We should eat less to show solidarity with the poor

[sanctus]

Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

The Archbishop of Westminster has called upon Roman Catholics to practise fasting as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O’Connor, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, is urging his flock to return to the “simple life” to counter the culture of consumerism.

His concerns are mirrored by his counterpart in the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In an article for The Big Issue, the magazine sold by and for the homeless, Dr Rowan Williams, who is on retreat, states that one of his new year resolutions is to lose weight.

The spiritual discipline of fasting has a long tradition in Christianity, and is practised most regularly in Lent, the season of penitence that begins next month. For centuries Roman Catholics and Anglicans also practised eating less on Fridays, cutting out meat and eating fish instead. Many regret that the prohibition of meat on Fridays was relaxed in 1966 by Pope Paul VI, who wanted Catholics to pray and do charitable works instead.

The Cardinal makes his plea for fasting as the Catholic aid agency Cafod begins its Live Simply campaign, in which Christians pledge to cut back on excess in a stand against “consumerism, celebrity and hype” and to help those living in poverty.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor says, in his pastoral letter for the Feast of the Epiphany, that Catholics should deepen their faith by reviving their spiritual practices. In the letter, which will will be read at Masses in the Diocese of Westminster this weekend, he asks them to pray regularly and to eat less on Fridays.

He continues: “In wishing you the happiness of this great feast of Epiphany, ask yourself what you can bring as your gift to Our Saviour.

“May I suggest that one such gift is a little time every day . . . I find it essential in my own life to give at least some time each day to think about Him, to be with Him and to pray. That is really the point of the feast of the Epiphany.”

The Cardinal ate soup and a roll for lunch yesterday and a small piece of fish for supper.

Fasting faiths
# Fasting is practised rigorously in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism

# In all religions it is believed to heighten spiritual awareness

# St Simeon of Stylites lived on top of an 18m pillar for 36 years, with food passed to him in a basket. He died in 459 aged 68, still clasped to his pillar in prayer

 

[AndyF]

sanctus:

# St Simeon of Stylites lived on top of an 18m pillar for 36 years, with food passed .....to

Mat 7,21 "None of those who cry out ,Lord,Lord, will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of the Father in heaven"

I read of another early century Saint who lived in a suspended cage and lived on his own maggots. After a time the purpose gets drowned out by the sensationalistic Houdini one-upmanships and could be the cause of so many beatifications at that time. Wouldn't less people have died of starvation if the St. had dedicated his life to gardening and shared what he had? There are many who have terrific stamina and determination when they have something to believe in, and not only on religious grounds, but for the trivial reason of getting into the Book of Records. But isn't this just that and only that? Just a thought.

But I do want to get on the main point of your post. Although I understand the Archbishop's intention and what he wishes to accomplish, would it not send a stronger message to share the extra of what we have to others. If I eat less, the extra still exists, and my sacrificed contribution is added to it, and the main problem still has not been addressed, not that there is a problem in eating less.

Or, .....Maybe I don't get it.

AndyF

 

[L Gilbert]

I agree.
I would suggest that prying loose some coin for the poor would be better than going hungry. What does starving for a day do for them? Nothing. What does giving them some coin do for them? Take a walk around your neighborhood with a bucket, invite people to join you and then hoof it over to the Sally Ann or something to deliver the bucket. (Perhaps two buckets, one to hold food, the other to hold change.)

 

[#juan]

Foreign aid doesn't solve all problems and in a lot of cases, it makes more problems:

http://www.tradeobservatory.org/headlines.cfm?refID=88697

 

[L Gilbert]

Hoofin it down to your local Sally Ann with a bucket of food or coin is foreign aid? That means soup kitchens downtown are foreign aid, too then.

 

[#juan]

Hoofin it down to your local Sally Ann with a bucket of food or coin is foreign aid? That means soup kitchens downtown are foreign aid, too then.

The first sentence of this topic was:

The Archbishop of Westminster has called upon Roman Catholics to practise fasting as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor.

"World's poor" and "foreign aid" are surely related subjects.

 

[MikeyDB]

If I ate any less these bones would keep skipping off the keys...

