Fasting for Advent

grassette

I know that we are all on diets and limiting calories, but fasting has a spiritual dimension, and we are fast coming up to the greatest fasting period that isn't Lent: Advent.

It can be a challenge fasting through Advent because of the Christmas parties. But when I was a child, this was a period in which we would all try to make sacrifices. The Advent calendars for kids that feature a piece of candy in each window are totally contrary to that spirit.

Any ideas about how to fast for Advent?

JamieSK

Well, we could not eat meat on Friday's like during Lent. One thing my husband & I have been trying to do is no meat on Friday's the whole year. There are times it's not possible but for the most part if we are home it does. Fish is good for you and low in calories & fat depending upon the type you get.

Sometimes picking a "fast" day during the week when you know it will fit your schedule but it doesn't have to be the same day each week. The spiritual dimension of fasting has great signifcance for many reasons which I'm sure you already know.

I don't recall ever hearing about fasting during Advent but think it can be exciting in preparing for Jesus' birth!

grassette

The Bishops in England and Wales are bringing back the meatless Fridays because even though Catholics were to continue to think of Fridays as a day of penance, without the Friday fast, nobody remembers. Good for you for reviving the tradition. I agree with you that the Friday meatless day was probably very healthy.

Advent is a time of preparation, which in Catholic terms means repentance, purification and prayer. Fasting, mortification, and almsgiving have been traditional spiritual practices of purification.

For Advent, I am thinking of fasting from caffeine. I like my morning jolt from coffee and drink two huge mugs of cafe au lait (half milk, half coffee). Without it, I don't feel fully awake, I get withdrawal headaches, and the huge downside is that it gets my acid reflux going and damages my esophagus. So giving it up would be respecting my body more as a temple of the Holy Spirit, and expressing gratitude to God for his gift of life. Continuing the way I am is lacking in respect for that gift.

So, if I give up coffee for Advent, there is a good deal of bodily mortification that comes with that. And a huge need of the grace of God to overcome myself. In order to diminish the physical consequence of giving up coffee, I need to step up the exercise that I do in the morning to get the heart rate up to diminish that aspect of the craving. So I am going to resolve to do an hour on the treadmill as soon as I get up, and before breakfast.

Advent also indicates a need for deeper prayer. The Jesuits have put together some great on-line ressources for Advent including an Advent retreat: http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Advent/
They have some daily meditations on the Scripture that really help you get into the spirit of Christmas. I'm going to try to set aside some time in the evening to follow those before I go to bed.

Plus, we can't forget that the mothers are the priests of the domestic Church. What we do with our kids to prepare them spiritually is so important to their formation as Catholics. And there is a wealth of Catholic traditions, from Advent wreaths to Christmas baking that can get them involved in the meaning of Christmas. These are all small sacramentals that make our faith come alive. What are your Advent traditions?

Christmas is the season for giving, and the parish does plenty of charitable work in this time. So, if I fully participate in those, then I am doing the almsgiving.

Dadof8

We haven't done much in the way of fasting for advent but I'm going to talk to my wife about the idea. One advent activity we did, that our kids liked was to set up our crèche with out Jesus in the manger, we would start the wise men in a far off room of the house. Each day the wise men would be move a little closer to the stable. On Christmas morning the wise men would reach the stable and Jesus would be added to the manger.

grassette

The creche is such a wonderful tradition! I've set mine up without baby Jesus, but your idea of doing the trip to Bethlehem throughout the house is simply wonderful! I can really see the kids getting into it.

macpatti

We have never practiced any form of fasting during Advent, either. I like the idea of making extra sacrifices this time and I will talk to my husband about it. Thanks!

grassette

I found this on ETWN which is quite applicable to Advent:

`The most necessary and important form of fasting today is called sobriety. Voluntarily depriving oneself of small or great luxuries, of what is superfluous or useless, this is communion with Christ's Passion, it is solidarity with the poverty of so many.

It is also a way of protesting against the consumer mentality. In a world that has made the acquisition of superfluous and useless commodities an aim of its activities, to give up the superfluous, to know how to do without something, to keep from always seeking the easiest solution, from choosing what is easier and more comfortable, in short, to live soberly is more effective than imposing artificial penance on oneself. Above all, it is only fair to the generations that will follow our own, that they may not be reduced to living on the ashes of what we have consumed and wasted. It has an ecological value, of respect for creation.``

This made me think of Christ in his stable. Doing without in Lent, brings us to the deprivation that our Lord was born into.

