Holy Spirit of God, teach me about fasting …

Jonah 3:1-10
                                      
There is nothing more important than being in communion, by love, with God through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Naked I came from the womb, and naked I shall go back to the earth.  There is nothing on earth –no possessions, no ideology, no power, no success, no food, no drink - that is of any critical significance over and above how I am connected with God and with others, as well as with ‘myself’. So it is always worth it, in terms of love, to fast from any of those things that prevent our hearts, minds, souls, - and even our physicality -  from truly turning to God and loving others.  Fasting cuts through the chains of desire, appetite, memory, and wishes for good, by disciplining our beings to value only what is truly valuable.  Then I am able not only to approach, but to live into, the holiness and life of God.  What can I fast from today?  Holy Spirit of God, teach me about fasting.
                                                                         
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
 
When the flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation.
 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei