“True Fasting Is Constant Hunger”

[s_gunter]

Ramadan is here once again: The month of fasting that our Muslim brothers and sisters take as seriously as can be.

“We Catholics, fast, too, though!” I can hear some people respond. And, this is certainly true: twice a year, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, we are allowed only one full meal and two smaller ones, both meatless.


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/dicamillo/true-fasting-is-constant-hunger/#ixzz4BrEFTLwy

 

[Davidnic]

Fasting is definitely a practice Catholics need to reconnect with.

 

[ahs]

The Eastern Rite Catholics are much more strict when it comes to fasting. It should be noted, however, that ALL Catholics are expected to abstain from meat on ALL Friday's through the entire year (unless it falls on a Feast Day). For those in the Western (Latin) Rite who are in the US, however, we are allowed to offer some other act of penance in lieu of abstaining from meat on those Fridays outside of Lent and Good Friday.

 

[s_gunter]

Even the Ramadan fast is too easy for me. That's the life I live every day. I usually only eat at night, when I get home from work (9pm).

 

[Michie]

I was watching a documentary about Muslims in Dearborne Mi. and the Ramadan fast. Interesting.

Even the Ramadan fast is too easy for me. That's the life I live every day. I usually only eat at night, when I get home from work (9pm).

 

[dzheremi]

I'm sorry, but that article is a mess. I was happy to see the author finally get to St. Anthony, the Father of the Monks, but it was only briefly to say 'we' don't fast like that and aren't called to (speak for yourself, guy; those of us in St. Anthony's church in Egypt certainly are and for the most part do -- and that's over 200 days a year), and then to get back to how much Roman Catholics should imitate Muslim 'seriousness' in fasting. So you guys are going to start making a show of your fasting, and then gorging yourself at night as soon as the sun goes down to make sure you can get through another day of being completely unproductive? I'm sorry, but how is that also not miles and miles away from our father St. Anthony?

Western Christians need to stop looking up to God-denying blasphemers who hate our religion and start looking to their fellow Christians in the East and Orient, all of whom have preserved strict fasting for Christian reasons, in worship of and submission to the One true God (which Islam hates and calls blasphemy that will condemn us to hell). I've actually seen it happen that a Catholic will take up fasting in 'solidarity' with Muslims during Ramadan and end up leaving Catholicism for Islam. This is what you get when you don't know what you're doing, haven't bothered to preserve these things yourself, and have no desire to learn how to do them from people who actually share your religion.

Sources on fasting from an Orthodox Christian perspective (much of this also applies to Eastern Catholics, at least in reasoning if not always in practice):

http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/church2-2.html

http://www.armeniancross.com/TheChurch/ReligiousHistory/Fasting.html

http://www.stgeorgegreenville.org/OurFaith/Fasting/Sayings-Church Fathers.html

 

[bill5]

The Eastern Rite Catholics are much more strict when it comes to fasting. It should be noted, however, that ALL Catholics are expected to abstain from meat on ALL Friday's through the entire year

? Only during Lent. It might be suggested or encouraged, but it's not "expected."

Western Christians need to stop looking up to God-denying blasphemers who hate our religion and start looking to their fellow Christians in the East and Orient,

 

[ahs]

? Only during Lent. It might be suggested or encouraged, but it's not "expected."

No, it's Universal Church Law that ALL Catholics are to abstain from meat on ALL Fridays. This is spelled out in Canons 1250 and 1251 of Canon Law. However, in the United States, and only in the Western Church (Latin Rite), the US Bishops, by authority granted in Canon Law, have given us the option to make some other form of penance in lieu of abstinence.

Here is an article that goes into details, but it also contains the links to the pertinent Church Laws in case you want to skip the explanation and go straight to the source material.
http://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2009/03/05/are-catholics-supposed-to-abstain-from-meat-every-friday/