ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ON FASTING

ON FASTING

by St. John Chrysostom

The value of fasting consists not only in avoiding certainfoods, but in giving up of sinful practices. The person wholimits his fast only to abstaining from meat is the one whoespecially lowers the value of it.

Do you fast? Prove it by doing good works. If you seesomeone in need, take pity on them. If you see a friend beinghonored, don’t get jealous of him. For a true fast, you cannotfast only with your mouth. You must fast with your eye, your ear,your feet, your hands, and all parts of your body.

You fast with your hands by keeping them pure from doinggreedy things. You fast with your feet by not going to seeforbidden shows or plays. You fast with your eyes by notletting them look upon impure pictures. Because if this isforbidden or unlawful, it mars your fast and threatens the safetyof your soul. But if you look at things which are lawful andsave you increase your fast, for what you see with your eyeinfluences your conduct. It would be very stupid to eliminate orgive up meat and other foods because of the fast but feed withyour eyes upon other things which are forbidden.

You don’t eat meat, you say. But you allow yourself to lis-ten to lewd things. You must fast with your ears, too. Anotherway of fasting with your ears is not to listen to those who speakevil or untrue things about others. “Thou shalt not receive anidle report. “This is especially true of rumors, gossip,untruths which are spoken to harm another.

Besides fasting with your mouth by not eating certain foods,your mouth should also fast from foul language or telling liesabout others. For what good is it if you don’t eat meat orpoultry, and yet you bite and devour your fellow man?

Article courtesy of the

EWTN Library. This blog however got this from the Blog of Sis. Shirley Monreal entitled: EX FIDE IN FIDEM. Here is the link: http://saiden.page.ph/fidem/2009/02/st-john-chrysostom-on-fasting/