The True Meaning of Fasting

Oh, Lord my God, You have given us six weeks of preparation for Holy Week to prepare our hearts by works of penance, charity and good works for the Solemnity of Jesus’ resurrection in our lives. I hear Your word in scripture today of the fasting that You seek from us: releasing the bonds of those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke, setting the free the oppressed, sharing my bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless and oppressed, clothing the naked. Give me the grace this day that I need not just to hear Your voice but act on it as Mary did in her life. I ask this so that You may pour out your mercy and hear my petitions in my need. I ask this in the powerful name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Fr. Ignatius Kissel, OSM