WHEN AND HOW TO FAST.
WHEN AND HOW TO FAST.
THE GOODNEWS: "The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them,
“Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” (Luke 5: 33 - 39).
Friday 4th September 2026, in the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time. Today is the First Friday in September.
We honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the First Friday of every month.
The Gospel of today deals with fasting.
Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving are the 3 pillars of the Christian spiritual life.
Do you fast? How often? What do you fast from?
On the three pillars of the spiritual life, the Church teaches:
CCC 1434: "The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: efforts at reconciliation with one’s neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one’s neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity “which covers a multitude of sins.”
Some Christians abstain from meat and alcohol on Friday and Wednesday.
Others abstain also from television, movies and gambling.
"The prayer of adoration at night has the power and efficacy of that prayer made with fasting that I recommended to My apostles as the means of expelling demons from the souls whom they torture and oppress.
For this reason, the demons fear and hate adoration made at night, while the angels rejoice over it, and place themselves at the service of the soul who desires to do it." (IN SINU JESU page 240).
The Church honors the Sorrowful Heart of Mary in September.
The whole month of September invites us to stand spiritually beside Mary and contemplate the love that remained faithful through every trial.
September With the Sorrowful Mother
September does not begin by asking us to look away from pain.
It asks us to bring our pain into the presence of a Mother who understands.
Mary’s life was marked by a great “yes” to God—but that yes did not spare her from suffering.
At the Presentation in the Temple, Simeon foretold that a sword would pierce her soul (Luke 2:35).
From that moment onward, Mary carried the mystery of her Son not only in her arms, but in her heart: the anxiety of fleeing into Egypt, the anguish of losing Jesus in Jerusalem, the agony of seeing Him rejected, condemned, crucified, and laid in the tomb.
Yet Mary did not run from the Cross. The Gospel tells us simply, powerfully: “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother…” (John 19:25). She stood. She remained. She loved.
This is the message of the Sorrowful Mother for us as September gets underway.
For Prayers of Consecration to the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary, Litany, Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, etc click the link below:
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