Bernard of Clairvaux: fasting
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Feast of Willibrord of York, Archbishop of Utrecht, Apostle of Frisia, 739
Meditation:
[Jesus:] “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
—Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)
Quotation:
If the appetite alone hath sinned, let it alone fast, and it sufficeth. But if the other members also have sinned, why should they not fast, too? ... Let the eye fast from strange sights and from every wantonness, so that that which roamed in freedom in fault-doing may, abundantly humbled, be checked by penitence. Let the ear, blameably eager to listen, fast from tales and rumours, and from whatsoever is of idle import, and tendeth least to salvation. Let the tongue fast from slanders and murmurings, and from useless, vain, and scurrilous words, and sometimes also, in the seriousness of silence, even from things which may seem of essential import. Let the hand abstain from ... all toils which are not imperatively necessary. But also let the soul herself abstain from all evils and from acting out her own will. For without such abstinence the other things find no favour with the Lord.
... Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, Selections from His Letters, Meditations, Sermons, Hymns and Other Writngs, tr. Horatio Grimley, CUP Archive, n.d., p. 208-209 (see the book)
See also Matt. 6:16-18; 9:14-15; 12:36-37; John 14:15; Acts 14:3; 1 Cor. 7:5
Quiet time reflection:
Lord, instruct me to keep my appetites in check.CQOD Blog email RSS
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Feast of Willibrord of York, Archbishop of Utrecht, Apostle of Frisia, 739
Meditation:
[Jesus:] “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
—Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)
Quotation:
If the appetite alone hath sinned, let it alone fast, and it sufficeth. But if the other members also have sinned, why should they not fast, too? ... Let the eye fast from strange sights and from every wantonness, so that that which roamed in freedom in fault-doing may, abundantly humbled, be checked by penitence. Let the ear, blameably eager to listen, fast from tales and rumours, and from whatsoever is of idle import, and tendeth least to salvation. Let the tongue fast from slanders and murmurings, and from useless, vain, and scurrilous words, and sometimes also, in the seriousness of silence, even from things which may seem of essential import. Let the hand abstain from ... all toils which are not imperatively necessary. But also let the soul herself abstain from all evils and from acting out her own will. For without such abstinence the other things find no favour with the Lord.
... Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, Selections from His Letters, Meditations, Sermons, Hymns and Other Writngs, tr. Horatio Grimley, CUP Archive, n.d., p. 208-209 (see the book)
See also Matt. 6:16-18; 9:14-15; 12:36-37; John 14:15; Acts 14:3; 1 Cor. 7:5
Quiet time reflection:
Lord, instruct me to keep my appetites in check.
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sub fb twt Jonah Ruth
posted by Robert McAnally Adams at 11/07/2020 02:00:00 AM
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