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Fasting is one of the pillars of monastic life. We are taught its
value by our Savior Himself who prepared for His confrontation
with the Devil in the wilderness by a fast of forty days (Matt.
4:22).
St. John Climacus writes: “Fasting ends lust, roots out bad
thoughts, frees one from evil dreams. Fasting makes for purity
of prayer, an enlightened soul, a watchful mind, a deliverance
from blindness. Fasting is the door of compunction, humble
sighing, joyful contrition, an end to chatter, an occasion for
silence, a custodian of obedience, a lightening of sleep, health
of the body, an agent of dispassion, a remission of sins, the
gate, indeed, the delight of Paradise.” (Ladder of
Divine Ascent, step 14.)
Our Lord Who teaches us: “When you fast put oil on your head
and wash your face, so that your fasting may not be seen by
others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 16:17-18).
Our fasting must always be joined to prayer. This is why we are
careful to maintain the link between the time of our fasts and the
Church’ liturgical cycles. It is also for this reason that
hospitality is more important than the strict observance of
outward rules of fasting, as the fathers often teach us.
Fasting is an instrument to overcome the power of
darkness present in the world now and it has a purification value;
it has to be experienced to be understood and appreciated. It
could be recommended twice a week if possible on Wednesdays and
Fridays.
In the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we
see many examples of fasting. Jesus fasted. According to
tradition, fasting is encouraged especially in times of great
temptation or severe trials. Certain devils, “can be
cast out in no other way except by prayer and fasting,”
said Jesus. (Mark 9:29)
We have to realize the power of fasting. Fasting means to make a
sacrifice for God, to offer not only our prayers, but also to make
our whole being, our body itself, participate in sacrifice. And we
do that with love, for a special intention, and to purify ourselves
and the world. This great task of purification needs sacrifices.
Fasting, which so many dislike, which requires faith in God, since
it makes one feel weak and poorly, is really a Divinely appointed
means of grace. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our
own imagined strength; and in fasting we learn what poor, weak
creatures we are – dependent on a meal for example of meat for the
little strength which we are so apt to lean upon.
Pope Clement I (died 99 or 101)
“Let them, therefore, with fasting and with prayer make their
adjurations, and not with the elegant and well-arranged and
fitly-ordered words of learning, but as men who have
received the gift of healing from God, confidently, to the glory
of God. By your fastings and prayers and perpetual watching,
together with your other good works, mortify the works of the
flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit” – Two Epistles of Virginity, 12
Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)
(c. 70-140)
“Before the baptism, moreover, the one who baptizes and the one
being baptized must fast, and any others who can. And you must
tell the one being baptized to fast for one or two days
beforehand. Your fasts must not be identical with those of the
hypocrites.” – Didache, 7
The Shepherd of Hermas (c. 90-140)
“This fasting … is very good, provided the commandments of the
Lord be observed … First of all, be on your guard against every
evil word, and every evil desire, and purify your heart from all
the vanities of this world. If you guard against these things,
your fasting will be perfect. And you will do also as follows.
Having fulfilled what is written, in the day on which you fast
you will taste nothing but bread and water; and having reckoned
up the price of the dishes of that day which you intended to
have eaten, you will give it to a widow, or an orphan, or to
some person in want, and thus you will exhibit humility of mind,
so that he who has received benefit from your humility may fill
his own soul, and pray for you to the Lord.
If you observe fasting, as I have commanded you, your sacrifice
will be acceptable to God, and this fasting will be written
down; and the service thus performed is noble, and sacred, and
acceptable to the Lord.” – Shepherd of Hermas, Book 3, Similitude 5,
Chapter 3
Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220 AD)
“Let us fast, brethren and sisters, lest tomorrow perchance we
die.” Openly let us vindicate our disciplines. Sure we are that
“they who are in the flesh cannot please God;” not, of course,
those who are in the substance of the flesh, but in the care,
the affection, the work, the will, of it. Emaciation displeases
not us; for it is not by weight that God bestows flesh, any more
than He does “the Spirit by measure.” – On Fasting, 17
The Desert Fathers (c. 250-300)
“Abba Isidore said, “If you fast regularly, do not be inflated
with pride; if you think highly of yourself because of it, then
you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than
to be inflated with pride and glorify himself” – Silence (EWTN link)
Macarius of Egypt (ca. 300 – 391)
“This is the mark of Christianity: however much a man toils,
and however many righteous deeds he performs, to feel that he
has done nothing, and in fasting to say, “This is not fasting,”
and in praying, “This is not prayer,” and in perseverance at
prayer, “I have shown no perseverance; I am only just beginning
to practice and to take pains”; and even if he is righteous
before God, he should say, “I am not righteous, not I; I do not
take pains, but only make a beginning every day.” – Abba
Macarius
the Great, Homily 26
Saint Basil the Great, (330–379)
“Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful;
fasting makes lawgivers wise. Fasting is a good safeguard for
the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the
valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. Fasting repels
temptations, anoints unto piety; it is the comrade of
watchfulness and the artificer of chastity. In war it fights
bravely, in peace it teaches stillness.” – Homily
on
Fasting
Saint Augustine (354–430)
“Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s
flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble,
scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust,
and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into
yourself.”- Sermon, On Prayer and Fasting, LXXII
Carthusian fasting
- Carthusian Statutes Chapter 2
- Jesus himself, God and Lord, whose virtue was above both
the assistance of solitude and the hindrance of social
contact, wished, nevertheless, to teach us by his example;
so, before beginning to preach or work miracles, he was, as
it were, proved by a period of fasting and temptation in the
solitude of the desert;
- We cannot here pass over in silence a mystery that merits
our deepest consideration; the fact that this same Lord and
Savior of mankind deigned to live as the first exemplar of
our Carthusian life, when he retired alone to the desert and
gave himself to prayer and the interior life; treating his
body hard with fasting, vigils and other penances; and
conquering the devil and his temptations with spiritual
arms.
