“Once two brothers went to visit an old man. It was the old man’s habit, however, not to eat every day. When he saw the two brothers, he welcomed them with joy, and said: Fasting has its own reward, but if you eat for the sake of love, you satisfy two commandments, for you give up your own will and also fulfil the commandment to refresh others.”
The Desert Fathers left the world they knew and its comforts to choose solitude, silence, fasting and prayer as their new way of life. What the desert was for them, Lent is for us. Their stories and sayings still speak to us, fifteen centuries later.
There is no Lent without fasting. True, but… be on the watch. During Lent we freely choose to fast in order to love more. Fasting has not spiritual meaning in itself. It is a way to mortify our will, humble our desires and renounce ourselves, but only in order to love more the other.
“Once the rule was made to fast for the week before Easter. During this week, however, some brothers came to see Abba Moses and he made a modest meal for them. Seeing the smoke, the neighbours said to the priests of the church of that place: Look, Moses has broken the rule and is cooking food at his place. Then the priests said: When he comes out, we will talk to him. The priests, who knew Abba Moses’ holy way of life, said to him in public: Abba Moses, you did break the commandment made by man, but you have firmly kept the commandment of God.”
If you want to see how your Lent is really doing, do not watch your scales or look into your pantry or in your fridge, rather examine your love instead!
Fr Ivano
