Fasting and Love

I look forward to Lent,  the time the Church sets aside for us to fast and pracise the Gospel more intently. Fasting is not about losing weight, feeling good and getting healthy.  It is not about how hard or strict you are with the prescribed fast.  We fast to let go of what binds us and turn toward Life, Love, Truth.  We do this through fasting, prayer and alms giving.  We do this by letting go of our self centered existence and loving those around us.  My dear friend in Seminary was translating Maximos the Confessor. (She found out why people don`t like to do that.  I hear his Greek is very complicated.)  She came into my room one day and told me that Maximos the Confessor said that the Love a person has for God is the same Love a person has for his brother.  She was blown away by this.  I have become blown away by this as the years go by.  If we do not love our brother, how can we say we love our God?  How can we say that we love God, but allow his child to go naked? Even the monk sitting in his cell does not pray for himself, but for the whole world.  Prayer is an act of love. We are not meant to be solitary beings.  We are connected to those in our community even if we don't like it.  Lent gives us the chance to remind ourselves of what we are not doing for the sake of the Gospel and lets us act accordingly.  Fasting helps to remind us of the necessary thing - to love.  Let us let go of our selfcenteredness, love our brother and live as we are meant to live. Let us love.