Great Lent

Lenten Reflections: LENT as FEAST and FAST

Lent is more than just a giving up.
It is giving… developing a greater love towards God,
self and others.
LENT can be a FEAST AND A FAST.

LENTEN DISCIPLINE:

Fast from worry; feast on trusting God.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from hostility; feast on tenderness.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast from unceasing prayer.
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 personal anxiety; feast on the fullness of truth.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.

Fast from lethargy and apathy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.

Source: adapted and revised from The Anglican Digest

See Also:

A Lenten 'Weight Loss' Program by Gary Zimak
Let’s face it, we are all weighed down to some extent by selfishness and assorted vices. Given a choice, very few of us will choose suffering over comfort. The Church gives us the season of Lent to examine our souls and remove the extra "weight" that keeps us apart from the Lord. Here are five simple steps that you can use during Lent to identify and eliminate some of this excess "poundage" from your life.

Fasting
by HH Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Universal Syrian Orthodox Church and All The East
Fasting is a voluntary act of abandoning worldly life. It is a sign of man’s obedience to, and respect of God’s laws and his observance of God’s offices by his voluntary abstinence from food or drink for a specific period of time.

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