[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to Faith Break. Finding God moments in your everyday. Each week on Faith Break, hosts Karen, Luke, and Ann Gallagher bring spiritual refreshment to your Daily Life.
It's March 9th. This week, Karen and Ann offer creative ideas for going deeper with the practice of fasting to help make space in your heart for God's spirit to move.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Faith Break. I'm Anne Gallagher.
[00:00:39] Speaker C: And I'm Karen.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: And we are here to help you find God moments in your everyday as we hang out together as friends, co workers, moms, wives, ministers.
[00:00:51] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, that one.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: That one. And we are in the Lenten season. Welcome to Lent, everybody. Yeah, this is like prime time for Catholics. We love Lenting.
And today we are going to be talking to you about the Lenten discipline of fasting.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: But before we do that, I think we should get right down to our God moments. So, Karen, do you have a God moment recently you want to share?
[00:01:18] Speaker C: I think I might have already shared the same one.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: That's okay.
[00:01:22] Speaker C: But I had the same experience, so I got to hang out with my great nephew the other day. He's a mom.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: I bet he's already getting big.
[00:01:31] Speaker C: Yeah, he is. And he's changed so much. And it was just fun watching my niece and nephew. And I told him, I was like, you know, I'm off on Friday, so if you guys ever just want to.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Go out, I will hold that baby.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: And my nephew was like, how about every Friday?
[00:01:51] Speaker B: I'm like, okay, sign me up.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: And then the kids are like, well, not until we're done with school. Like, oh, it's just the four of us with the new baby. And it was just awesome. I just still amazed at the awesomeness of creation. And a baby.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: Well, and we're so far away from it, you know, like. Cause our kids are teens now. It's just when you're in it, it seems like it's never gonna change. And then you look back and you're like, oh, my God. Mine used to be this little, like.
[00:02:20] Speaker C: Watching Emma and Connor hold him.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:02:22] Speaker C: It like, you guys used to be that little, and now you're not. And then Connor was like, I can still be little. And he tried to crawl up on my lap. And, like, he's so sweet, you know? I was like, yeah, that's not working.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: But he's like one of those, like, puppies that's no longer a puppy anymore and so tries to, like, climb.
[00:02:38] Speaker C: Yeah, so that's. Mine is just the smell of a newborn.
[00:02:42] Speaker B: Love it.
[00:02:43] Speaker C: How about you?
[00:02:45] Speaker B: So mine is one of the teens. I'm not going to share their name, but we've just. This year with the senior high kids has been really cool. And I've shared before that we have several regulars who have been bringing friends to the youth group. And so there's one girl who recently started bringing her friend who is not Catholic and actually grew up in a family that was not practiced. Like, not religious at all. But she is so curious. And specifically, she is drawn to the sacrament. So I know you talked to her when we were on retreat a little while back, but she is just like. She went to mass for the first time a week or so ago and was just like, that was amazing. I've never seen anything like that. And she wants the sacraments, and it's just that hunger.
[00:03:38] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Isn't that beautiful? We're used to having. I mean, we prepare dozens of teens for confirmation every year. You know, like, 40, 50 kids every year for confirmation. And a lot of them are very happy to be there. Some of them are less happy to be there. But this one man, she's just like, the desire.
[00:03:59] Speaker C: The desire is palpable with her. She's definitely wise, above her years.
And I always. I think I've mentioned this before. I get jealous of people who are coming into the faith later in life because they just. There's this sense of hunger.
And, you know, and we talk about, like, the first communion kids, how excited they are to go up and receive. And I was like, what if we all were that excited all the time? How different our church would be?
[00:04:30] Speaker B: So that was my God moment, just watching her experience the Catholic Church in such an open way.
So we have some work to do to make those things happen for her.
[00:04:40] Speaker C: Well, I think God has already been working. We just have the logistics.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, we got the easy part. Okay, so today we're talking fasting.
[00:04:47] Speaker C: Fasting.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Fasting. I feel like it's the flashiest of the Lenten disciplines. Like, it's the one we kind of talk about the most.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: I think that's the one that most people end up doing.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: Focusing on more and.
[00:04:58] Speaker C: No.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: Which is weird because it's not really the most fun of the disciplines.
Catholics, really. I think there's just some. We like to be suffering.
Right. Offer it up.
