Fasting consideration

Introduction: The bishop said when entering the Lenten season: try to improve because I can’t do it … I can only approach God as a penitent. Everyone can approach God by asking for His mercy. Pope Francis gave his message at this time: I want to offer you three points for meditating on this renewal.

1. “So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1 Cor 12:26) – The Church.
2. “Where is your brother? ”(Gen 4: 9) – parishes and communities.
3. “Strengthen Your Hearts” (James 5, 8)

Let us pray: Almighty God, give us the grace to penetrate deeper into the mystery of Christ by living through the forty days of fasting and to move forward on the path to salvation through a virtuous life.

Reading from the First Letter of Peter (1 Peter 3: 18-22)

Beloved, Christ suffered once and for all for sins, the just for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was killed in the flesh but revived by the Spirit. He came in and preached to the spirits who were in prison. They once did not want to believe when God’s patience in the days of Noah waited for a ship to be built, in which only a few, a total of eight people, were saved from the water. This is a model of baptism that is now saving you. Not by removing bodily filth, but begging with God a clear conscience for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who ascended to heaven, is at God’s right hand, and angels, powers, and powers are subject to him.

We have heard the word of God!

Let’s try to think before the Stations of the Cross: I chose some medicines in the pharmacy and the young saleswoman told me when paying: “Take the attention of our pharmacy. When you pay this amount, we give you a detox – an herbal tea that cleanses your body. Harmful substances accumulate in our body and these need to be put out. They are toxins. These are dangerous for the body and must go away. Detoxification can help … detox! “She said how to use it. She didn’t give it to me, so I told her, “Now is the time of Lent as a preparation for Easter, and the Church also has such means to detox our interior. Appropriate resources should also be taken and used as directed. It probably has something to do with each other. “She said:” I know, I’ve been to ashes, and I’m also trying to use this time in this respect as well. And I also found a detox that I will use to survive this time well. “

Many use various means – detoxes, which should help our body to remove harmful substances. Lent has this purpose, as we heard when entering this holy fasting period: prayer, almsgiving, more modest eating – fasting, and acts of charity are to be given more space in our daily space. On Ash Wednesday, we started the match with us. General Hannibal’s words are very useful here: “We will either find the way or make it.” But it is necessary to remember, as Anselm Grün reminds us: “If you do not purify yourself, you will be bad for others!” Peter makes it clear: “This is a model of baptism that is now saving you. Not by removing bodily filth, but begging for God’s clear conscience for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who ascended into heaven, is at God’s right hand, and angels, powers, and powers are subject to him. ”Pope Francis sent us a message for this time. Let’s try to listen: The Message of the Holy Father Francis for Lent 2015 “Strengthen your hearts” (James 5: 8).

Dear brothers and sisters, Lent is a time of renewal for the Church, communities, and individual believers. Above all, however, it is a “time of mercy” (2 Cor 6: 2). God does not ask us for anything he would not have given us before: “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). He is not indifferent to us. Each of us lies in his heart, knows us by name, takes care of us, and seeks us when we leave him. Each of us is interested in him; his love prevents him from being indifferent to what is happening. However, it happens that when we are well and feel comfortable, we sometimes forget about others (which God the Father never does!), We are not interested in their problems, afflictions and injustices that they undergo … Our heart then falls into indifference: while I I am relatively well and contented, I forget those who are not well. This egoistic, indifferent attitude has taken on a global dimension today, to such an extent that we can talk about the globalization of indifference. This is a scandal that we as Christians have to face.

When God’s people turn to his love, they will find answers to questions that constantly arise in history. One of the most pressing challenges we want to address in this message is the challenge of globalization. Activities. Indifference to one’s neighbor and to God is a real temptation for us Christians as well. Therefore, during each Lenten season, we need to listen to the calls of prophets who are calling out loud to awaken us.

