Food Fast 2020: Online Edition
I challenge each of you to participate in food fast by participating with your families at home.
Even if your family members cannot fast with you (the very young, those with health considerations, pregnant or nursing), everyone can view and discuss the resources together!
Guidelines:
Even if your family members cannot fast with you (the very young, those with health considerations, pregnant or nursing), everyone can view and discuss the resources together!
Guidelines:
- Only consume water and 100% fruit or vegetable juice between 11:30 am Saturday-11:30 am Sunday.
- This will especially be difficult if your family is not doing the fast with you. I encourage you to still sit with your family at mealtimes, drink your juice while they eat and DON'T COMPLAIN!!!
- The number one rule of food fast is Don't Complain. When you are hungry, say a prayer for those who cannot eat instead of thinking of the food you wish you could have.
- If you are getting light headed or have other symptoms of passing out and juice does not alleviate your symptoms, have a simple snack (such as plain bread or peanut butter).
11:30-12:00-Opening Prayer
Leader: We gather in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen! God of all, we thank you for gathering us here together. Guide us as we begin our experience in solidarity with our brothers and sisters on this planet who are being denied their basic rights.
Reader 1: During this time together, we will learn who they are, and put names to these members of our global family.
Reader 2: During this time together, we will attempt to genuinely understand the lives and realities of others.
Reader 3: During this time together, we will honor their exhaustion and suffering.
Reader 4: During this time together, we will challenge ourselves to feel the pangs of hunger on their behalf.
Reader 5: During this time together, we will focus on their circumstances and not our own.
Leader: During this time together, we will change our hearts and perhaps our lives to see the great value of the gift of life itself. We will challenge ourselves to share not just our material goods, but the gift of our heart and soul. Loving God, we ask your help and guidance as we walk just for one day in hope that it be the beginning of true understanding and compassion.
All: We pray for the courage to take action to make our world into a place that welcomes children as Jesus commanded.
Reader 6: Matthew 19:13-15 (pause for silent reflection)
Leader: In this scripture passage, all are welcome to come to Jesus. We, like Jesus, must be welcoming. We welcome into our hearts all people and hold them in prayer. We also bring to Jesus our own prayers and intentions. Jesus never stops welcoming us. Who is it that you hold in prayer tonight? Who is it in your life that has a hold on your heart?
Write the first names or the groups of the people for whom you are praying on a piece of paper.
We join our prayers tonight with the prayers of all people around the world, trusting that our Lord welcomes them always and never leaves us alone.
Reader 1: During this time together, we will learn who they are, and put names to these members of our global family.
Reader 2: During this time together, we will attempt to genuinely understand the lives and realities of others.
Reader 3: During this time together, we will honor their exhaustion and suffering.
Reader 4: During this time together, we will challenge ourselves to feel the pangs of hunger on their behalf.
Reader 5: During this time together, we will focus on their circumstances and not our own.
Leader: During this time together, we will change our hearts and perhaps our lives to see the great value of the gift of life itself. We will challenge ourselves to share not just our material goods, but the gift of our heart and soul. Loving God, we ask your help and guidance as we walk just for one day in hope that it be the beginning of true understanding and compassion.
All: We pray for the courage to take action to make our world into a place that welcomes children as Jesus commanded.
Reader 6: Matthew 19:13-15 (pause for silent reflection)
Leader: In this scripture passage, all are welcome to come to Jesus. We, like Jesus, must be welcoming. We welcome into our hearts all people and hold them in prayer. We also bring to Jesus our own prayers and intentions. Jesus never stops welcoming us. Who is it that you hold in prayer tonight? Who is it in your life that has a hold on your heart?
Write the first names or the groups of the people for whom you are praying on a piece of paper.
We join our prayers tonight with the prayers of all people around the world, trusting that our Lord welcomes them always and never leaves us alone.
12:00-3:30-Service
During this part of our fast, we focus on serving our community. Since you will be home, ask your parents what projects you can help with. It could be deep cleaning, yard work, caring for a younger sibling or anything else.
2:45-4:00-Food Documentary
I am NOT proposing that we follow the example of the couple in this story. It is illegal and could be unsafe.
4:00-4:30-Discussion
Discuss the following questions with your family or click the link below at 4:00 to join in the conversation with your fellow Youth Groupers!
Discussion Questions;
- How did the documentary change the way I look at food?
- How can I reduce food waste?
- Why does it matter if we waste food?
4:30-6:00-Community Time
Play games with your family. If your family isn't available for games, build your Catholic Community by checking out the finalist of Best Catholic Youtubers: https://www.youtube.com/post/UgzBEwOaZxG1mrhatB94AaABCQ.
6:00-6:30-Prayer
Reader 1: Matthew 28:16-18
Reader 2: As we pray for our world today, our response will be, “Blest be all children around the world. Loving God, we come before you, aware of all those parts of the world where people, especially children, are suffering from hunger, poverty, lack of education, and war.
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 3: Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a child and put him or her among them; “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not only me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37)
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 4: Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom.”