[00:05:11] Speaker C: I mean, look what Jesus did.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: I know.
[00:05:14] Speaker C: I think giving up chocolate for 40 days is totally insignificant compared to Jesus.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: Which everyone's Catholic grandmother has told them over and over again throughout their childhood. Okay. So we're gonna try to take a fresh Take on fasting today and maybe offer you guys some ideas about how to get creative with new ways to fast in today's world. But let's just cover the basics. I know we talked a little bit about this last week, but.
Okay, so Catholics who are 14 years old or older and in good health.
[00:05:46] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Are required to fast only two days every year on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. And a fast means not no food, but it means two small meals and one regular size meal. And the two small meals shouldn't equal.
[00:06:07] Speaker C: The size of a bigger meal.
[00:06:09] Speaker B: Okay, so that's fasting, and then we abstain from meat on the Fridays and Lent.
[00:06:14] Speaker C: Yes. And eggs don't count. Eggs are not meat, nor are they dairy.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: Fish is not meat.
[00:06:21] Speaker C: Fish isn't meat. Correct. You can eat fish according to the. Yeah, according to the rules. And it is because of the significance of fish in the daily life of Jesus and the disciples.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Didn't it always seem. I mean, I know, like, a lot of churches do fish fries as, like, fundraisers and community events, like on Fridays and Lent. And that always seemed like. I mean, I love a fish fry. I got nothing against the fish fry, but it didn't really seem like fasting if you're going out and having all this, like, fried food, you know, Anyway, So.
Yeah. So basically, like, the church doesn't actually require much of us in terms of fasting. So it's really up for everybody to figure out, what does fasting mean for me, how can this discipline be meaningful and something that's worthwhile to put energy into doing? Because it's not about calorie restriction or dieting. We want it to have a spiritual significance.
How do you feel about fasting in general?
[00:07:23] Speaker C: It's hard for me. I love my food.
I think. I feel like I take fasting more as a spiritual approach of fasting from something like giving up something than I do actual food.
And I know that first two Fridays of Lent, it's always like, I'm making breakfast. I'm like, ah, I can't have my hash.
Or you have soup, and you realize it's not vegetable broth.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:59] Speaker C: It's like chicken stock or beef stock. And I was like, is that technically meat? But yes, because it comes from. So I feel like it's just a bunch of more questions than answers sometimes. But I try.
[00:08:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I try. And I mean, there is something to be said. You know, when Don was here, he said he was talking about sacrifice and, like, that there is a spiritual power in sacrificing Something. Because it aligns your heart not only with what Jesus sacrificed for us, but also with people around the world who do not have all the things that we have. Right. I mean, like, you know, I mean, we're very privileged, and we definitely. I know for myself, like, if I want something, I can pretty much get it right. Whether it's like a food item or just some, you know, comfort in life. Like, I can have what I. Not only what I need, but I can have most of the things that I want. And yet, you know, you've had that moment where you walk into Wegmans to pick up lunch and you're like, there's nothing here. You know, like, that's crazy.
[00:09:08] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. And then you feel super guilty about it.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: Right. So, like, fasting is a way to kind of put us in touch with, you know, in solidarity with the poor around the world and in our own communities and to experience sort of a poverty of spiritual spirit, not just the hunger of our bodies. Right.
[00:09:25] Speaker C: Father Rob is always really funny about things like this. Like, if somebody comes in the office and they're like, oh, my gosh, are we having lunch? I'm starving. He's like, you're starving? Did you have breakfast? Did you have dinner last night? Did you have lunch yesterday? And he'll, like, go through. And we're like, okay, maybe we're not starving, we're just really hungry. Or if it's like, oh, it's so cold outside. Oh, do you have a warm bed to sleep in? So he's like, great.
[00:09:50] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:09:51] Speaker C: About those reminders, perspective of things. So I try to. I try to do that as well.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah. So I think deciding how we want to fast is a very personal decision.
And there are some ways we can go about it with discernment and kind of intention in ways that might be.
Have more of a benefit for our faith lives than just giving up something like chocolate or beer, you know, whatever, those kind of hot button ones.
So I would say maybe something to think about when you're trying to decide how to fast. This Lent is like, well, what am I clinging to in my life that maybe feels compulsive? Or, like, I feel like I have to do it every day, but it's not really serving me. And what can I let go of that might create more room for God to move?