 

[hermanntrude]

if i go without food i end up as a gurgling heap on the floor, biting my own tongue and bruising people who try to get near. Is he sure about this? I mean i'll do it but i dont see what good it'll do

 

[karrie]

if i go without food i end up as a gurgling heap on the floor, biting my own tongue and bruising people who try to get near. Is he sure about this? I mean i'll do it but i dont see what good it'll do

I can see what he's saying, but this most certainly does not apply to you, and I will show up promptly to kick your ___ if you or anyone else with health problems tries to fast as a show of solidarity for the poor. Silly man.

That being said.... in the world I live in, which as far as I'm concerned, barely belongs to the same planet as the one where children starve and die, people rarely even let themselves get hungry before they eat again. the slightest discomfort is placated with a plate of pasta. I can see where he's coming from in suggesting that perhaps we could all do with a reminder of how much excess we're really consuming, while others have nothing.

 

[L Gilbert]

The first sentence of this topic was:



"World's poor" and "foreign aid" are surely related subjects.

Charity begins at home.

 

[Sаbine]

The Archbishop of Westminster has called upon Roman Catholics to practise fasting as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor.

I only hope that Roman Catholics won't be asked to practise fasting to death on a regular basis as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor dying of starvation. Les is right - starving does nothing to the poor people. I'd better donate to food bank, as I usually do. I know what starvation actually is, so "fasting as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor" sounds a bit childish to me. :grin:

 

[karrie]

I only hope that Roman Catholics won't be asked to practise fasting to death on a regular basis as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor dying of starvation. Les is right - starving does nothing to the poor people. I'd better donate to food bank, as I usually do. I know what starvation actually is, so "fasting as a sign of solidarity with the world’s poor" sounds a bit childish to me. :grin:

fasting 'to death'? LOL. I missed that part of the article.

 

[wallyj]

While we are at it ,I suggest we all give up sex on Tuesdays to show solldarity with Star Trek fans.

 

[Sаbine]

fasting 'to death'? LOL. I missed that part of the article.

I suspect this will be mentioned in the next article as a next step in solidarity :razz:

 

[humanbeing]

I appreciate that he encourages volunteer work, donating excess food, and what not, as that is all good, but the rest of it I am not so much for, since it seems kind of counterproductive...

Cutting back on what we spend (and leaving it in our savings account or whatever) simply means that others will spend it instead, seeing as whatever we don't spend on ourselves is invested (thus, spent by others). So, it makes little to no difference in terms of what gets spent, and does little to combat the horrific excess in which we all wallow.

Now, you could fight the war against consumerism by reducing both your spending AND your income, but here is where it gets really counterproductive in terms of helping the poor:

If engineers, bakers, doctors, fishermen, firefighters, teachers, fast food workers, scientists, etc, are not being engineers, bakers, doctors, fishermen, firefighters, teachers, fast food workers, scientists, etc, then our technological progess slows. When it slows, it means our ways of developing new methods to produce food and other stuff for cheaper and cheaper are also slowed. Of course, the cheaper something is, the more accessible it is to those who are poor. The longer it takes for us to make more stuff for less, the more poor people will die.

 

[tamarin]

I'll volunteer to fast if the poor will volunteer to have less children. Never understood that connection.
Speaking of Canada we need some illumination. Why are people poor here? Inquiring minds would like to know. And are there choices that people make that make being poor all that much more predictable if not inevitable?

 

[karrie]

I suspect this will be mentioned in the next article as a next step in solidarity :razz:

*lol* I can't see it.... you can't collect tithe from a dead person.

 

[karrie]

I'll volunteer to fast if the poor will volunteer to have less children. Never understood that connection.

Education is the difference. The more educated a population is, the lower their birth rate tends to be. The poorer a population, the less education it has.

 

[tamarin]

Karrie, true but don't you find it ironic if not enigmatic that the poor - the undernourished and constantly beset - are so prolific?

 

[karrie]

Karrie, true but don't you find it ironic if not enigmatic that the poor - the undernourished and constantly beset - are so prolific?

I find it pretty understandable. Poor people are more liekly to succumb to things like disease and hunger, thus, you may as well have more kids to help ensure your genetics carry on down the road. Health care is usually lacking, so things like birth control aren't often an option, if you've even been educated about them.