Since we are halfway through Lent, it’s a good moment to consider how it’s been going.
The purpose of our self-denial is conversion, as we learn to let go of control and to depend more upon God. The essence of Lent consists of a forty-day fast, originally entailing fasting throughout the day and abstaining from meat, animal products, oil, and wine. The hunger this daily fast engenders should lead to increased spiritual hunger. It’s so easy for God to be pushed aside in favor of our material needs and distractions.
The Church Fathers could not comprehend the fullness of sounds, images, videos, and texts we consume each day. Alongside the fasting they enjoined from food, we need a new form of it, one, likewise, focused on making space for God and learning to depend more on him.Lent
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