Yeah. So it's like thinking about, like, what are the places in my. The things that I'm clinging into that are impeding my freedom, my spiritual, internal freedom.
[00:10:52] Speaker C: Pope Benedict had a quote from his Lenten message back in 2009. And thanks, Ann, for putting notes together. This is where I found the quote, but it says, throughout fasting and praying, we allow him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being. The hunger and thirst for God.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:17] Speaker C: It takes on a whole new understanding if we. If we're thinking it, like you said, opening ourselves to more moments for God.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:29] Speaker C: And I'm so guilty of this. I. Social media scroll and I was like, oh, my gosh, how did this half an hour just go by? And I didn't do anything other than swipe up.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Right, Right.
[00:11:41] Speaker C: And I could have been using that time to write in my gratitude journal or just sit. Or just sit.
[00:11:47] Speaker B: Just sit, you know? Yeah. Well, I love the idea of that quote about hunger.
The hunger. And in the depths of our being, experiencing the hunger and thirst for God. Because we don't. Like you said, with Fr. Rob reminding us, like, we don't actually experience hunger.
[00:12:07] Speaker C: Right.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Most of us, we sit down and we have the meals or the snacks or whatever. We don't ever really feel. Experience the physical sensation of hunger very often. And that's not necessarily a bad thing if it's something that's done, you know, in moderation to help us.
[00:12:25] Speaker C: Right.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Think about what our spiritual hunger is like, you know? I mean.
Yeah. And, you know, I was thinking, too, we really. Not only do we not experience hunger, but I think in our culture today, we just try not to experience any negative emotions.
[00:12:43] Speaker C: Right? Yeah. Oh, my gosh.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Right. Like yearning.
Yearning, longing. We talk with teens all the time about, like, mental health and depression and anxiety. And, like, those are so real, and the struggle is very real. But there's also, like, just grieving. And sometimes grieving is an appropriate process and emotion to have when we're dealing with a loss. So, like, just. I think Lent is also a time that can remind us.
It's that some of these, like, harder emotions and experiences just part of being human. Right. And the Church, in its wisdom, puts this in our normal, you know, the liturgical year and in the cycles of seasons that we have so that we can, you know, realize it's just a part of life. Right.
[00:13:26] Speaker C: You know, that phrase, we probably grew up with it more than. But let go, let God.
It's like, totally just. And it's hard because we are in a society that we have everything at our fingertips.
At Confirmation.
At Confirmation, we were talking about social justice.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:13:48] Speaker C: And I had the blessing of being an adult leader.
[00:13:52] Speaker B: You had a tough group that one.
[00:13:53] Speaker C: Week, and we were talking about the question that you had posed to us. Is money more important than people, or is people more important than money?
[00:14:04] Speaker B: Right.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: And it was really interesting. And unfortunately, like, my group, everybody but one said, people are more important than money.
[00:14:14] Speaker B: Okay, that's good. But there's always that one.
[00:14:18] Speaker C: After we were talking about commercialism, consumerism, and all of that, they flipped the script and they're like, no, money is more important. I was like, wait, I totally did the wrong thing then.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: They're just pushing your buttons, Karen.
[00:14:35] Speaker C: I think they were. Because I'm like, how do you see that this is okay? And they were like, laughing at how I get really animated when it comes to social justice. Cause I was like, this is not right. We have to.
But, yeah, so just like that, letting go of be still and know that I am God, you know, just be.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. So I did find a couple of questions for discernment when you're online that I wanted to share. So these are things you could ask yourself when you're trying to decide how you're called to fast. So what habits do I engage in that are destructive to my spiritual health?
To what material things am I too attached?
What areas in my life are unbalanced? And to what do I devote too much or not enough time? So fasting becomes about, like, how you're using your time so interesting. And, I mean, then I went looking online for lots of creative ideas. And some of them, this might. If this kind of thing works for you, awesome. But for me, like, a lot of them were like, take cold showers. You know, they're almost. I'm like, no, I'm not gonna do that.
[00:15:48] Speaker C: See, I could do that. Cause I'm used to camping.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: Yeah. No, I'm not gonna do, you know, things that seemed maybe a little bit extreme for things like that. But there were a ton of really creative and interesting ideas I hadn't thought of about weeks to fast.