- Carthusian Statutes Chapter 7
- Fasting and Abstinence
Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we
should follow in his steps; this we do by accepting the
hardships and anxieties of this life, by embracing poverty
with the freedom of God’s sons, and by renouncing our own
will. Moreover, in accordance with monastic tradition it is
for us also to follow Christ in his fast in the desert,
treating the body hard and making it obey us, so that the
mind may flame with longing for God.
The fathers keep abstinence once a week, normally on
Friday. On that day they content themselves with bread and
water. On certain days and at certain times of the year,
they observe the fast of the Order, and take only one meal a
day (cf. chap. 48).
We should practice mortification of the flesh not merely
out of obedience to the Statutes, but primarily to be freed
from the tendencies of our lower nature and enabled to
follow the Lord more readily and cheerfully. But if, in a
particular case, or with the passage of time, someone finds
that any of the aforesaid observances is beyond his
strength, and that he is hindered rather than helped in the
following of Christ, let him in a filial spirit arrange some
suitable measure of relaxation with the Prior, at least for
a time. But, ever mindful of Christ who calls, let him see
what he can do; and what he is unable to give to God by
common observance, let him offer in some other way, denying
himself and taking up his cross daily.
Novices, therefore, should be accustomed gradually to the
fasts and abstinences of the Order, so that, under the
guidance of the Novice-Master, they may prudently and safely
tend towards the rigor of complete observance. He should
teach them to be specially watchful not to make future
fasting a pretext for over-indulgence at meals. So, let them
learn to chasten by the spirit the misdeeds of the flesh,
and to carry in the body the death of Jesus so that the life
of Jesus may also be manifested in their bodies.
In accordance with the practice introduced by our first
Fathers and ever since observed with remarkable zeal, we
exclude all eating and taking of meat from our way of life.
This abstinence is to be observed as a distinguishing mark
of the Order and as a sign of hermit austerity, in which,
with God’s help, we intend to persevere.
No one is to indulge in penitential practices over and
above those prescribed by the Statutes without the knowledge
and approval of the Prior. But, if the Prior wishes someone
to have some additional food or sleep or anything else
whatsoever, or, on the contrary, if he wishes to impose
something difficult and burdensome, we have no right to
refuse, lest, in resisting him, we are found to be in
reality resisting not him but God, whose place he holds in
our regard. For though many and diverse are the things that
we observe, we cannot hope that any of them will profit us
without the blessing of obedience.
- Carthusian fasting for the Fathers is usually on Fridays and
consists of eating solely bread and water
Fasting and medical considerations
FASTING BREAD RECIPE
Taken from Sr. Emmanuels' book, "Healing
and
Liberation Through Fasting". This bread is very hearty and
really sustains one who chooses to fast on bread and water.
3 cups white flour
4 cups wheat flour
1 pkg dry yeast
1/2 cup of lukewarm water
2 cups of very hot water
1 beaten egg
1 Tablespoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Sugar or Honey
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of butter
1 cup Raisins (or fresh apple peeled and cut)
1 cup Almonds or Walnuts
1 cup Plain Oats
In a medium sized bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm
water. Cover with a plate and wait a few minutes until bubbly.
In a large bowl, combine the flours. Make a well in the flour
and add the yeast mixture. Mix a bit.
Reusing the now empty medium bowl, combine Salt, Sugar, Butter,
Oil, Raisins, Nuts, 1 beaten egg, and the two cups of very hot
water. Pour this over the yeast mixture. Mix/knead the dough,
adding flour and or water as needed.
Knead the dough until it comes clean from the bowl. Cover with
a plate or towel and let it rise ten minutes. (I often skip this
step and the bread still tastes fine) Knead it again until it
has spring to it. Place in well greased bowl and cover, letting
it rise until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending
on room temp.
Form into desired shapes. This will make two large or three
medium loaves.
Place in greased pan. Brush the top with remaining egg (if you
did not use it in recipe) and sprinkle with sesame seeds, oats
or poppy seeds, if desired.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, until done and golden
brown.
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