So many of us have heard the term "fasting" at one time or another, as mentioned in biblical times throughout scripture.  It is a practice that has become quite unpopular in our day because we find it unthinkable that we should voluntarily abstain from something that remains so easily accessible to us, (chocolate, alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, meat - to name a few of the top choices).

More and more over the past few years, however, the pastor at my church has been working to coax parish members into abstaining from those things that hinder our sanctification, i.e. gossip, impure talk, wasting time...