The Spirituality of Fasting: Rediscovering a Christian Practice

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To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns catholicnews. Not only is it one of the three pillars of spiritual practice along with prayer and almsgiving, but it also bookends the period of preparation for Easter.

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Fasting and abstinence is required of adult Catholics, ages , at the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday and at its end on Good Friday. This means eating only one full meal and two small meals that equal one meal as well as no snacks in between meals and no meat consumption.

Creighton University's Online Ministries program, "Praying Lent ," says the purpose of fasting is to "experience the effects of not eating. It also serves to be a penance or a sacrifice for the purpose of strengthening us. In addition to the two days of fasting, Catholics 14 and older are obligated to abstain from eating meat during Fridays in Lent.

The Friday practice is a sacrifice meant "to help Catholics make much bigger sacrifices," the Creighton resource says, pointing out that not eating meat doesn't give someone permission to eat a fancy fish meal. And for vegetarians, it could mean abstaining from a favorite meal.

The Spirituality of Fasting: Rediscovering a Christian Practice

Fasting, which has deep roots in many religious traditions, is meant to draw participants into deeper prayer and also link them with those in need. For Christians, the tradition has roots in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples how they should look when they are fasting -- not gloomy, not neglecting their appearance and with their faces washed so they do not appear to be fasting.

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U.S. Catholic Book Club: The Spirituality of Fasting

Love Does Bob Goff. This is the second time I've read this book.

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