy.) Though few laymen are able...

Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as "remarkable". Although fasting diets have been criticised by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection. Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy. It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it...

Fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as “remarkable”. Although fasting diets have been criticized by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection. Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy. […] Scientists found that prolonged fasting also reduced the enzyme PKA, which is linked to aging and...

Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Fastwith suggestions for family observance of the season(From Family Sourcebook for Lent and Easter)"The main current of Lent must flow through the interior man, through hearts and consciences. The essential effort of repentance consists in this. In this effort the human determination to be converted to God is invested with the predisposing grace of conversion and, at the same time, of forgiveness and of spiritual liberation".This reflection by Pope John Paul II in Lent of 1979, recorded in a collection of his meditations, The Light of Christ, indicates the attitude with which we should...

Image of the "Fast for Families" fasters, who announced their new plans to push for immigration reform on Monday. After going without food and only drinking water for 22 days last, a handful of advocates with the “Fast for Families” campaign ended their fast on December 3, 2013. Now they are continuing their efforts to push for immigration reform with a national tour that kicked off on Monday. Activists with the “Fast for Families” campaign captivated national and international attention last year when they put their bodies on the line to fast in support of immigration reform with a path...

The Key to True FastingBy: Msgr. Charles Pope Required fasting is almost non-existent in the Catholic Church today. Even the two days where fasting is required for those over 18 and under 60, it is really a mitigated fast of two small “snack-like” meals and one regular sized meal (no snacks in between now!). Not really a fast at all. A truer fast (going without food for the whole day) is practiced by some today as a personal discipline and it is laudable if a person is able.Yet, even the mitigated fast is “hard” for many as are most...

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 Advent was a time we would, like Lent take part in penitential practices such as fasting and abstinence.Of course, in recent decades Advent has almost wholly lost any real penitential practices. There is no fasting or abstinence required, they are not really even mentioned. Confession is encouraged and the readings still retain a kind...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – When the hunger headaches get strong, Lenka Mendoza focuses on why she is fasting and dreams of what she would do if she won the right to legally live and work in the U.S.: She would return to her home country, Peru, to hug her cancer-stricken mom. Mendoza, an undocumented mother of three who works as a motel housekeeper, is one of about a dozen activists fasting on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol. The fasters want the House of Representatives to vote on legislation that would grant some 11 million undocumented immigrants a path to...

After months of activists and immigrants demanding measures that would allow the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., everything seems to point to reform, which has stalled in Congress, being postponed until next year. On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the House of Representatives will continue its activities in Washington after a week-long recess, and activists and immigrants continue to pressure them to approve immigration legislation that offers a way to legalize the status of at least 9 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.; however, the legislative calendar ends in 16 business days, and Republicans have said that such...

A mother demanded answers after a teacher refused to allow students to drink water in order not to offend fasting Muslim classmates. An angry mother accused a primary school of denying water to children on the hottest days of the year for fear of upsetting Muslim students, who observe Ramadan.

Swedish Muslims north of the Arctic circle have long waited for and feared this summer. When the sun never sets, they have pondered how to observe Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from sun up to sun down for a month. "Kiruna is as high up as you get in Sweden, the sun never sets during this month," Ali Melhem, 45, who has lived in Kiruna for 24 years told The Local. As the fasting month is set by the moon, Ramadan usually moves about 10 days forward in the calender each year, which means this is the first summer it...

Have you ever had the feeling the nation is on the brink of utter disaster? Has that feeling ever been stronger than it is right now? It turns out that after spending hundreds of billions on foreign wars and nearly an equal amount on a new bureaucracy called the Department of Homeland Security, Americans are just as vulnerable to Islamic terrorist attacks as they were on 9/11. For days that seemed like weeks, the systematically disarmed residents of the Boston and Cambridge area cowered in their homes and hid in their closets in fear of one armed and dangerous terrorist...

I never dreamed when I wrote what I assumed would be a “throwaway” column last week calling for a day of national prayer and fasting on 9/11 that my plea would be met with an outpouring of enthusiastic support from thousands of people. It clearly struck a chord. I’ve been doing media around the clock ever since. Pastors are telling their congregations about the plan. Lay activists are talking it up in Bible studies. Rabbis are writing to me expressing their support. I secured the domain name 911dayofprayer.com, which is where you can go to express your support for the...