[00:16:01] Speaker C: Now that I'm thinking about this and, well, continuing to think about it and talking, I should really have a daily schedule of what I do.
Concrete. Oh, I just spent an hour scrolling on social media.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: Cause you probably might not even be aware of.
[00:16:19] Speaker C: Cause you don't even.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: Yeah, what's going on?
[00:16:22] Speaker C: And then look at that and be like, oh, my gosh. When I say that I don't have time to do something, I actually probably do. I know that's hard. That's a hard realization.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, some of the ones I found that I didn't like the cold Showers one. Some of them were more like, if you have a favorite, I don't know, blanket or pair of slippers or whatever, don't give that up for Lent. Like, almost like. But the idea was to physically make yourself uncomfortable, which I guess is what fasting and the hunger is about. But I think we need to be careful about when it crosses the line into, like, self punishment and perfectionism, because that can be a really easy trap to fall into. And that's basically just pride.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:07] Speaker B: Right. If we're. If we're getting too hung up about. Well, I'm giving up these 12 things for Lent, and I'm gonna be absolutely rigid about it, and everybody look at me while I'm giving all these things up for Lent. So, anyway, did you find some cool ideas that you want to suggest to people?
[00:17:23] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:17:24] Speaker B: All right, Me too. Let me get my list.
[00:17:26] Speaker C: Yeah, I gotta get my list.
Well, I like to.
You found, like, to be more grateful, and you know how I am with my gratitude book, which hasn't been a daily occurrence. But, like, we. I'm going back to our search retreat, so.
[00:17:45] Speaker B: Good.
[00:17:45] Speaker C: Right. So we. This year, we had. We did affirmation bangs, and then we got to write affirmation letters to everybody.
And whenever I go on a retreat, I always leave a little note for Jeremy and the kids.
And sometimes my mom will actually send me one before a retreat. But just those little notes around, just letting people know that I'm not taking them for granted.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:18:13] Speaker C: And I've noticed something in them.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: So giving up a few minutes of your day.
[00:18:19] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:20] Speaker B: To focus on showing gratitude and appreciation to other people.
[00:18:23] Speaker C: To other people. Not just realizing the gratitude that I have in my life, but sharing that and seeing that in others and letting them know.
[00:18:33] Speaker B: Yeah. I found a whole bunch that I thought were really interesting around social media and electronics.
And, you know, you can kind of take it to whatever level you want to take it. Some of them were suggesting we'll delete all the apps from your phone and then only add them back as you need them and see how few you can get by with during Lent. I was like, whoa, that's a lot. But some people do, like, a complete fast from social media for the 40 days of Lent. I'm thinking about deleting just Facebook from my phone for those 40 days, because I've never done that. And I feel like that might be. That might be something I could do.
But I liked. Even if you're just deleting one or two apps from your phone and seeing what the Kind of time and attention. Not just the time you're spending, but, like, how much of your headspace is caught up with, like.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:29] Speaker B: Always being, you know, connected to that device.
[00:19:32] Speaker C: So, like, with my kids, like, their phone is in their hand all the time, even when they're at home.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:40] Speaker C: Like, they'll go from their bedroom and they'll come downstairs to hang out with us, but they can't leave their phone.
They've got to bring with them.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah. And my kids don't really. They're not super into, like, the social media stuff, but they'll be, like, texting.
[00:19:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: But I was like, all the time.
[00:19:56] Speaker C: Why do you.
[00:19:58] Speaker B: I guess that doesn't bother me as much. Cause they're talking to friends and stuff. But I was like, with my phone.
[00:20:03] Speaker C: I leave it up in the kitchen, and if it dings, it dings.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:07] Speaker C: And then the kids are like, mom, your phone. I was like, okay, I'll get to it when I get to it. Right.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: You don't feel physical anxiety when you're physically disconnected from your phone. It's probably even freeing to do that.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: I love it.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: That's why we have phone collectors in the youth room, so that, you know, just to give teens permission.
[00:20:23] Speaker C: And that's why I love.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: Physically detach themselves from the device.
[00:20:27] Speaker C: That's why I love camping. Because especially in the Adirondacks, I don't get service. You can't get me even if you wanted to.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: Right. So much freedom.
[00:20:34] Speaker C: I don't feel like. Well, maybe I guess if Jeremy was watching this, he'd be laughing right now.
[00:20:39] Speaker B: Because he'd probably be calling you out.
[00:20:41] Speaker C: Yeah. He's like, you're on your phone a lot. But yeah.
The other thing I like about Lent or the cool, creative ideas is increasing the service to others and the needy. We're talking about. You mentioned the 40 bags in 40 days. We have Matthew's closet. We have our food collections.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: So to connect your fasting to your almsgiving is a cool thing to do during Lent.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: Or not even just the almsgiving of, like, putting money in something to donate it, but, like, physically going to somewhere and helping. It's so different when you actually see it. And I think. And I'm not. I love our ministries that we have at the church, but a lot of it is, like, give this stuff and then you're done. There is no, like, relationship building relationship to who you're giving it to. So, like, actually going and sitting with the people that you're making lunch for.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: Or even, like, you were talking last time about wanting to do the, you know, do the rice bowls and doing the recipes, the meatless recipes, as a family. Yep. You know, so it's not just have.
[00:21:57] Speaker C: A story of this person.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: So you're not just fasting from food. You're also learning about people all over the world who are in need that we're in relationship with. So that's cool. You wanna do a lightning round of some things we found?
[00:22:12] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: Here's one for my kids.
Go without headphones or ipods for a day.
Talk about. So the phone is attached to the hand and then the earbuds are physically attached to the ears.
[00:22:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: I don't think my kids could do that. But I'm. No, no. Go without earbuds. No.
[00:22:31] Speaker C: I don't know if I would want my kids to go out with their earbuds. Cause the stuff that they listen to annoys me.
[00:22:37] Speaker B: But that's a good challenge. Maybe you also. You don't have to do it all the time for 40 days. You can give up whatever you're giving up for a time frame, for a small amount of time, a week or a day or whatever.
[00:22:51] Speaker C: I'd like switch your regular radio to Christian music.
[00:22:56] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:22:57] Speaker C: Yeah. Because that is. Or no music.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: Yeah, go.
[00:23:01] Speaker C: No music. See how that.
[00:23:03] Speaker B: I don't know. I do.
[00:23:04] Speaker C: Thoughts?
[00:23:04] Speaker B: I really like music.
Here's another one for devices. And then I think this might be the last one I have about electronics. But this is not something that I do. But I know my kids do. And I think my husband might do this too. But speed. So like slow down the audiobook or the video you're watching or listening to and do it in like actual physical time. Do you speed things up when you're listening to them on the Internet?
[00:23:29] Speaker C: No.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: Okay. My kids do that. Like, if they're watching a YouTube video, they'll watch it at like twice the speed of normal.
[00:23:36] Speaker C: Yeah, that's an option.
[00:23:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:38] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: I'm sure you're age world.
[00:23:40] Speaker C: Anyway, so I like the ones. The list that you found has like, topics. And this one is great. It's like for those whose lives are out of balance. I mean, I think that's every one of us. But spend at least half an hour each day in meaningful conversation with your spouse.
[00:24:03] Speaker B: Ooh.
[00:24:05] Speaker C: So I have a funny.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: That's a great one.
[00:24:06] Speaker C: I have a funny story. So yesterday. We're recording this on Monday. So yesterday at mass. And I won't say who the couple was, but one is a teacher and the other one isn't so they drove separately.
[00:24:19] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:24:19] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: A teacher for religious Ed.
[00:24:22] Speaker C: A teacher for religious Ed. Yes. So his wife comes in and says hi to me. He walks past. He's like, oh, hey, wife. And walks by.
And I was like, don't you want to give her a hug or something? Like. And it was just. We are so busy with just, like, random stuff.
[00:24:41] Speaker B: Getting through the day, getting through the week, all the details and picking up who, when. Yeah.
[00:24:45] Speaker C: And when Jared. And we go out on our, like, dates.
[00:24:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:48] Speaker C: We end up talking about the kids or stuff we need to do at home.
[00:24:51] Speaker B: I know.
[00:24:52] Speaker C: So, yeah.
[00:24:53] Speaker B: Or.
[00:24:53] Speaker C: That's a good one. If you don't have a spouse, a best friend.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:56] Speaker C: Or a parent or family member. Family member or somebody. And just meaningful, not just. How was the weather?
