As we start Lent, it's good for us to think about what can do to make these next 40 days truly transformative. Ask yourself: What can I do to make these next 40 days filled with God and void of the things that take me away from God? And once Easter Sunday comes, we shouldn't revert to our "old ways" but continue to keep striving to keep Christ at the center of our lives.
As we abstain from meat on Fridays and abstain from other things we've decided "to give up", keep in mind what Jesus Christ taught about fasting: "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you." (Matthew 6: 16-18)
In other words, don't do a press release about your fasting. Don't look for sympathy from friends and family because you are giving something up or incorporating something else good into your life (going to daily mass, reading more scripture, participating in charity work, etc.). These things are being done to atone for your sins and to connect your sacrifice to the sacrifice experienced by Christ on the cross.
If you haven't come up with something to do for Lent, whether it be adding something or giving something up; here is a list of things worth trying to both fast from, and feast on:
• Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of life.
• Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
• Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
• Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
• Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
• Fast from anger; feast on patience.
• Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
• Fast from worry; feast on divine order.
• Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
• Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
• Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
• Fast from hostility; feast on non-resistance.
• Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
• Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
• Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
• Fast from discouragements; feast on hope.
• Fast from facts that depress; feast on verities that uplift.
• Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
• Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
• Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
• Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
• Fast from anxiety, feast on trusting in God's providence.
May you all fast from those things that distract us from being the people that God has made us to be. May you all feast on the opportunity to grow closer to our Lord!
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