Friday 27 February 2009

Fasting for Lent

This came from a Benedctine monastery via the new e-coracle of the Iona Community:
No-one knows who wrote it
but I wish I had met them for they were certainly wise. Fast from judging others; Feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on difference;
feast on the unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness;
feast on the reality of life.
Fast from thoughts of illness;
feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent;
feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
feast on optimism.
Fast from worry;
feast on divine order.
Fast from complaining;
feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives;
feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures;

feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility;
feast on non-resistance.
Fast from bitterness;
feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragements; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.






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