Link: http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/FASTING.HTM

Barbieofborg

I had never heard of fasting for advent and I grew up in an extremely traditional roman catholic family. I may have to give this a try. I remember no,meat fridays throught the year growing up...it was fishsticks and tater tots or cheese pizza in school when I was a girl.

grassette

I had never heard of fasting for advent and I grew up in an extremely traditional roman catholic family. I may have to give this a try. I remember no,meat fridays throught the year growing up...it was fishsticks and tater tots or cheese pizza in school when I was a girl.

I grew up in a French Canadian Catholic family and we referred to Advent as little Lent. The period was shorter, and the sacrifices not as deep. But it was seen as a period of spiritual purification to prepare our hearts for receiving Jesus at Christmas. I remember it as a small child, and the nuns certainly emphasized it when I went to school at the Convent.

I've been googling the Advent fast, and have found some pre-Vatican II references to it. It was a full blown fast during the Medieval period. The Orthodox still do an Advent fast and it's rigorous from what Wikipedia tells me. But like the Friday fast, there seems to have been a reduced emphasis on it recently.

I'm surprised that you have never heard of it. But it might be a cultural/generational thing. In any case, it seems like a good idea to me. We all need to prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas, and if Advent is a period of repentance, it makes sense that there be real penetential actions to make it come alive. All we need to do is think about it, and decide what we are going to do. It is something that the Bishops leave up to us. Like the Friday fast, we still have to do penance, but thank goodness it is no longer a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday.

In any case, we all complain about the commercialization of Christmas. Entering Advent with a penetential spirit is totally counter-cultural. The carols are piped into the malls after Halloween, with the decorations. The Santa Parade is next weekend. The Christmas lights go on. There are parties, parties. And when Christmas comes around people are sick of it. The lights go off. No one celebrates the 12 days of Christmas. Whereas if we fast, the feast is more meaningful. We can celebrate it with joy. And forget the boxing day madness--keep celebrating those days with friends, family, closeness, and reverence. From Christmas Eve to the Epiphany.

couponfun

I've never heard of the Advent fast either...that said, my father wasn't strict in his leanings (says fighting in Vietnam changed him). I like the idea.

However, I can't get through Christmas now without drinking most of the time. I found out my husband fell in love with another woman during the Christmas time (well new year's eve) when I was about to give birth. The emails were all about how miserable I made his Christmas, how he hated getting a tree with me and my mom that year, how he wished he could spend Christmas and the rest of his life with her, etc etc. They exchanged decorations and gifts and everything, and to this day I'm pretty sure they're still involved though I can't prove it. So anytime I even SEE a Christmas tree I think of this woman.

Maybe this year I can use the Advent time to concentrate on NOT drinking and praying instead whenever the urge hits me. I need to get my soul back into what Christmas is about and push this woman out of my thoughts.

I might do the meatless Fridays thing though...great idea.

grassette

I've never heard of the Advent fast either...that said, my father wasn't strict in his leanings (says fighting in Vietnam changed him). I like the idea.

However, I can't get through Christmas now without drinking most of the time. I found out my husband fell in love with another woman during the Christmas time (well new year's eve) when I was about to give birth. The emails were all about how miserable I made his Christmas, how he hated getting a tree with me and my mom that year, how he wished he could spend Christmas and the rest of his life with her, etc etc. They exchanged decorations and gifts and everything, and to this day I'm pretty sure they're still involved though I can't prove it. So anytime I even SEE a Christmas tree I think of this woman.

Maybe this year I can use the Advent time to concentrate on NOT drinking and praying instead whenever the urge hits me. I need to get my soul back into what Christmas is about and push this woman out of my thoughts.

I might do the meatless Fridays thing though...great idea.

There is a great program for couples who are wounded. It's called Retrouvaille. The website is here: http://www.retrouvaille.org/

It has healed a lot of marriages. It certainly healed mine. I could not give it a higher recommendation. The website will tell you where the closest Retrouvaille group is, and it is certainly worthwhile to travel to attend the couples retreat. We would drive 2 hours to another city just to attend the monthly meetings---it was that worthwhile.

couponfun

I've never heard of the Advent fast either...that said, my father wasn't strict in his leanings (says fighting in Vietnam changed him). I like the idea.

