Light from the East: “To Love Fasting”

Schedule

Sun Feb 05 2023 at 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm

Location

Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church | Pittsburgh, PA

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Light from the East" offered once a month following the 5pm Sunday Divine Liturgy at Holy Spirit Parish in Oakland will focus on the history, worship, spirituality, discipline and theology of Eastern Christianity. The group is sponsored by the Byzantine Catholic Campus Ministry of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and open to all who are interested. A baked pasta dinner will be provided so please RSVP if you are coming.
Topic: “To Love Fasting!” These words are not mine. I take them from the Rule of St. Benedict. In the list of “The tools for good works" in the Rule there is the sentence, “Jejunium amare.”
We all have heard scriptures appeal for fasting and we know that fasting is a
fundamental practice of Christian asceticism(intimately linked with the
prayer life and generosity towards our neighbor). But is it possible to "love fasting?” The combination of the words sounds almost paradoxical. If there is one thing we don't love spontaneously, it is fasting - no more than we love any other form of self-deprivation!
Yet, we must love fasting if we wish it to be alive and practiced. When seen and considered a mere affliction, something odious, fasting perishes. Just as we tend to reduce and suppress what we don't love, so we keep and develop what we love. "To love fasting" is the only way to revive its practice. In this talk, I don't want to try to establish what ends fasting will serve, or how one arrives at that result. I want to sketch the motivations which will make an appeal to you to embrace fasting as a regular and essential part of your relationship with Christ.
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Where is it happening?

Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church, 4815 Fifth Avenue,Pittsburgh,PA,United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Pittsburgh Byzantine Catholic Campus Ministry

Host or Publisher Pittsburgh Byzantine Catholic Campus Ministry

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