It's an interesting phenomenon. One might think that 40 days of ascetical living would not be very appealing. But it is. Our hearts and souls yearn for the listening, the quieting, the renewal of our lives.
Our lives are renewed by praying, fasting, and giving alms. The Church teaches that all three need to be present. Leave out any one, and the danger of self-delusion is very real.
Fasting without prayer and almsgiving is just a diet!
Father Stephen has a great post about preparing for Great Lent: Inner Stillness on his blog "Glory to God for All Things." It's listed as one of my favorites, there on the right side bar. I urge you to visit regularly.
Highlights from the article:
Do not resent:
When we look at all the inner clutter that is in our lives, hearts and souls, what do we find? We find resentments...Resentfulness leads to a host of problems. The more resentful we are of other people, the more depressed we become.
Do not react:
On an even deeper level, this spiritual principle – do not react – teaches us that we need to learn to not react to thoughts.
Keep inner stillness:
Inner stillness is not merely emptiness. It is a focus on the awareness of the presence of God in the depths of our heart.As they say: 'read the whole thing.'
No comments:
Post a Comment