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 5: Jesus came to us a child. He revealed himself as an infant, poor, and dependent.
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 6: Luke 4:18
Leader: Loving God, please accept our commitments and bless our efforts as we strive to be followers of the Gospel message. Thank you for being with us as we learn about how members of our global family live. Continue to be with us as we conscientiously live out our responsibility to promote justice in the world.
Reader 2: As we pray for our world today, our response will be, “Blest be all children around the world. Loving God, we come before you, aware of all those parts of the world where people, especially children, are suffering from hunger, poverty, lack of education, and war.
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 3: Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a child and put him or her among them; “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not only me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37)
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 4: Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom.”
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 5: Jesus came to us a child. He revealed himself as an infant, poor, and dependent.
All: Blest be all children around the world.
Reader 6: Luke 4:18
Leader: Loving God, please accept our commitments and bless our efforts as we strive to be followers of the Gospel message. Thank you for being with us as we learn about how members of our global family live. Continue to be with us as we conscientiously live out our responsibility to promote justice in the world.
6:30-7:30-Catholic Relief Services
7:30-8:00 Break
Before Bed Prayer
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 1: …is to believe that history continues open to the dream of God and to human creativity.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 2: …is to continue affirming that it is possible to dream a different world, without hunger, without injustice, without discrimination.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 3: …is to be a courier of God and courier of men and women of good will, tearing down walls, destroying borders, building bridges.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 4: …is to believe in the revolutionary potential of faith, is to leave the door open so that the Spirit can enter and make all things new.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 5: …is to believe that life wins over death.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 6: …is to begin as many times as necessary.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 7: …is to believe that hope is not the last thing that dies.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 8: …is to believe that hope cannot die, that hope no longer dies.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 9: …is to live.
Our CRS FoodFast retreat is an act of hope. It’s an act of hope when people who have plenty of food decide to fast in prayer and reflection at a time when many go hungry. Maybe it’s a little taste of the changes that must occur to address the root causes of hunger. As an act of solidarity with the poor, it makes sense. And there’s something incredibly hopeful about emptying ourselves to make room for the voices of people in poverty, for the voices of one another, and for the voice of God. Maybe it’s a reminder for us to be less focused on ourselves and more focused on others. As an act of solidarity with God and each other, it makes sense.
St. Peter, though, doesn’t call us simply to have hope, as if this were simply a positive attitude. He calls us to talk about our hope, to study it and to understand the source of it and the reason for it. The prayer we shared at the start of our service comes from the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo in Honduras. It is filled with definitions of hope, and offers an opportunity for us to practice what St. Peter is preaching. I invite you to take a few moments to read it over again quietly to yourself, and select one line that really resonates with you, that really describes hope to you, or that you find especially true. Ask yourself, when have you seen this prayer in action?
According to the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, hope is an act of believing, beginning, continuing and carrying. Ultimately, hope is an act of living, in its fullest and most meaningful sense. In a world that is filled with so much negativity, so much despair, and frequent insistence that there is nothing we can do to make it better, a hopeful life can be a challenging one, which is why we gather as one Church in prayer, as we are doing now. The people around us can often reignite our hope, especially when we begin to doubt it.
Hope ultimately lies in the imagination. We hope for things yet unseen, and realities yet unrealized. If we are going to work for a world where people don’t go to bed hungry; where they don’t suffer from violence; where they have meaningful work and healthy relationships; where children can go to school and dream of their own futures; we must first be able to imagine this world. We have to be able to hope for it.
Let us end our prayer service with the greatest prayer of hope, the prayer that Jesus taught us: The Lord’s Prayer. *Pray the Our Father
Reader 1: …is to believe that history continues open to the dream of God and to human creativity.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 2: …is to continue affirming that it is possible to dream a different world, without hunger, without injustice, without discrimination.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 3: …is to be a courier of God and courier of men and women of good will, tearing down walls, destroying borders, building bridges.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 4: …is to believe in the revolutionary potential of faith, is to leave the door open so that the Spirit can enter and make all things new.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 5: …is to believe that life wins over death.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 6: …is to begin as many times as necessary.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 7: …is to believe that hope is not the last thing that dies.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 8: …is to believe that hope cannot die, that hope no longer dies.
All: To Have Hope …
Reader 9: …is to live.
Our CRS FoodFast retreat is an act of hope. It’s an act of hope when people who have plenty of food decide to fast in prayer and reflection at a time when many go hungry. Maybe it’s a little taste of the changes that must occur to address the root causes of hunger. As an act of solidarity with the poor, it makes sense. And there’s something incredibly hopeful about emptying ourselves to make room for the voices of people in poverty, for the voices of one another, and for the voice of God. Maybe it’s a reminder for us to be less focused on ourselves and more focused on others. As an act of solidarity with God and each other, it makes sense.
St. Peter, though, doesn’t call us simply to have hope, as if this were simply a positive attitude. He calls us to talk about our hope, to study it and to understand the source of it and the reason for it. The prayer we shared at the start of our service comes from the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo in Honduras. It is filled with definitions of hope, and offers an opportunity for us to practice what St. Peter is preaching. I invite you to take a few moments to read it over again quietly to yourself, and select one line that really resonates with you, that really describes hope to you, or that you find especially true. Ask yourself, when have you seen this prayer in action?
