Lent 2 ~ Good Works~Fasting

    Lent is a beautiful time of growing closer to Christ by giving of ourselves through the good works of prayer, fasting and alms giving. In these ways, we aspire to imitate Our Blessed Lord in the way that he gave Himself, without reservation,  to all of us.

  Jesus sacrificially obeyed God's Will by giving us 

His body and blood in the Holy Eucharist

     Holy Scriptures present us with many examples of holy fasting. Jesus teaches us the necessity of fasting. His words "only by prayer and fasting" address the singular manner by which the demon possessed boy was freed from a lifetime of anguish. He uses the word "when", not "if" with regards to fasting and prayer which He requires in the lives of His followers. 
      Life changing sacrifices and miracles flourished in the lives, of Moses, Daniel and Esther.  Fasting was an essential element in the lives of many Saints.

   Eating is necessary to sustain life. It is the center of many social events. We eat to celebrate, as in weddings. Food is brought to mourning family and friends as part of the activity of consolation. Human attention to food, water and eating is of

immense cultural, social, economic and historic significance.
  So, why is fasting such an important element in our reltionship with God? 
     During a holy fast, we deliberately remove ourselves from the consumption of specific foods for a specific periods of time (hours, days) , so as to concentrate upon God. Holy fasting is without motives of vanity or ego. Holy Mother Church
 prescribes fasting for lay persons, always with consideration of limitations presented by age, state of life and state of health. To disregard these factors removes the holiness of the fast-period. Before embarking on a fast, consult with a Holy priest.
   Roman Catholics fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion. May we receive the grace to obey God's Holy Will for us in our "hours/days of fasting" during this Lenten season, because in obedience to the Will of the Father, Jesus gives us His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.

Prayer

Fasting

Alms Giving

Prayer and Fasting~Lent 7

     Time is a most precious outgrowth of prayer and fasting. My personal experience has been an enhanced awareness of time. It is perhaps more difficult to surrender than food or alms. "First Things First" in this context, means that time spent in prayer and contemplation comes before other activities. Listening to God requires a great deal of discipline. I have become increasingly aware of how little control I have over life's episodes. However, when I put Jesus first, "things" miraculously fall into place. My "schedule" is replaced by God's plan. I may not understand His will, but during times of prayerful fasting He blesses me with the graces I need to accept it. Events unfold according to His time. Meanwhile, I am invited by Jesus to align my thoughts, words and actions with His life, passion, death and resurrection, all of which transcend time. As Jesus leads me step by step into Holy Week, how grateful I am that He has so generously blessed us with the gift of eternity with Him!

Please follow this link to the 

Stations of the Cross

Prayer and Fasting~Lent 6

     Prayer and fasting effectively transport our attention above whatever placates worldly aspirations.  Trusting in God by turning away from the mundane opens the window to personal transformation. The desire to feed the ego is redirected to serving the needs of others. Self pity surrenders to forgiveness. Fondness for adulation is replaced by supernatural yearning to glorify Jesus with every thought, word and action. 

     Seeds of miracles awaiting manifestation are quietly embedded within the words of a famous prayer popularized in the early 1900's. The author is unknown. The prayer has often been attributed to Saint Francis, probably because of its resemblance to the way he lived his faith in Jesus.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace

Where there is hatred let me sow love

Where there is injury pardon

Where there is error, truth

Where there is doubt faith

Where there is despair hope

Where there is darkness light

Where there is sadnesss joy.

O Divine Master grant 

That I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive

It is in pardoning tha we are pardoned

And it is in dying 

That we are born to eternal life.

Please see: "About Fasting"

and

Previous Post: Prayer and Fasting~Lent 5

also

Book Review: The perfect Joy of Saint Francis

Prayer and Fasting`Lent 5

     Prayer and fasting cause a holy peace to flourish deep within our souls. Therefore, during a fast, it is not unusual for the evil one to attack with external (usually interpersonal) disruptions, provoking an internal "crankiness". Our obligation to forgive others coincides with a necessary examination of our own conscience. Our hearts must be willing to repent.How humbling it is to confront that for which we require forgiveness! This can be more painful than the struggle against cravings for things of this world. We may even be tempted to give up praying and fasting. The strength to persevere comes from total reliance on Jesus. We are then free to experience the peace that comes from forgiveness and acceptance of God's will.

 
 "And Jesus said, 

'Father forgive them 

for they know not what they do.'"

Luke 23:34 

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

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Prayer and Fasting~Lent 4

     Generosity is a natural outcome of prayer and fasting. Alms giving, as well as offering time and service, stem from a holy root of self denial. The focus is gracefully removed from satisfying the whims of the appetite. There is a heightened awareness of the needs of others. Hunger shifts from the need to feed the self to a holy inclination to provide for our neighbor. Greed releases its grip in favor of a willingness to serve. The unreasonable fear of not having enough is supernaturally lifted. Giving without measuring is pleasing to the heart. Material possessions and social status are all too frequently an avenue of ensnarement by the evil one.  Prayer and fasting miraculously transform the craving for applause into a yearning for a closeness to the Heart of Jesus.

