
10 Reasons to Fast This Lent
Fasting with purpose can give new meaning to Lent and increase your Easter joy.
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Fasting with purpose can give new meaning to Lent and increase your Easter joy.
Some years ago I heard a psychologist give a talk in which he shared this insight: A love relationship is a relationship of trust.
Lift up, give up, take up. This season invites us to do all three.
Saint Cassian of Tangier models the ultimate Christian act of brotherhood and friendship. His decision to speak up for what is right clearly left him standing alone in the courtroom and later on at his beheading. There were no groups or persons with him to support his choice. There were no character witnesses to speak up for this one who embraced the unpopular Christian faith. Except for the unconditional love of our redeemer, Cassian was alone. With the simple utterance of “I am a Christian,” he was condemned. One might ask why he didn’t remain quiet.
In Lent, we find both the challenge and the opportunity to look inward, acknowledge our shortcomings, and ask for God’s pardon so that we may more fully embrace our loving Creator.
Eating is not only an individual delight but also, and mainly, a communal experience. Family reunions mean sharing story after story around the table. The food served becomes the backdrop for a renewal of mutual concerns remembered and new events announced. Those of us who have to travel for business may need to eat alone, but may not relish doing so. Travelers often end up at a local hangout not only to order a beer but to find a bartender or other patrons to converse with. Breaking bread with a friend is why I baked that loaf in the first place.
“What are you going to do with your life?”
You know what they say: “You can’t win the lottery without buying a ticket.” It seems fairly obvious, right? How could one ever expect to win without actually entering the contest?
One of my favorite features on the television show Sesame Street when I was growing up was a game entitled, “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other.” As the song played in the background, we were challenged to find the one object out of the four that was different: an orange, an apple, a pear and a spoon, for example. Tucked in among the apples-and-oranges books of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible is a spoon!
We see so many dark valleys, so many disasters, so many people dying of hunger, from wars, so many disabled children, so many.
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