Today’s Catholic Five will teach you the 5 MOST POWERFUL forms of prayer in order of their powerfulness. Take these with you into the New Year and beyond!
1. The Catholic Mass
2. The Liturgy of the Hours
3. The Rosary
4. Adoration
Learn from Bishop Robert Barron how to make a Holy Hour:
5. Fasting
When Jesus sent His disciples out to heal the sick and cast out demons, they came upon a tortured soul who they could not rid of the evil spirit. They called Jesus over, and he succeeded when they could not. When they asked Him why they were unable to cast the demon out, Jesus replied “…this kind of demon does not come out except by prayer and fasting” (Mat. 17:21).
In today’s culture, we can fast from a multitude of things– we have so many distractions. Perhaps, however, we should fast like Jesus fasted. Let’s take a look at three of the things Jesus sacrificed:
Food and drink
Sleep
Intercourse
Yes, screens and senseless entertainment should be fasted from, too, but the most powerful forms of fasting are what turn us toward the mystical world that surrounds us, not the carnal world that drives us. THe body is to the soul what the cart is to the horse.
BTW, fasting isn’t just a lent thing– Jesus and His disciples did it before lent was even a thing.
Some tips: