Fasting: Some Alternatives and Guidelines

by Mother Allison Caudill

In light of the escalating violence in the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Hosam Naoum, Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, has called for Tuesday October 17th 2023 to be a day of Fasting and Prayer for peace and reconciliation and an end to the war. You can find Archbishop Naoum’s pastoral letter as well as other information here and here.

The partnership of St Mark’s Clifford and Grace Massies Mill will be offering two opportunities for personal and corporate prayer at St Mark’s on October 17th: A lunch-hour candlelighting and silence from 12:30 to 1:30, and a service of prayer and scripture-reading at 5:30. At both offerings, resources from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem will be used to guide our prayers.

I am not an expert on fasting, nor am I a medical or mental health expert. What I am is an Episcopal priest, and a person who cares. I hope the following can help all of us participate in a time of prayer and lament for all people in the land of Christ’s birth.

A Word about Fasting

Fasting is an ancient practice shared by nearly every mystical tradition in some form. In Christian practice, fasting flows from the asceticism of the desert mystic tradition (which in its turn flowed from the roots of Jewish mysticism) and the later development of monastic communities (think monks and nuns) into the present-day. Unfortunately, this ancient practice that unites so many world religions and cultures has been impacted as we all are by patriarchy, heteronormativity, white supremacy, anti-fatness, xenophobia, and more. So when we consider accepting the invitation to a day or a season of fasting, as we are now for our siblings in the Holy Land, we have to do our best to clear away those cobwebs before deciding how to proceed.

The Archbishop is not inviting us to a day of dieting. Although the “wellness” world has coopted the term, religious fasting is not done with the intention of changing one’s body size or weight. If you find yourself wondering how this day of fasting will affect your appearance or calculating the calories, I strongly urge you to consider one of the alternatives I will list below. If you have a history of disordered eating and/or a diagnosed eating disorder, I pray you will skip ahead to the alternatives, and check in with your mental health provider. Keeping yourself safe is a necessary part of your spiritual practice. You are beloved of God, and nothing can change that.

Fasting is time-limited. Although there are some Christian communities that encourage fasting for an indeterminate amount of time in an attempt to bring about a desired corporeal or spiritual outcome, this practice is dangerous and can be both physically and spiritually damaging. If we look to our siblings in the Islamic and Jewish traditions, we will see very specific parameters for fasting: for example, from sun up until sundown or sundown to sundown, for a set number of days, always to be broken by a meal. This is an ancient blueprint, and although there are notable extreme exceptions among the lives of the Saints, the general practice in Christianity has historically been very similar. Following this pattern, one might choose to fast from sunrise until sunset on October 17th, breaking the fast with a light meal after sunset.

Fasting is specific. Contrary to popular belief, fasting is not always abstinence from all forms of sustenance. Especially in the cases of multi-day fasts, many Christian practitioners have chosen to only drink water and consume bread and/or fresh fruits and vegetables during the day. For your practice to be a fast, you must be clear about what you are specifically abstaining from, whether it be all food for a set period of time, or from certain foods for a set period of time. A very common specificity in fasting is abstinence from alcohol (Communion wine being the exception) and meat.

Fasting has a purpose. As my friend Dr. Dann Wigner writes in his wonderful book “Just Begin: A Sourcebook of Spiritual Practices,” fasting “only becomes a spiritual practice when you are replacing the time you typically spend eating and the dependence we all have often unconsciously, on food with spiritual seeking. This seeking is usually accomplished by setting these times aside for prayer or meditation, but find your own rhythm here.” If you take on the discipline of fasting for a set period of time, you must be clear about why you are doing so. In the case of the Day of Fasting and Prayer called for by Archbishop Naoum, we are encouraged to spend the day in prayer for God’s just peace, reconciliation, and an end to war in the Holy Land. Perhaps you will choose to spend your lunch break in prayer for these things, or reading scripture, or reciting the Psalms. Keeping the purpose of your fast in mind is necessary for the meaning of the practice.

Some Alternative Ways to Fast and Pray

• Abstaining from alcohol for the day or for 24 hours
• Eating entirely vegetarian or vegan for the day
• Tracking or estimating how much you spend on food and beverages over the course of your day, and matching that amount in donations to organizations like AFEDJ that are working to provide critical medical care to those impacted by the war
• Setting a timer on your phone at regular intervals to pause what you are doing and pray for Just Peace, inviting any who may be with you to join you if they like
• Reading aloud Isaiah 58:6-11 at mealtimes or throughout the day
• Praying the Litany for Peace or The Great Litany at the beginning, middle, and end of your day
• Checking your local mutual aid networks for opportunities to support people in your community who may be most directly impacted by the ongoing coverage of the war, including Muslim and Jewish Americans of all backgrounds, refugees, combat veterans, and those suffering from mental illness including PTSD.

There are plenty of other ways to set aside this day for special observance beyond what I have listed here, but I hope I have given you some ideas for how you can participate. As with all things, spiritual practices are best done in community and with the guidance of experienced mentors. Your parish priest, a member of your local monastic community or other vowed community, or your spiritual director would be a good place to start for that guidance.

If you do decide to take on some form of fasting, please consult with your healthcare provider and be sure to tell a close friend or family member your plans so that they can support you. If you are pregnant, have a medical condition which could be impacted or exacerbated by changing your food intake, have a job that involves heavy equipment and/or high-risk environments, or take medications that require food/water to be effective, abstaining from food is likely not right for you. Please consider one of the above alternatives, and know that God delights in your efforts.

For another excellent reflection on the intersections of diet culture and religious fasting in Christianity, see https://earthandaltarmag.com/posts/eating-cake-with-god