Prayer for Aid in Fasting (St. Joseph Studite, Lenten Triodion)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XTTkD0nko0

~Pope Benedict XVI on Fasting~

......"Fasting means abstaining from food, but includes other forms of self-denial to promote a more sober lifestyle. But that still isn't the full meaning of fasting, which is the external sign of the internal reality of our commitment to abstain from evil with the help of God and to live the Gospel . . ."

"In our own day, fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one's body. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a "therapy" to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God."

"Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God."

"It seems abundantly clear that fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person. Quite opportunely, an ancient hymn of the Lenten Liturgy exhorts: 'Let us use sparingly words, food and drink, sleep and amusements. May we be more alert in the custody of our senses.' Since all of us are weighed down by sin and its consequences, fasting is proposed to us as an instrument to restore friendship with God."......

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1100951.htm