"And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face. That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither rust nor moth doth consume and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also." 

Matthew 6:16-21

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

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Prayer and Fasting~Lent 3

    "And the Lord said to Moses: stretch out thy hand towards heaven and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt so thick that it may be felt." Exodus 10:21 Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

     The Pharaoh's hideous stubbornness was graphically portrayed by Almighty God's chastisement of him. Through Moses, the Lord enveloped the Pharaoh in a tangible darkness. Prayer and fasting supernaturally dissolve thick apathy and resistance to God's unconditional love, opening our hearts to grace filled forgiveness. Our Lenten sacrifices remove shadowy cloaks of hard heartedness and lift blinding burdens of condemnation. We miraculously become free to forgive and to be forgiven!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

       "How great is the mercy of the Lord, and His forgiveness to them that turn to Him!" 

Ecclesiasticus 17:28 (Deuterocanonical) 

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

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Prayer and Fasting~Lent 2

     Prayerful fasting powerfully strengthens our intimacy with God. The first act of obedient fasting He required of mankind was to refrain from eating from a specific tree in the Garden of Eden. Our union with our Lord is so threatening to the evil one that he attempts to pervert even our most sincere efforts at fasting. Our souls can be driven away from our Heavenly Father by succumbing to temptations ranging from excessive eating to unhealthy distortions of fasting. May Jesus protect us and our loved ones from deception as we endeavor to draw closer to Him this Lent.

     And the Lord God took man and put him into the paradise of pleasure to dress it and to keep it. And He commanded him saying, "Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death." Genesis Chapter 2 Verses 15-17 Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

     Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Why hath God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?" And the woman answered him saying, "Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die." And the serpent said to the woman, "No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and that you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil." 

Genesis Chapter 3 Verses 1-5 

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

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Prayer and Fasting~Lent 1

The Holy Gospel teaches us that the disciples of Jesus were powerless to resolve the mental affliction of a young boy. It must have been frightening and exhausting for the both the child and his father. Jesus illustrates the role of faith, trust and surrender to His Will, when facing any seemingly insurmountable crisis. It takes faith to turn away from earthly distractions and ineffective solutions to problems. Daily tasks and concerns absorb precious minutes and hours with the greatest urgency. Spending time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and actively seeking spiritual nourishment requires faith that Our Blessed Lord is in control of every outcome. His Will for our lives is perfect and holy. Prayer and fasting help us to recognize and obey God's will for us.

~Jesus spoke to the father of the child~

 "And Jesus saith unto him: If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:22

~The disciples asked Jesus why they were unable 

to cast the demon spirit form the child~

  "And He said to them: This kind can go out 

by nothing but by prayer and fasting." Mark 9:28

From the Gospel of Mark Chapter 9 

Douay Rheims Roman Catholic Bible

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and

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See Also:

Faithfully Awaiting Supernatural Transformation ~ FAST I 

and

Faithfully Awaiting Supernatural Transformation ~ FAST II 

About Fasting

           I write this out of loving concern for those who may not understand the true nature and value of Christian fasting. 
     We know that Our Lord holds very dear within His heart persons afflicted with eating disorders, emotional infirmity and medical conditions, who may feel that they are unable or unworthy to receive the blessings of fasting. Regardless of physical or emotional condition or state of life, Our Heavenly father loves all of His children without measure. 
     Christian fasting is a prayer filled experience, through which we are supernaturally  guided by the Holy Spirit to grow closer to Our Lord. There are many variations of fasting. For example, juice fasting and strict adherence to medically prescribed meal plans are valid and powerfully spiritually rewarding types of fasts.

     Fasting, as prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church has very specific guidelines, with consideration given to age and state of health. Holy obedience and self denial are paramount features of a Christian fast. They beautifully demonstrate trust in our God, who loves us unconditionally. In Christian fasting we turn away from earthly desires. Our motivation is to be drawn more closely to Christ in every thought, word and action. Our hearts are more receptive to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We are free to surrender to His perfect and holy will for us. 

     Persons with medical ailments or eating disorders should not embark on a total fast, rather they should seek the advice of their priest and physician with regards to an alternate yet fitting holy sacrifice. Examples can be found in the spiritual and corporal Works of Mercy. Attending Mass more frequently, Eucharistic Adoration, and increased time devoted to prayer and scripture are other examples. May our Blessed Lord Jesus bless you abundantly on your fasting journey.

Please see:

Faithfully Awaiting Supernatural Transformation

and

Prayer and Fasting ~ Lent