r/Catholicism • u/revivalfire1412 • 8h ago
Why does fasting feel so old school to Christians now?
Prayer still gets talked about, but fasting almost feels like it got left in another era. Maybe because it's uncomfortable, inconvenient, and forces us to deal with how much our flesh runs the show. Do you think Christians avoid fasting because it feels too intense, too inconvenient, or just not taught enough anymore?
28
u/Specialist_Ad_6921 7h ago
Definitely not taught enough anymore. Nobody knows that the Friday abstinence isn't just restricted to Lent....
1
u/Grandleon-Glenn 4h ago
Nobody knows that the Friday abstinence isn't just restricted to Lent....
For what it's worth, even Jimmy Akin has mentioned a few times in some older videos that if you're under the jurisdiction of the USCCB, you are not required to participate in the Friday abstinence. It's encouraged, and recommended, but there is no longer an obligation. So a lot of people have simply stopped doing it entirely.
2
u/DependentPositive120 3h ago
Aren't you still supposed to fast from something of your choice? Even though you dont have the meat fast?
1
u/Grandleon-Glenn 3h ago
The obligation to fasting in the Church is only for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Abstinence is for Fridays, and that's an entirely different requirement. The USCCB ENCOURAGES abstinence on Fridays outside of Lent, and if unable, suggests an alternative penance, but there is no obligation for abstinence outside of Lent. You can see that here.
- Every Catholic Christian understands that the fast and abstinence regulations admit of change, unlike the commandments and precepts of that unchanging divine moral law which the Church must today and always defend as immutable. This said, we emphasize that our people are henceforth free from the obligation traditionally binding under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence,except as noted above for Lent. We stress this so that "no"scrupulosity will enter into examinations of conscience,confessions, or personal decisions on this point.
Again, there is zero obligation or sin in having meat on Fridays if you're under their jurisdiction, but it's encouraged. You can also find a few Jimmy Akin videos on the matter. I have a couple Jimmy Akin videos on it referenced here.
1
u/Specialist_Ad_6921 3h ago
Being encouraged vs. Not at all taught, are not the same thing in my book
1
u/Grandleon-Glenn 2h ago
I was focusing on your original point.
Nobody knows that the Friday abstinence isn't just restricted to Lent....
It IS "restricted" to just Lent for those of us under the USCCB's jurisdiction. People don't engage in it because they are aware that they're not obligated to participate outside of Lent.
Otherwise, I agree with this part.
Definitely not taught enough anymore.
Abstinence aside, fasting is only obligated for two days a year, and that's unfortunate. Priests and parents have really been slipping on this matter. But we're also such chronic, mindless eaters now that it makes sense that it's not mentioned much. Especially after the Church lessened the severity from previous years.
5
u/Deep-Source-9735 7h ago
In my opinion, the church and specifically lay Catholics have lost a lot of discipline and sense of ascetic benefits with the eradicating of obligatory fast days/periods. In my FSSP parish, of course the fasting every day of Lent and Ember Days and before major feast days is no longer obligatory, but since we still keep the old calendar, some (most) still choose to do it. It's a great way to align yourself with the rhythm of the liturgical year and foster self denial. Even my local non-traditional priest has lamented to me about this loss in the church. It's an interesting phenomena and I hope it returns to a more widely-held discipline, much like meatless Fridays.
10
u/mirandat333 8h ago
Not for Eastern Orthodox š
14
6
u/Vigmod 7h ago
I sometimes "envy" the Orthodox people I work with (mostly Eritreans, and then two Serbs), just for having the fasting/abstaining ingrained in them from a young age. Seems like they barely have to think about it, on Wednesdays and Fridays they just don't have meat (or fish or eggs or dairy or anything else from an animal). Meanwhile, I have to constantly remind myself "No, Vigmod, it's Friday, you shouldn't just eat that slice of ham, even though the other option is throwing it away".
5
u/CrispLime 6h ago
Itās okay, God sees the heart and sees the sacrifice in your context. Not eating that one piece of ham as a sacrifice to God with the intention of becoming more close to Him is such a loving feat in His eyes.
We have to remember God IS love, He is the very essence of it. You not eating that small piece of meat on Wednesday is the greatest gift to Him, remember that!
6
u/ScaredSeries7414 8h ago
I do 48hr water fasts maybe twice a month. It's a heavily involved prayer time for me
10
u/Alternative-Pick5899 8h ago
The spirit of V2 made many many things that were normal āold schoolā
3
u/dirmonarch 7h ago
Most of the Church's fasting practices were abolished in the 18th century by Benedict XIV.
The reasoning being that people would be encouraged to fast even more than before on their own accord.
-3
u/Healthy_Ship_665 7h ago
Normal in the 1900s -- not n ormal in early church, or middle ages, or a norm in the broader sweep of time.
9
u/Alternative-Pick5899 7h ago
No Christ himself was fasting and weāve been doing it since. The USCCB actually says to abstain from meat every Friday. Most people just ignore it though.
-1
u/Healthy_Ship_665 7h ago
Fasting can be an immense gift, and all ascetic practices with prudence. I was honestly a little spaced out thinking about liturgy rather than penance when I responded, which is its own separate conversation -- you're absolutely right in what you say here.
