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Monday, March 21, 2016

St. Francis of Assisi - March 21

The Fasting St. Francis Required of His Brothers

"The brothers are to fast from the feast of All Saints to the Nativity of the Lord.  Then, as to the other fast which begins with the Epiphany and lasts uninterruptedly for forty days and which the Lord sanctified with His own fast, those who keep it voluntarily, may they be blessed by the Lord, and those who do not wish to keep it, are not bound to do so.  But the brothers are bound to keep the other fast which ends with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord.  They are bound to no further fasting, then, except on Fridays.  And whenever necessity requires that a brother not fast, he is not bound to corporal fasting."  --St. Francis, Rule of 1223, Chapter III

Fasting is not something I've ever attempted except for a day and then it was for the purpose of beginning a weight loss method.  The purpose of the fasting in this case was to enable us to experience real hunger so that when we ate again we'd only eat until we felt the sensation of being full.  This would help me not to overeat.  There were no other limitations set on me.  I lost five pounds on that "diet."  I can see where fasting for the purpose of experiencing spiritual fullness would help us discern when we're inadvertently starving ourselves spiritually.  Sometimes you have to experience a real need in order to appreciate what you already have so that you use it to its fullest extent.


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