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Prayer and Fasting or Just Prayer? A Consideration of a Biblical "Disagreement" Msgr. Charles Pope * February 16, 2016 * With the renewed interest in demonology, Jesus' instruction that demons must be driven out with prayer and fasting (cf Mk 9:29, Matt 17:21) is frequently quoted. And many people are acquainted with this text in this form.But a problem emerges for some people when they go to their Bible to look up those texts. Some Bibles include the reference to fasting while others do not. For example, the two most common Catholic Bibles, the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition...

The Key to True Fasting Msgr. Charles Pope - February 11, 2016 - Required fasting is almost non-existent in the Catholic Church today. And even that required "fasting" (for those between the ages of 18 and 59) is really just eating somewhat less than normal (one regular meal and two small "snack-like" meals with no snacking between meals). Not much of a fast, really. Real fasting (going without food for the entire day) is practiced by some today as a personal discipline and it is laudable if a person is able to do so.Yet even the mitigated fast is...

DAY 1: CLOSED! Abortion centers out of business February 10, 2016 https://40daysforlife.com/updates/It all starts today! Prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil are powerful … and needed now more than ever in our culture.Right now, there are babies scheduled to be aborted close to where you live — and your peaceful presence could be the difference. Find your nearest vigil here:https://40daysforlife.com/browse-campaigns/Moms do turn around at the last moment. For the abortion industry, that means one thing — lost income.We start this 40 Days for Life campaign with good news … as we’re now aware of TWO more abortion facilities that have CLOSED...

In this society following the Lenten requirements of our faith and fasting are not in fashion and are not encouraged. Neither the TV, nor the newspapers will encourage you to to fast during this season. The most they may do, is to report on the Ash Wednesday, and the Holy Week, culminating with Easter (i.e. the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ). What can you do, if you don't have the strong will to fast during the 40 days of Lent. There are various levels of fasting. The earliest Church fasts severely restricted all foods, but this gradually eased. Pope...

St. Paisius (Velichkovsky)St. Paisius (1722-1794) was born Peter Velichkovsky in Poltava, Ukraine, to a priestly family. At age thirteen he enter the Kiev Theological School with the intention of following in his father’s footsteps, but felt there something missing—the monastic tradition of mental prayer and the patristic approach. He soon departed to find a monastery, and his search for true monastic instruction took him to Mount Athos where he labored for seventeen years, becoming the spiritual father to many monks. These years on Mount Athos were filled with labors in asceticism and study of the true monastic life. Greece...

How does sugar, fructose and wheat contribute to obesity and diabetes? Insulin resistance and hyper-insulinemia and 'the fast solution' is presented.

An Iranian judge sentenced a Christian man to have his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during the day in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, The Daily Mail reported. The barbaric punishment was carried out in public in a square in the city of Kermanshah. Five other Muslim men were also flogged in public with 70 lashes for not fasting during Ramadan, the city’s deputy governor Ali Ashraf Karami said. […] At least 49 Christians were among 307 religious minorities being held in Iranian jails as of January 2014, noted the UN, which also criticized the regime for...

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...