Tag: fasting

August 14: A Call to Prayer and Fasting for Peace

August 14: A Call to Prayer and Fasting for Peace

His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, has urged all the faithful to join wholeheartedly the worldwide Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace TODAY on August 14, noting that it coincides with important negotiations about Ukraine scheduled to take place in Alaska on August 15 th , the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. “We believe that those who fast, pray, and work will be heard by the Lord,” said His Beatitude.

Our Ukrainian people, of every confession, have been praying for years for an end to the unjust brutal war and the establishment of a just peace. In the tradition of our Eastern Catholic Church, at every Divine Liturgy we lift our prayers to the Lord for the healing of the wounded, the repose of the departed, the liberation of captives and abducted children, the conversion of the aggressor, and the bestowal of wisdom and courage upon leaders to do God’s will.

Joining the voice of our Patriarch, we exhort all clergy, religious, and faithful of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolia in the US to participate devoutly in this day of fasting and prayer, and to intensify personal and communal intercession. We urge all to offer private prayer TODAY August 14 and to participate in the Divine Liturgies for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos celebrated in their parishes. We hereby direct all priests of the Metropolia to include a special petition for a just peace in Ukraine in the festal Liturgy of the Dormition.

The International Union of Superiors General (UISG) has proclaimed Thursday, August 14, 2025, the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a worldwide Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace. The faithful throughout the world are invited to unite in fervent supplication, to call for justice, and to engage in concrete works of charity and solidarity aimed at ending the many armed conflicts afflicting our world—from Gaza to Sudan, from Ukraine to Myanmar, from Haiti to the Democratic
Republic of Congo, and Syria.

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Christian fasting???

We are asked to observe several fasts in the course of the year. Some do it; others do not. Some know why the Church encourages us to fast; many have no clue as to why we fast and the spiritual and physical benefits to fasting.

Join our friend, Abouna Moses to learn the “why” behind the fast!

On Fasting by St. John Chrysostom

The value of fasting consists not in abstinence only from food, but in a renouncing of sinful practices. Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him! If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him. Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all members of your bodies. Let the hands fast, by being free from greed. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let the eyes fast, by observing modesty and disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful. For it would be an instance of the highest ridiculousness to abstain from meats and unlawful food because of the fast, but with the eyes to feed on what is forbidden. Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip. Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism. For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fish, and yet bite and devour our brothers?

St. John Chrysostom