[00:25:05] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great one.
Oh, here's one. I lied. This is another electronics one. This says, starve the quantified self. So if you're someone who tracks, like, steps or calories or sleep, like, on your phone or your watch or whatever, fast from. This is the metrics we use for a sense of control. Ooh. Over our lives. I was like, that's interesting.
[00:25:33] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:33] Speaker B: You know, so I'm not saying that's for everybody, but that might be for you.
[00:25:37] Speaker C: Notice, I do not have one of those watching that.
Obviously. Maybe it would go into exercise each day, because I could actually.
I could utilize that not only for physical health, but, oh, my gosh, mental and spiritual.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: Bring your lunch to work every day instead of eating out.
[00:25:59] Speaker C: Oh, that takes so much time.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: Park in the back of the parking lot and say a prayer as you walk to the grocery store. Oh, parking in the back.
[00:26:07] Speaker C: I like that idea. Yep. Yep.
[00:26:10] Speaker B: Look for every opportunity to give up your sick seat for another person.
[00:26:14] Speaker C: Oh, See, little things that I kind of already told you. Little things. Yeah. Yeah. Write a list. Oh, see, this goes back to being more grateful. Write a list of ways God has blessed you, but add it each day. So, like, keep, like, make, like, a little consecutive. Consecutive 40 days of. By the end of the.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:33] Speaker C: I like that you have this culmination of gratitude.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: Um, let's see. Oh, give up. Seeking the attention and approval of others. That's a good one. But I feel like it's kind of abstract, and I'm not quite sure how you would measure it or measure it to it. I don't know.
[00:26:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:54] Speaker B: But a good goal. A good goal.
All right. I think that's enough from the Internet for me. What do you. What do you. What are you going to do. What's your fasting goal this year?
[00:27:05] Speaker C: Okay, so I mentioned last week with Don, like, I'm definitely going to do the meatless Friday meals.
[00:27:11] Speaker B: Right. For. From the rice bowl.
[00:27:12] Speaker C: From the rice bowl. But I also am taking a little bit of you. I'm not doing the 40 bags in 40 days. I'm gonna take one room each week to declutter.
[00:27:24] Speaker B: Ooh, awesome.
[00:27:26] Speaker C: It'll probably be more than 40 bags.
[00:27:27] Speaker B: I feel like we should check in with each other for accountability and see how we're doing with our stuff this Lent.
[00:27:33] Speaker C: I don't like it when you bought your house and you first moved it. Like, we bought our house and we didn't have the kids.
[00:27:42] Speaker B: Oh, wow. Okay. And you've been there a long time.
[00:27:44] Speaker C: Yeah, we've almost 18, 19 years.
[00:27:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:48] Speaker C: And we're like, oh, my gosh, look at all this room. Like, it was great.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: Yeah. But you had two kids to that mix.
[00:27:54] Speaker C: We added two kids. Now we have two cats. We have a leopard gecko. The birdies are.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: They've moved on.
[00:28:02] Speaker C: They moved on to a new home. But it's just like. You walk in and there's just stuff everywhere.
[00:28:07] Speaker B: Yeah, everywhere.
[00:28:10] Speaker C: And it's not even like, I don't even know. So that's what I decided. Declutter one room and just focus on that room, you know?
[00:28:19] Speaker B: Right. Well, yeah. So this was a great definition of fasting that I found when we were preparing for today. With. Fasting removes things in order to create space for God or just space.
[00:28:32] Speaker C: As long as you don't bring in other stuff. You need to bring in God, not other stuff.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: But that idea of spaciousness, I think, is really something to lean into this Lent.
[00:28:44] Speaker C: So we are a house that loves to go to Goodwill and thrift stores. And my mom was over one day, and she's like, what are you guys doing? I'm like, oh, we're going to Goodwill. She's like, okay, Jeremy, you cannot bring anything in unless you get rid of three things.
[00:29:01] Speaker B: Right. Whatever you bring in, you gotta take out.
[00:29:02] Speaker C: And do you know what his three things were?
[00:29:04] Speaker B: Were they your things?
[00:29:05] Speaker C: No, me and the kids, dude. He goes, does Karen and Emma and Connor count? And I'm like, no, that doesn't count.
[00:29:12] Speaker B: Nice try. You can't re gift us. You're stuck with us.
