We encourage people to fast according to their abilities. Some, for instance, fast on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, relaxing the restrictions on other days, such as Sunday, when fish is permitted. Father Paul said he tries to present the fasting guidelines not as legalistic restrictions but as ways to encourage people to give a sacrificial gift to God. He said although the guidelines sound severe, the Mediterranean diet is so tasty that someone actually could gain weight during the fast. Father Paul said he considers abstaining from food the easy part of the Nativity fast.
Prayer requires deeper sacrifice and time.
It is a far greater sacrifice for the children of this age than giving up food. Time is the currency of our generation. Mr. Corombos said if his schedule allows he will combine fasting and prayer by skipping lunch and saying the prayers of the sixth hour, one of the services of the church's daily office of prayer. Father Paul said the self-denying trilogy of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving form a powerful force to counteract the pressure and secularism of what passes for the Christmas season in today's culture. To deal with the force at work in the world, to draw us away from that, we have to apply an equal or stronger force.