Tag: Fasting

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The Catechism in a Year – Day 268 – The Precepts of the Church

God has given the Church his law as “the way of life and truth.” We, therefore, have the right to be taught and guided while maintaining a spirit of docility in love. In this, Fr. Mike reminds us that the Church is our caring mother. Her care extends into the five precepts of the Church, those laws establishing the very minimum needed to remain an active member of the Body of Christ. These have to do with attending Mass, receiving the sacraments, fasting, and providing for the needs of the Church. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2037-2043.

Click on link: https://youtu.be/sqtGnhY7FOs?si=uubQzY9K3AaFKfOx

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Minute Meditation – Is This Not The Fast I Wish?

An early follower of Francis was not able to sustain the extreme fasting that Francis himself practiced. Rather than shaming the man, Francis broke his own fast so that his hungry brother could eat. Religious practices can never become more important than the end to which they lead: love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus makes this point again and again in the Gospels. It’s a good lesson at the beginning of Lent. What we do for Lent is far less important than why we do it. The time-honored traditions of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are less to benefit us than to draw us closer to God and improve the lives of those around us. 

—from the book Lent with St. Francis: Daily Reflections by Diane M. Houdek

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Lent is a Process – Not an Event

Lent has begun and with it our season of penance and fasting. What are you planning on giving up or adding to your spiritual life?

Today, Fr. Mike helps us understand that Lent is less like a crockpot—which you can set and forge—and more like an ongoing, iterative process that requires our continual discernment about how we are drawing closer to Jesus.

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Saint of the Day – August 30 – Saint Fiacre

St. Fiacre (d. 670 A.D.) was born in Ireland and was raised from childhood in an Irish monastery. There he grew in knowledge as well as holiness, and became a priest. He retired to a hermitage to live in prayer and solitude, but men began to flock to him to imitate his way of life and become his disciples. To escape them, Fiacre left Ireland to establish a new hermitage in France. He went to the bishop and asked for land to plant a garden to grow food as well as herbs for medicinal healing, a science which he studied in the monastery. The bishop agreed to give Fiacre as much land as he could entrench. Fiacre picked a plot of land and walked around its perimeter, dragging his shovel behind him. Wherever his spade touched the ground, the land was miraculously cleared and the soil became entrenched. St. Fiacre lived a life of great mortification in prayer, fasting, vigils, and manual labor in his garden. Disciples gathered around him again, and soon formed a monastery. St. Fiacre then built an oratory in honor of the Virgin Mary, a hospice in which he received strangers, and a cell for his own dwelling. His fame for performing miracles became widespread, and his garden became a place of pilgrimage for centuries for those seeking healing. St. Fiacre is best known as the patron of gardeners, florists, and cab drivers. His feast day is August 30th.

St. Fiacre, pray for us!

//Catholic Company//

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Feast Day for March 14th – Laetare Sunday

The fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally known by the name Laetare Sunday. This name is taken from the Introit at Mass, Laetare Jerusalem which means “Rejoice, O Jerusalem.” Laetare Sunday marks the halfway point through the Lenten season of fasting, abstinence, and penance, and because of this it is a day of joy in anticipation of the close arrival of Easter. This day corresponds with Gaudete Sunday halfway through the Advent season, where the priests wear rose-colored liturgical vestments and the altar is decorated with flowers, often roses. 

//The Catholic Company//