Fasting

(St. Antony - picture found here)

“Fasting is not dieting. Fasting is not about keeping a Christian version of kosher. Fasting is about hunger and humility (which is increased as we allow ourselves to become weak). Fasting is about allowing our heart to break.”

“Why do we fast? Perhaps the more germane question is ‘why do we eat?’ Christ quoted Scripture to the evil one and said, ‘Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ We eat as though our life depended on it and it does not. We fast because our life depends on the word of God.”
~Stephen Freeman

“Fasting appears gloomy until one steps into its arena. But begin and you will see what light it brings after darkness, what freedom from bonds, what release after a burdensome life.”
~St. Theophan