March 11, 2011
TRUE FASTING
“The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice and let the oppressed go free.” – Isaiah 58:6
When I was younger, I used to dread the season of Lent. People seemed sad and sometimes irritable, perhaps a result of hunger pangs. As I grew mature in my faith, I started to look forward to Lent and saw how beautiful a time it truly was. It is a special time to draw closer to God and get to know Him more deeply. Controlling our physical desires creates the space and time we need to be with Him in prayer.
In truth, Lent is a spiritual feast, a time to receive special graces and to grow in virtue as we spend more time with the Lord .
I also realized that the money we save from fasting from things or food we like should be used to feed the hungry, to share with those who are in need, to bring them closer to God by caring for them so that they may know that God loves them, too.
Indeed, God is clear in the kind of fasting that He desires from us: “Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear and do not refuse to help your own relatives.” (Isaiah 58: 7). Lent, like Christmas, is a time to love! Marjorie Ann Duterte (marjorie.travels@gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
Does my fasting lead me to love God and my neighbor?
Jesus, as we journey with You in Your suffering, help us to love the Father and our brother like You do. Amen.
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