« The newest Catholic Carnival | Main | Catholic Carnival 159 is Up »
February 9, 2008
The Power of Fasting as Prayer
Fasting is a very important part of Christian life. For one thing, fasting helps us remain detached from a disordered love of food. This alone should motivate many American Christians to fast more. Additionally, the time that we gain from not eating should be spent on reflecting on God. The pain from hunger we feel should be offered to God as a sacrificial prayer. In my own experiences, I've found that God strongly responds to prayers of fasting.
For example, when I needed guidance on a decision that seemed to have no good answer, fasting gave me confidence in one choice over the others. Fasting helped answer my prayers to find a job. God also answered my prayers of fasting during the last election to help get Bush elected over Kerry. As a side note, the Christians who are able to, should fast to help get the Republican nominee elected for president this year. If either Clinton or Obama win the presidency, it would be a great defeat for family and pro-life causes.
Fasting can take many forms. The spiritually advanced fast from solids and for several days. Others can eat just bread and water when they fast. I have to admit I am not spiritually advanced. The Church in the U.S. suggests having two small meals and one regular meal when fasting. For a society like ours that has a disordered attachment to food (myself included), we can take baby steps to become more spiritually advanced in fasting.
For example, many of us are attached to sugar and alcohol. We can start by slowly decreasing our consumption of these items by taking them out of our diet, first weekly, then daily, then at every meal. But be sure it's a slow process and you don't give up when you fall. The devil works well with our pride when we get too ambitious for spiritual advancement, and too weak from selfishness to carry a good thing through.
After we detach ourselves from the pleasure of luxury foods like sugar and alcohol, we can work on reducing the size of or skipping a meal as a means of prayer. But again, only do this gradually and according to your vocation and circumstance in life. If possible, seek advice from a spiritual director on how much and how often you should use fasting as a prayer. Fasting should not lead to the opposite problem of our obsession with food, like anorexia.
Our beautiful Church gives us great opportunities like Lent and Advent to encourage us to grow closer to God through detaching ourselves from our disordered attachments to this world. Let us use these times during the Liturgical Year to increase our detachment more and more year after year, so He can live more abundantly in us.
Have a fruitful Lent.
God bless,
Daniel
Posted by Daniel at February 9, 2008 5:13 PM
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.livingcatholicism.com/mt-tb.cgi/403
Comments
So, um, wait, Bush, the guy who's responsible for several hundreds of thousands of Iraquis and Afghanis dying and several thousand Americans dying, is a pro-life President 'cause he opposes abortion?
Please explain, 'cause your logic is making my brain hurt.
Posted by: Mary Sue at February 11, 2008 11:43 AM
Mary Sue,
I hope this is a joke and you're kidding. Otherwise your facts are seriously problematic.
First, "hundreds of thousands"? Please cite a source. And I encourage you to actually look for a newsworthy source that estimates "hundreds of thousands."
Second, take a minute to find out how many abortions are performed in a year. Don't even worry about multiplying it for the year's we've been at war: one year of abortions dwarves the numbers of those who have died at war.
Finally, remember that those who have died in war at least had a shot at life. Yes, it is unjust, particularly if they were civilians. But to suggest it is equivalent to abortion is seriously misguided at best and dangerously ignorant at worst.
Please look up the numbers before you post this elsewhere.
Gdo bless,
Jay
Posted by: Anonymous at February 11, 2008 9:26 PM
Mary Sue,
Jay is absolutely right.
Also, it is true that Bush might not have done the most prudent pro-life action with his decision to invade Iraq when he did. We'll know that for sure 20 years from now.
But what is for sure is that there is a vehemently anti-life ideology that wants to destroy everyone who does not subscribe to it, especially the U.S. and western civilization. It is being pro-life to try to defend ourselves from these killers. They are at war with us, whether we like it or not.
Bush's actions need to be seen in the context of the prior actions of Iraq and Afghanistan. To make him solely responsible for the deaths of Iraqis and Afghanis is dishonest.
I hope that eases your brain.
God bless,
Daniel
Posted by: Anonymous at February 12, 2008 12:02 AM
