The lenten discipline of fasting opens up the true horizon of life’s meaning, purifying us of unhealthy material attachments and opening the way for the eternal Word to penetrate our hearts.
Liturgical Seasons
Lent, Fasting and Abstinence For Catholics Part 3
Fasting and Abstinence. Are they important? Are they necessary? The Church, as a caring mother, is providing us a specific means and season for completing acts of penance, such as fasting and abstinence. Her goal is to see to it that her children attain eternal life. Her precept on fasting, then, is for our spiritual benefit.
Lent, Fasting, and Abstinence Part 2: The Benefits of Fasting According to St. Thomas Aquinas
The spiritual benefits of fasting are many. Not only is it an excellent means of engaging in penance, as Christians are required to do, but it confers other benefits such as helping to build self-mastery, the control of the soul over the desires of the flesh.
Feast of the Epiphany: Gods Plan is Manifested
St. Proclus: “At Christmas we saw a weak baby, giving proof of our weakness. In today’s feast, we see a perfect man, hinting at the perfect Son who proceeds from the all-perfect Father.”
What Was Mary and Joseph’s Journey to Bethlehem Like?
After such a long, dangerous and grueling trip, Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, a name which means “house of bread.” It is fitting that the Christ-Child born there is the bread of life who gives himself—his flesh and blood—as food for eternal life.