You are a delicate composition of body and soul. Fasting is to the body what prayer is to the soul. Indeed, fasting is the prayer of the body, and bodily fasting leads to spiritual fasting. The reasons for fasting are different from the reasons for dieting. Fasting is by its very nature a statement of humility, while dieting is usually linked to ego, vanity, and pride. Dieting is the secularization of the great spiritual exercise of fasting. But dieting is devoid of the strongest motives and reasons for fasting: repentance, self-denial, humility, self-mastery, and the spiritual power that comes from these dispositions. Two other powerful forms of fasting are the practice of silence and of stillness. From time to time, fast from noise and movement. Sit perfectly still in silence for twenty minutes. After you have become comfortable in the silence, be still for twenty minutes. Be completely still. It is difficult. Yet I am convinced that silence and stillness are two of the greatest spiritual tools. Finally, we can practice fasting as a form of penance to express sorrow for our moral failings and to be restored to wholeness. The Church invites us to the spiritual practice of fasting not because she wants us to feel guilty or have a poor self-image but rather so we can be liberated. In the process we are given grace to strive with ever more determination to become the-best-version-of-ourselves. Fasting is one spiritual practice that can help restore the soul to its intended beauty, reduce our tendency toward those actions that are self-destructive and sinful, and reduce our appetite for sin in the future. (Taken from Rediscover Lent by Matthew Kelly, St. Anthony Messenger Press)
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 13:57:20 +0000
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