Showing posts with label fasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fasting. Show all posts

Saturday, March 6, 2021

What is Lent /Prayers for the Season of Lent


Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, the night before Easter Sunday. Wikipedia

Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.

Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).

In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics.


Lent Prayers

Prayers for Lent observed beginning on Ash Wednesday and ends after six weeks before the celebration of Easter. 


Invite Us Deeper

Almighty and ever living God,
you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent.
May this time be one of outward focus;
seeking you in those we often ignore.
Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter.
Give us hearts hungry to serve you
and those who need what we have to give.

- Author Unknown


Let Us Fast

While fasting with the body,
brothers and sisters,
let us also fast in spirit.
Let us lose every bond of iniquity;
let us undo the knots of every contact made by violence;
let us tear up all unjust agreements;
let us give bread to the hungry
and welcome to our house
the poor who have no roof to cover them,
that we may receive mercy from Christ our God.

Byzantine Vespers



A Lenten Prayer

Palms in the form of crosses

Look with favor, Lord,
on your household.
Grant that,
though our flesh be humbled
by abstinence from food,
our souls, hungering after you,
may be resplendent in your sight.

- Pope Pius V


Come, My Light

Come, my Light,
and illumine my darkness.
Come, my Life,
and revive me from death.
Come, my Physician,
and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of divine love,
and burn up the thorns of my sins,
kindling my heart
with the flame of thy love.

- Dimitrii of Rostov


From the Beginning of Time

Jesus,
you have known us from the beginning of time,
you have known us in the depths of our dreams and in the darkness of our shame,
you know us as your beloved.

Help us to own that core identity more and more in this season of repentance and mercy.
Give us the rock-solid assurance of your unwavering faith in us
as we seek the same in you.

Amen.

- Author Unknown


The Fast Life

Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.

- Author Unknown




Friday, March 8, 2019

FASTING IS WHAT YOU GIVE UP FOR LENT


The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, most notably by the public imposition of ashes.


The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, most notably by the public imposition of ashes.

There is a strong biblical base for fasting, particularly during the 40 days of Lent leading to the celebration of Easter. Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights, according to the Gospels. 

Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat.

  1. Refrain from eating meat (bloody foods) on all Fridays in Lent, substituting fish for example.
  2. Eliminate a food or food group for the entire season. Especially consider saving rich and fatty foods for Easter.
  3. Consider not eating before receiving Communion in Lent.
  4. Abstain from or limit a favorite activity (television, movies, etc.) for the entire season, and spend more time in prayer, Bible study, and reading devotional material.

WHAT SHOULD I GIVE UP FOR LENT? MEAT? SWEETS? CHOCOLATE? ICE CREAM? BEVERAGES? MEAT?
Many of us try to be more disciplined for Lent and give up something that we really like. That’s great! Fasting has always been an important tradition of Lent. This year however, let us also consider other things that we can give up.
*Give up complaining* – _ Focus on gratitude_
Philippians 2:1415 – ‘Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure…’
1 Thessalonians 5:18 – ‘Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ’.
*Give up bitterness* – _ Turn to forgiveness_
Ephesians 4:31 – ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice’.
Ephesians 4:32 – ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you’.
*Give up worry* – _Trust in God_
Matthew 6:25 – “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life… who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Matthew 6:33 – ‘But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’.


*Give up discouragement* – _ Be full of hope_
Deuteronomy 31:8 – ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you: he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged’.
Isaiah 40:31 – ‘But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint’.
*Give up hatred* – _ Return good for evil_
1 John 2:9 – ‘Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness’.
Luke 6:27 – “But I tell you who hear me; Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”
*Give up anger* – _ Be more patient_
Matthew 5:22 – ‘But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment’.
Proverbs 15:18 – ‘A hot tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel’.
*Give up gossiping* – _Control your tongue_
Psalm 34:13 – ‘Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies’.

Proverbs 21:23 – ‘He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity’.


Featured Post

PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY O Mary, Virgin most powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge o...