For Lent read our publication entitled, "The Secret of Confession"
http://www.presentationministries.com/publications/SecretConfession.asp
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Friday, February 28, 2020
Isaiah 58:1-9, Psalm 51:3-6, 18-19, Matthew 9:14-15
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022820.cfm
GROWLING STOMACHS AND HUNGRY MINDS
"Why do we fast, and You do not see it? afflict ourselves, and You take no note of it?" -Isaiah 58:3
On this third day of Lent and worldwide day of abstinence from meat, it is good to recall that Lent is not merely abstaining but also fasting, that is, limiting our intake of food and drink. Lent is a forty-day fast in imitation of Jesus' fasting in the desert (Mt 4:2).
Fasting must be done in the right spirit (see Is 58:3-4), but this right spirit should not substitute for fasting but authenticate it. For example, it's good to abstain from gossip, TV viewing, smartphones, and other selfish pursuits. These things may need to accompany fasting, but they are not fasting, for fasting always entails the limiting of our food and drink. Let's not spiritualize fasting and take away its essential material element. Let's not spiritualize Christianity and forget its fundamental, incarnational essence. "Take note, the spiritual was not first; first came the natural and after that the spiritual" (1 Cor 15:46).
Let us have both a natural and a spiritual Lent. May our Lent be as physical as growling stomachs, hunger pains, and lost weight. May Lent then be as spiritual as repentance, reconciliation in relationships, and total commitment to the Lord. In this Lent, both "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice" and "be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rm 12:1-2).
Prayer: Father, give me a fully human Lent.
Promise: "Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed." -Is 58:8
Praise: At a healing service, the Lord healed Barbara of deafness in one of her ears.
(For a related teaching on "The Secret of Fasting", order, view or download our leaflet or order, listen to, or download our CD 46-1 or DVD 46 on our website.)
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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant the "Nihil Obstat" ("Permission to Publish") for "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from February 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020
?Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 8, 2019
The "Nihil Obstat" ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the "Nihil Obstat" agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.
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