According to the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, hope is an act of believing, beginning, continuing and carrying. Ultimately, hope is an act of living, in its fullest and most meaningful sense. In a world that is filled with so much negativity, so much despair, and frequent insistence that there is nothing we can do to make it better, a hopeful life can be a challenging one, which is why we gather as one Church in prayer, as we are doing now. The people around us can often reignite our hope, especially when we begin to doubt it.
Hope ultimately lies in the imagination. We hope for things yet unseen, and realities yet unrealized. If we are going to work for a world where people don’t go to bed hungry; where they don’t suffer from violence; where they have meaningful work and healthy relationships; where children can go to school and dream of their own futures; we must first be able to imagine this world. We have to be able to hope for it.
Let us end our prayer service with the greatest prayer of hope, the prayer that Jesus taught us: The Lord’s Prayer. *Pray the Our Father
Morning-Closing Prayer
Reader 1: Habakkuk 2:2-3
Leader: In the times of the prophet Habakkuk, God’s people were experiencing terrible oppression, lives filled with violence and injustice. Habakkuk asks God when the injustice will be dealt with, when the oppression will end. He is essentially asking God, “Where are you in all of this pain?” God responds by telling Habakkuk that the righteous must live by their faith; they must hope in God’s justice. If the vision seems to delay, wait for it, for it will surely come. We may be moved to ask the same question of God in regard to the hunger we are aware of in the world around us. Perhaps God’s response would be the same. Live by your faith, have hope in God’s justice, wait for the vision, for it will surely come. Let us pray now for the fulfillment of God’s justice.
Reader 2: For those who suffer hunger due to war or political unrest, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 3: For those who are hungry as the result of disasters such as floods, earthquakes, drought or famine, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 4: For those who are victims of disease and the hunger that sometimes accompanies illness, we pray. All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 5: For those who struggle to produce adequate food without training in sustainable agriculture, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 6: For those who are hungry because they are refugees, forced from their homes by violence or disaster, unable to find adequate food in a land not their own, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 7: For those who are hungry because they cannot find employment or other financial support, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Leader: Merciful God, let us live by our faith with hope in your justice. Let our lives be a fulfillment of the vision that was lived by your son Jesus, in whose name we pray. All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled
Leader: In the times of the prophet Habakkuk, God’s people were experiencing terrible oppression, lives filled with violence and injustice. Habakkuk asks God when the injustice will be dealt with, when the oppression will end. He is essentially asking God, “Where are you in all of this pain?” God responds by telling Habakkuk that the righteous must live by their faith; they must hope in God’s justice. If the vision seems to delay, wait for it, for it will surely come. We may be moved to ask the same question of God in regard to the hunger we are aware of in the world around us. Perhaps God’s response would be the same. Live by your faith, have hope in God’s justice, wait for the vision, for it will surely come. Let us pray now for the fulfillment of God’s justice.
Reader 2: For those who suffer hunger due to war or political unrest, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 3: For those who are hungry as the result of disasters such as floods, earthquakes, drought or famine, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 4: For those who are victims of disease and the hunger that sometimes accompanies illness, we pray. All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 5: For those who struggle to produce adequate food without training in sustainable agriculture, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 6: For those who are hungry because they are refugees, forced from their homes by violence or disaster, unable to find adequate food in a land not their own, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Reader 7: For those who are hungry because they cannot find employment or other financial support, we pray.
All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled.
Leader: Merciful God, let us live by our faith with hope in your justice. Let our lives be a fulfillment of the vision that was lived by your son Jesus, in whose name we pray. All: Let the vision of God’s justice be fulfilled
Break the Fast with Mass if reasonable
Receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ is the most important thing you can do this week. However, out of charity for the vulnerable, do not attend Mass if you or anyone in your family is showing signs of illness. Also do not attend Mass if you have someone in your family who is immunocompromised. Continue to keep Holy the Sabbath and watch Mass on TV if you cannot attend Mass.
“All Catholics in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend are dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, beginning the weekend of March 15 and continuing through March 29.”
Sunday Masses will continue, but all are dispensed from the requirement to attend for the next three weeks. As a reminder, no “substitution” (like a TV Mass) is required, but if not participating at Mass, we should keep holy the Lord’s Day through prayer and rest. Of course, those who are sick, as an act of charity and concern for fellow Mass attendees, should not attend Mass.
Please consult www.diocesefwsb.org/covid-19 for more information.
Sunday Masses will continue, but all are dispensed from the requirement to attend for the next three weeks. As a reminder, no “substitution” (like a TV Mass) is required, but if not participating at Mass, we should keep holy the Lord’s Day through prayer and rest. Of course, those who are sick, as an act of charity and concern for fellow Mass attendees, should not attend Mass.
Please consult www.diocesefwsb.org/covid-19 for more information.