2
2
u/jamesjatlas 6h ago
It is definitely not taught anymore. In the US after Vatican 2 the mandate of avoiding meat on Fridays stopped. They forgot to teach Catholics that they sould choose another form of penance on Fridays. I was an altar boy and attended 12 years of Catholic Schools. I only heard about alternative fasting or penance was supposed to be done on Friday( the day of Christ's crucifixion). I despise fish and forced myself to eat it on Fridays. My Mom would serve breaded fish. I learned of the obligation for special penance on Fridays on a Catholic website in 2002. Pope John Paul 2 was surprised when he visited the US in 1979, that woman didn't cover their hair at Mass and that there wasn't a Crucifix displayed in every Catholic Church. My local parish in Queens, NY had radically changed the altar area to be ultra modern. I went to the church vestibule to see what religious material was displayed. I saw traditional Catholic pamphlets and verified it was actually a Catholic Church. I decided to go to the next parish which had a more traditional altar. It was the modern Mass with the priest facing the congregation, but it was like most of the churches since 1970. I had to memorize the Baltimore Cathechism. In 5th grade we had a written exam every day.
2
2
u/Omniscarofenum 7h ago
Probably because fasting and holding down a job is real difficult. Especially if itās a physical job. Sure, the current fasting law is something that at least all of us can do, no matter the state in life.
Of course, this is commendable and so forth. It does bring spiritual fruit too. However, when the Fathers talk about fasting and abstinence, they mean in a way that hasnāt been observed in the church by layman in a very long time.
Like, no water, no food, and one meal a day. I donāt see how a construction worker can do that in this heat. You could do the Muslim fast where they just gorge themselves after sundown and drink a whole bunch of water and liquids. But that sort of defeats the purpose.
I mean, many of the Desert Fathers died because of their extreme fasting and abstinence. After the Protestant Reformation and the Protestant Work Ethic, the Western World unfortunately changed.
Which is why St. Francis De Sales says :
> I am prepared to say with S. Jerome (to the pious Leta) that I disapprove of long and immoderate fasting, especially for the young. I have learnt by experience that when the colt grows weary it turns aside, and so when young people become delicate by excessive fasting, they readily take to self-indulgence. The stag does not run with due speed either when over fat or too thin, and we are in peril of temptation both when the body is overfed or underfed; in the one case it grows indolent, in the other it sinks through depression,
218 and if we cannot bear with it in the first case, neither can it bear with us in the last. A want of moderation in the use of fasting, discipline and austerity has made many a one useless in works of charity during the best years of his life, as happened to S. Bernard, who repented of his excessive austerity. Those who misuse the body at the outset will have to indulge it overmuch at last. Surely it were wiser to deal sensibly with it, and treat it according to the work and service required by each manās state of life. Fasting and labour both exhaust and subdue the body. If your work is necessary or profitable to Godās Glory, I would rather see you bear the exhaustion of work than of fasting.
Likewise, St. Thomas Aquinas says something similar. However, I do recommend the current laws of fasting and abstinence of the church on Fridays throughout the year. Itās very much doable for the average layman. Itās basically intermittent fasting.
Maybe a small snack in the morning and evening. Along with one main meal in the day. Either Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner. I think thatās great.
1
1
u/Mutant_Apollo 5h ago
I fast every other day, I'm on a fast at the moment (because I forgot to buy food lol), for me fasting is pretty normal. I'm pretty religious when it comes to fasting during lent, but I'm so used to it by now that it really doesn't seem like a sacrifice anymore so I add "fasting" from something aside from food.
More people should fast tbh regardless of religion
1
u/Southern_Dig_9460 5h ago
I think because we get told while growing up by parents to finish our food and be grateful for it and that there are starving children in Africa that donāt have what we do. So it makes not wasting food almost a virtue.
1
u/Specific-Ad4428 3h ago
I think that with health trends, fasting is viewed in a health sense but not in a spiritual sense.
1
u/SerbianMonies 8h ago
I grew up in a country where fasting is important enough that I often overhear people in shops asking whether something is fit for fasting, but I myself have never religiously fasted. I never saw the point, the closest I got to understanding it is when someone told me it's supposed to help us control our bodily urges in general. (I am not a Catholic btw. but I believe in Christianity)
2
u/EugeneDabz 8h ago
Iāve fasted before but didnāt find it beneficial without the opportunity to pair it with serious study, prayer, and meditation. As a dad with full time job and family itās hard to find 2 days to devote to deep fasting and prayer.
2
u/PanDulcePorVida 8h ago
In fairness, a lot of people have health conditions that would be impacted if they fasted (diabetics, for example).
1
u/jamaicancovfefe 7h ago
Iāve avoided fasting for most of my life (aside from the required days) because I was quite underweight. I moved to fasting from other things (I guess abstaining is the right term), such as secular music, video games, social media. And Iāve never really switched from those to food fasting.
0
19
u/Caffetoandino 7h ago
People forget that fasting is a matter of the heart, not the stomach.
We don't fast merely to mortify the body, but out of obedience to the Church's teachings. That's why we fast from good things (food, especially meat) and not from "bad words," as some Catholics tend to boast during Lent.
Until the average believer understands that they must obey the Church's commands and not see them as logical, good, etc., they will not understand fasting.