“The whole purpose of fasting is to put the created order and our spiritual life in a proper balance,” Carnazzo said. ... A Catholic should not fast out of dieting or pride but out of love of God.

Fasting is abstaining from food, from certain types of food, or from both food and water. There are several reasons why people fast, but the most common is for religious purposes.

The purpose of fasting is to create an excess that can be given away. Fasting enables almsgiving, and almsgiving is a purpose of the fast in the first place. It is so that you have more to share.” ...

The ultimate goal and purpose of Lent is not precisely penitence but holiness. It sounds like Jesus is telling John’s disciples in today’s Gospel that they don’t need to fast.

Another misconception - and a trend - about fasting is that staying off the food from sunrise to sunset is what fasting is all about. In fact, that is not the only purpose of fasting.

Catholic Church leaders declared Tuesday a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land amid a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Catholic Church leaders declared Tuesday a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land amid a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Catholic Church leaders declared Tuesday a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land amid a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Catholic Church leaders declared Tuesday a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land amid a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Catholic Church leaders declared Tuesday a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land amid a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Catholic Church leaders declared Tuesday a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land amid a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Hamas.