God is not indifferent to the world, but he loves it so much that he sacrificed his Son for the salvation of every human being. In the Incarnation, in his earthly life, in death and resurrection, the Son of God has definitively opened the door between God and man; between the sky and earth. And the Church is like a hand holding this door open – by proclaiming the word of God, by celebrating the sacraments, by witnessing to the faith that works 76 through love (cf. Gal 5: 6). Nevertheless, the world wants to close itself and close this door through which God enters the world and the world comes to God. Therefore, the hand, which is the Church, must never be surprised if they reject, suppress, and injure it. God’s people need renewal so that they do not become indifferent and close in on themselves. Some time ago, a television station conducted a survey: Who else is fasting today? They stated that not only the old but also the young will fast. Nice! It also said, “We should give up what we like best”; “I drink four coffees a day, so I’ll only have two, and I can sacrifice it.” “Potatoes were cooked in almost every house. What Mrs. Mary is preparing is the fastest food. Apart from him, they will not indulge in anything today, “said the addressed people from Lendak.

Another channel: “According to doctors, fasting is also of great health benefit. Miloš Bubán, gastroenterologist: “Fasting is taken not only as prevention but sometimes as treatment. It is sooner after winter when such fatigue of the organism comes, it is also such a cleansing treatment. “It was also said that” All these fasts will trump the models. You fast up to-up. So, what is fasting as it should be? Well, none of those mentioned were confirmed by the prophet Isaiah. What does he think fasting is? Not at all what we imagine under Lent. What is not fasting according to the prophet? , have I chosen such a fast, a day in which a person humbles himself? Twisting your head, putting on a sack, and shooting ashes? Do you call this fasting and a day dear to God? “

Today, the Holy Father Francis entered the Lenten period together with the cardinals of the Roman Curia by celebrating the liturgy of Ash Wednesday in the Basilica of St. Sabina on the Aventine. The Holy Mass was preceded by a traditional procession from the nearby Basilica of St. Anzelma, belonging to the Benedictine. In the homily, the Holy Father Francis pointed out the inner dimension of repentance and conversion, which is reflected in the solicitation of the gift of tears. “Can I cry?” – asked Pope Francis, and continued, “Is the Pope crying? Are the cardinals crying? Are the bishops crying? Are the initiates crying? Are the priests crying? Is crying in our prayers? ”

In the words of the prophet Joel: “Turn to me with all your heart” (2:12). The Holy Father called for such a repentance that comes from the most intimate of the interior. Based on Jesus’ words about the true meaning of alms, prayer, and fasting (Matthew 6: 1-6.16-18), he spoke of the dangers of hypocrisy facing a Christian. “Hypocrites cannot cry, they have forgotten how they cry, they do not ask for the gift of tears,” the pope remarked. Quoting the words of St. Paul: “For Christ, we ask: Be reconciled to God!” (2 Cor 5:20) then emphasized that conversion is not just a human work. It is possible “thanks to the Father’s mercy, who out of love for us did not hesitate to sacrifice his Son.” “Let us be reconciled to God,” the pope said. Today, after the audience, Pope Francis had a book St Peter’s Square handed out: Keep your heart!

Students who were on Erasmus – a study stay in the USA, talked about the aggressiveness of advertising on humans. The most common advertisement: “A bucket of grilled delicacies for only two dollars!” And right after that was an offer of some exercise tools! First, smash what your eyes see and then go to the fitness center – to the torture chamber. There is everything between two possibilities: to squander properly and then put it out of yourself. One is not so strong in one’s attitudes that one can command. It’s not just about human will. It doesn’t work for most. We are not that strong. The Church leads us not only to cultivate body weight to make us look but to be responsible for God’s gifts. Not only to renounce them but also to serve others [1].

If we are to preserve our hearts for God, then with His grace we can detoxify our hearts so that we can serve others by acts of mercy. I don’t remember anyone calling us to cry. Everywhere we hear that we are to impress the world champions, the supermen who are destroying the world and whom everyone envies. Although we know very well that it is different! We know how many embarrassments we do in front of others when we want to show off and fall for our mouths. And how much embarrassment a person can do in front of him! Pope Francis knows our embarrassing situations, so he calls us to weep over his sins. Let us not play the artists of life, but humbly ask for the gift of tears over all hypocrisy, over our weaknesses and sins. No, Pope Francis does not want us to be weeping but those who know how to get to God’s mercy and forgiveness.

One experience of life: In a small town, there are women who