Fasting, by definition, means abstaining from any food or drink for a period of time, and it is usually done because of a religious practice. Imagine how difficult it would be to go for a day without eating a morsel of food or a drop of water. Now imagine doing the same for a longer period of time. It may seem like an impossible task but many people in the world do that as part of their religious traditions. Some opt to just skip a meal or two in a day while other pushes it even further.

This practice is done to show that one is willing to make a sacrifice for their beliefs. Enduring thirst and hunger may be an expression of faith in some religions and is done at a certain season of the year. For Catholics, it is done during the Lenten season. Buddhists fast typically when there is a full moon or on other holidays.

For Hindus, fasting is usually practiced on New Moon days and during festivals, while for Muslims, it is done during Ramadan. The list goes on, and the days and reasons vary from one religion to the next. Basically, it is a ritual of faith, which is common for most religions.

The best quotes on Fasting

“Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into yourself.”
— St Augustine

“Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.”
— St Peter Chrysologus

“A fast is not a hunger strike. Fasting submits to God’s commands. A hunger strike makes God submit to our demands.”
— Ed Cole

“Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”
— Andrew Murray

“If thou wouldst preserve a sound body, use fasting and walking; if a healthful soul, fasting and praying; walking exercises the body, praying exercises the soul, fasting cleanses both.”
— Francis Quarles
“Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.”
— Andrew Murray

“The greatest saint in the world is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives alms, or is most eminent for temperance, chastity or justice. It is he who is most thankful to God.”
— William Law

“When you are going to fast, observe it int this way: first, avoid any evil and desire, and purify your heart of all the vain things in the world. Your fast will be perfect if you do this.  And this is the way you should eat: after fulfilling all you are supposed to do on your fast day, then eat nothing but bread and water, and of the food which you were going to eat, measure out the same quantity and give this to a widow or orphan or other needy person.”
— Hermes

“Periodic fasting can help clear up the mind and strengthen the body and the spirit.”
— Ezra Taft Benson

“Through prayer, fasting, and studying, God will answer.”
— Monica Johnson
Fasting is not for everyone. One person may think it is perfectly normal, as it was part of the traditions he had been practicing while growing up, while another person may think it totally absurd to starve oneself for the sake of religion. Not all religions exercise this particular ritual and not all people in religions which do practice fasting do so as well. It is a matter of choice and a matter of willingness. For if something is done for the sake of customs and tradition, but it is done without heart and willingness, it would be totally meaningless.

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Only when we truly love someone or something do we realize how to make sacrifices. Sacrifice may seem like a simple word but it carries a much deeper meaning. It entails commitment and willingness to give up something or someone, either temporarily or permanently for something else.

A sacrifice could be as small as a mother foregoing the purchase of something she really likes at the store, such as a dress or a piece of jewelry to instead use the money to buy something for her daughter. Something as small as skipping a movie date with friends to spend time with your mother or father who came to town.

Or it could be as big as letting a loved one go when we realize he is in love with someone else. It could be as grand as giving up a well-deserved career to stay at home and focus on your kids, give them the time and attention they need to grow and develop in a loving and nurturing environment. Sacrifice means a lot – both to the one who is willing to sacrifice and to the one who is sacrificed for. It means that there is much love present, for one does not simply sacrifice for someone unimportant.

Best Quotes on Sacrifice

“When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve.”
― Ernest Hemingway

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”
― Gaylord Nelson

“Some day you will find out that there is far more happiness in another’s happiness than in your own.”
― Honor De Balzac

“I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior, for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.”
― Dan Quayle

“Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
― Martin Lt. King

He who never sacrificed a present to a future good or a personal to a general one can speak of happiness only as the blind do of colors.
― Olympia Brown

“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.”
― Mitch Albom

“Our god is the thing, or person, which we think most precious, for whom we would make the greatest sacrifice, and who moves our heart with the warmest love. He is the person or thing that if lost would leave us desolate.”
― Allan Redpath

“Of all the work that produces results, nine tenths must be drudgery. There is no work, from the highest to the lowest, which can be done well by any man who is unwilling to make that sacrifice.”
― Edward Henry Bickersteth

“A human being has many divine qualities. But there has never been another unparalleled divine quality like man’s self-sacrifice, nor can there ever be.”
― Sri Chinmoy

Anyone, at some point in their lives, has made a sacrifice for someone. Grand ones, small ones and even those which may seem insignificant, but still tug at the heartstrings of those involved. It is a part of life, which shows the ones we love that we are willing to take an extra step, walk an extra mile, to prove that they are important to us, that they are loved. Somehow, sacrifices make our lives richer and fuller. They let us know how strong we are and how much we are willing to give up freely for those we love.

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