Yeah, so normally I wouldn't be big on posting about fasting, but no one reads this, and I have a habit of mentioning it anyhow. It makes for an interesting topic though, because it's always a toss-up on how to do so. Sr. Janet told some an interesting story about some students she once taught about fasting. In doing so though she made the comment that when fasting you're "supposed to go to bed hungry". I think that begs the question of what hungry is.
There's the usual hungry which means that you haven't eaten too much. As in how I need to get used to hungry if I don't want to start gaining weight again. But that doesn't seem like what you'd aim for when fasting. After all, what's the sacrifice in that? Then there's hungry in terms of your body craving food because it is desperately short of calories. Even ignoring the new guidelines that the Catholic Church has set out on fasting (basically eating less than two meals), that's laughable for fasting. (Please note that I'm talking only people who could be fasting. If you're in a state where one day without any food would put you into starvation, you oughn't be fasting at all.) Then there's what I went for - I could tell that more food at dinner would have been really nice.
But does "going to bed hungry" even refer to food? yes, I'm still talking about fasting here, but there is more to it than that. Hungry can be many things, and if you pick the right hunger, it will last a long time.
And, since I know it shows, I will just point out that for me lack of food would appear to last a long time too. That or the fact that I'm feverish again.
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2 comments:
The assumption of this entry (so far as food) is that you use the common deffinition of 'hungry' as being 'to have your body crave food'.
Not everyone actually craves food. (be it by way of conditioning, genetics or simple circumstance)
As to hungering for something however, that has a broder connentation. Do we not hunger for communion or gospel to sooth our parched-in-the-desert souls?
Deffinetly something to think on, I commend you (food entries tend to turn me off)
-you know
That was pretty much the point I was going for - we fast so we can become aware of what we're actually hungry for, and by remembering what we're hungry for we remember to seek it out.
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