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Fr. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.'s avatar

Wow. You’ve summed up the spiritual life in one article. Every Catholic, indeed everyone who calls themself a Christian, needs to read this. I’ll be sharing it far and wide. I hope others will too. And if I may be so bold, maybe you could send this to other outlets for wider publication? It’s that good. Thank you! Thank you for this excellent guidance.

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Jeff Brewster's avatar

Well said. One of the most pernicious fruits of Vatican 2 and its new mode of worship was the great dilution of days and seasons of fasting. Traditional Church calendars, east and west, implore fasting throughout the year. In many "Catholic" circles that has been replaced by giving up meat on Fridays, but only during lent. For centuries, Holy Church knew that fasting (with prayer) was critical for people to control their appetitites in order to maintain a good prayer life and stay in a state of grace. Those who can control their stomachs can control every other appetite. The lack of catechesis on this point cannot be overstated. I once told a Franciscan priest that it was difficult to fast during advent because of all the distractions around the holidays. He suggested I was confused - "Catholics only fast during lent not advent."

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