“A person who cannot refrain from judgement, malice, pride, envy, anger, consumption or distraction becomes a slave to his own impulses. Through fasting, therefore, we learn once again to say no to passion so that we may say yes to becoming like God
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“This is one of the profound meanings of fasting: the passage from our own will to the will of God. We fast so that our desires, habits and passions cease to determine the direction of our lives. We practise self-restraint to make room for the work of grace. We pray more often so that our distracted minds may withdraw from vanities and our hearts may hear the voice of God’s calling.
“The Church’s fasts are distributed throughout the year so that each season has its own particular rule of abstinence. Thus, for spring there is the spring fast, Great Lent; for summer, the summer fast at Pentecost; for autumn, the autumn fast in the seventh month; and for winter, the winter fast.
“martyr-like patience
“St. Nazaria, he said, shows that pure prayer isn’t a utopia. St. Olimpiada, he continued, shows that taking on external cares and administrative or leadership responsibilities doesn’t stop a person from reaching God—rather, when such service is undertaken in God’s name, it becomes a pure offering to the Holy Trinity. St. Elisabeta, he added, shows those who fulfilled the Lord’s word to the rich young man in the Gospel: “Go, sell your possessions, give to the poor, then come and follow Me.”