Lenten Reflection

This is typically an email I send out every Ash Wednesday because I just love it. I posted it here for the first time last year, and will probably make this a reoccurring thing. It reminds me how to focus on fasting in a broader sense than we normally think about. Lenten sacrifice isn't just about "what" you're giving up but Who you're growing closer to.

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"Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 5:20

HOW TO FAST

Fast from judging others; Feast on Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from apparent darkenss; Feast on the reality of light.

Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.

Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; Feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from anger; Feast on patience.

Fast from worry; Feast on Divine Providence.

Fast from unrelenting pressure; Feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from negatives; Feast on positives.

Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.

Fast from hostility; Feast on non-resistance.

Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.

Fast from anxiety; Feast on hope.

Fast from yourself; Feast on a silent heart.

Lenten Action: Be generous with your compliments today, especially to those who appear to be "down".

Prayer: I enter on this path of repentence so that in dying to self I might rise to new life.