That's funny. Yeah. So I'm gonna do 40 bags in 40 days.
[00:29:20] Speaker C: Okay, yeah, let's.
[00:29:21] Speaker B: As a family. Yeah. And I like that because I feel like I can get my kids involved in that. Like, I Feel like that's something we can do as a family.
Oh, this came from the list. But I'm going to take it up this Lent too. I'm just not sure to what extent, but this was fasting from late nights.
Because, you know, going to bed is an issue for me. I get home from meetings and work and I have a hard time going right to bed. So. But I never thought about it from that angle before. Like fasting from late nights. And I wouldn't be able to do that every day. Cause I feel like I would never talk to Tim. I would never have a 30 minute meaningful conversation with my spouse if I did that every night. But that's something I feel like I could do. Like maybe four nights a week would be my goal. Something like that.
[00:30:09] Speaker C: I think the idea is like not. It's like we were talking about. It's not an all or nothing. Because if you make it an all or nothing, you're setting yourself up for failure. And you're setting yourself up for material failure, not spiritual growth.
[00:30:24] Speaker B: Yeah. You're either setting yourself up for failure or perfectionism. And both of them is not the whole.
[00:30:29] Speaker C: Not the whole purpose of these days.
[00:30:33] Speaker B: So the sacrifice and the feeling of hunger and the feeling of space that we've been talking about. There are lots of ways to do that.
Yeah. So fasting from late nights is something I'm gonna work on this Lent.
[00:30:43] Speaker C: Okay. Good luck.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's gonna help me fast from other things too. Cause I always have like a snack when I stay up late. So it's also going to be. That'll have actual physical fasting.
[00:30:51] Speaker C: Yeah. Now, so we also have to hold ourselves accountable after these Fridays.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Right.
[00:30:58] Speaker C: Maybe that it. Hopefully it will become something more of a habit. Of a habit. Y.
[00:31:03] Speaker B: Okay.
That was a lot of ideas we threw out.
I think that's all I have to say about fasting at this point. Oh, we might have some scripture passages.
[00:31:13] Speaker C: We do have some scripture passages.
[00:31:15] Speaker B: Why don't we close with our scripture passages?
[00:31:16] Speaker C: Okay.
Matthew, chapter six.
And when you fast, this is the.
[00:31:24] Speaker B: One we have every Ash Wednesday.
[00:31:25] Speaker C: I know, it's great. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces. That their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. And when you fast, anoint your head. Wash your face. Wash your face. And your fasting may not be seen by others. By your father, who is in secret.
And we talked about this.
And your father who sees in secret will reward you.
[00:31:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that's the one we read on Ash Wednesday. They say, wash your face, but we're putting ashes.
Irony.
Here's 1 from Isaiah 58. Is this not the fast that I choose? To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Fasting is about freedom. I like that one.
[00:32:20] Speaker C: Yep.
And then Joel, chapter two. Yet even now declares the lord, return to me with all your heart. With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: The fasting is directed towards returning to God.
[00:32:36] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. And even if, you know, even with the fasting, the lack of indulgences or weeping and mourning, we're still in prayer during those times. You know, Jesus was still in prayer in the desert. Moses was in prayer in the desert. You know, it's not like we're just ceasing to exist for these 40 days and then celebrate Easter, right?
[00:33:02] Speaker B: Yeah. It's all a journey.
[00:33:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: Okay. All right.
[00:33:06] Speaker C: Yay.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: I think we're good. All right, everybody, have a great week.
[00:33:09] Speaker C: Happy lunch.
[00:33:10] Speaker B: Yep. Good luck with all of your fasting this weekend. We will see you next time when we're going to talk about prayer almsgiving. One of those two. Those will be our next two episodes, so we'll see you then.
[00:33:21] Speaker C: Thanks, everybody. Bye.
[00:33:25] Speaker A: Thanks for taking a faith break with us today.
Karen Luke and Anne Gallagher are lay ministers with the parishes of St. Catherine of Siena in Menden, New York, and Church of the Transfiguration in Pittsford, New York. More about our parishes, including weekly live streamed Sunday mass, can be
[email protected] or Transfiguration. Pittsford Engineering today is by Jeff Beckett. Join us for new episodes of Faith Break each week in Studio on YouTube or on your favorite audio podcast or music.