However, I can't get through Christmas now without drinking most of the time. I found out my husband fell in love with another woman during the Christmas time (well new year's eve) when I was about to give birth. The emails were all about how miserable I made his Christmas, how he hated getting a tree with me and my mom that year, how he wished he could spend Christmas and the rest of his life with her, etc etc. They exchanged decorations and gifts and everything, and to this day I'm pretty sure they're still involved though I can't prove it. So anytime I even SEE a Christmas tree I think of this woman.

Maybe this year I can use the Advent time to concentrate on NOT drinking and praying instead whenever the urge hits me. I need to get my soul back into what Christmas is about and push this woman out of my thoughts.

I might do the meatless Fridays thing though...great idea.

There is a great program for couples who are wounded. It's called Retrouvaille. The website is here: http://www.retrouvaille.org/

It has healed a lot of marriages. It certainly healed mine. I could not give it a higher recommendation. The website will tell you where the closest Retrouvaille group is, and it is certainly worthwhile to travel to attend the couples retreat. We would drive 2 hours to another city just to attend the monthly meetings---it was that worthwhile.

My husband refuses to go to any kind of counseling/couples work. I had looked into it and other options several times. Says he's fine where things are - for him it's great...2 kids, wife who cooks for him, good job. That and he says it'll just be an entire session of hearing all the bad things he's doing and he doesn't want to hear it because he doesn't want to change. The only thing I think he'd change is having this woman closer so they could actually have a physical relationship but other than that...

So I'm trying to work on my own issues and see if I can find my way back to Faith and just concentrate on my kids.

I'm glad it worked for you, though, and that your husband was willing to go and work on things. I'll continue to keep it in mind if the miracle ever occurs that he wants to work on this :flowerforyou:

grassette

I've never heard of the Advent fast either...that said, my father wasn't strict in his leanings (says fighting in Vietnam changed him). I like the idea.

However, I can't get through Christmas now without drinking most of the time. I found out my husband fell in love with another woman during the Christmas time (well new year's eve) when I was about to give birth. The emails were all about how miserable I made his Christmas, how he hated getting a tree with me and my mom that year, how he wished he could spend Christmas and the rest of his life with her, etc etc. They exchanged decorations and gifts and everything, and to this day I'm pretty sure they're still involved though I can't prove it. So anytime I even SEE a Christmas tree I think of this woman.

Maybe this year I can use the Advent time to concentrate on NOT drinking and praying instead whenever the urge hits me. I need to get my soul back into what Christmas is about and push this woman out of my thoughts.

I might do the meatless Fridays thing though...great idea.

There is a great program for couples who are wounded. It's called Retrouvaille. The website is here: http://www.retrouvaille.org/

It has healed a lot of marriages. It certainly healed mine. I could not give it a higher recommendation. The website will tell you where the closest Retrouvaille group is, and it is certainly worthwhile to travel to attend the couples retreat. We would drive 2 hours to another city just to attend the monthly meetings---it was that worthwhile.

My husband refuses to go to any kind of counseling/couples work. I had looked into it and other options several times. Says he's fine where things are - for him it's great...2 kids, wife who cooks for him, good job. That and he says it'll just be an entire session of hearing all the bad things he's doing and he doesn't want to hear it because he doesn't want to change. The only thing I think he'd change is having this woman closer so they could actually have a physical relationship but other than that...

So I'm trying to work on my own issues and see if I can find my way back to Faith and just concentrate on my kids.

I'm glad it worked for you, though, and that your husband was willing to go and work on things. I'll continue to keep it in mind if the miracle ever occurs that he wants to work on this :flowerforyou:

Retrouvaille isn't quite like that, but you both have to want to go. All affairs have to be over.

However, you sound as if you could use some counseling yourself. As you are returning to the Church, there are good and wise priests with years of counseling troubled marriages that you could see. And they won't cost you a dime. You can also get good advice in the confessional when you go for the sacrament of reconciliation. Plus there is a treasury of prayer and spiritual consolations that can get you through the rough spots. That wise priest may not be the first you encounter, but ask until you find that one wise man who can guide you spiritually through all this. God bless you.