Having entered upon the great and glorious journey of Lent,
we again turn to the wisdom of Holy
Mother Church. Seated this week at the feet of our spiritual
father in Christ, Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Father of the Church, let
us gather jewels of knowledge, so that throughout these forty days, we may not
be found lacking in the strength necessary to complete our pilgrimage.
There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains, and virtue endure: they are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other.
Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy
is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one
try to separate them; they cannot be separated.
If you have only one of them, or lack all together, you have
nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you
fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of
others. If you do not close your ear to
others, you open God’s ear to yourself.
When you fast, see the fasting of
others. If you want God to know that you
are hungry, know that another is hungry.
If you hope for mercy, show mercy; if you look for kindness, show
kindness; if you want to receive, give.
If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a
mockery.
Let this be the
pattern for all men when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same
way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to
show mercy to you.
Therefore, let prayer, mercy and
fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a
threefold united prayer in our favor.
Let us use fasting to make up for
what we have lost by despising others.
Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can
offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophesy: “Sacrifice to God is a contrite
spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart.”
Offer your soul to God, make him an
oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy
sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own, and at the same time made over
to God. Whoever fails to give this to
God will not be excused, for if you give him yourself, you are never without
the means of giving.
To make this acceptable, mercy must be
added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it
is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up
when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting
as rain is to the earth. However much
you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices,
sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear
no fruit.
When you fast, if your mercy is thin,
your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows
into your barn. Therefore, do not lose
by saving, but gather in by scattering.
Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have
refused to give to others.
