Fasting & Feasting
Lent is more than a time of fasting, it can also be
a joyous season of feasting.
Lent is a time to
fast from certain things, and to feast on others.
Fast from judging
others
Feast on the Christ
dwelling in them
Fast from emphasis on differences
Feast on the unity of
life
Fast from apparent darkness
Feast on the reality
of light
Fast from thoughts of illness
Feast on the healing
power of God
Fast from words that pollute
Feast on words that
purify
Fast from discontent
Feast on gratitude
Fast from anger
Feast on patience
Fast from pessimism
Feast on optimism
Fast from worry
Feast on Divine
Providence
Fast from complaining
Feast on appreciation
Fast from negatives
Feast on affirmatives
Fast from unrelenting pleasures
Feast on unceasing
prayer
Fast from hostility
Feast on peace
Fast from bitterness
Feast on forgiveness
Fast from self-concern
Feast on compassion
for others
Fast from personal anxiety
Feast on trust
Fast from discouragement
Feast on hope
Fast from acts that tear down
Feast on acts which
build up
Fast from thoughts that weaken
Feast on promises
that inspire
Fast from idle gossip
Feast on purposeful
silence
Fast from problems which overwhelm
Feast on prayer that
is supportive
(Sharing of other Fast from
. . . or Feast on .
. .)
Closing
Prayer:
God, we
honor the Mystery of your presence in us.
We celebrate through feasting and fasting your Indwelling Presence in
our daily lives. You are here today in
ways we did not know. We cherish your
presence in our lives as we journey through life. We receive your joy in the midst of our
sorrows. We receive your love in the
midst of our fears and we receive your light in the midst of our darkness . . .
And so
we pray:
May
there always be a little light in our darkness.
May
there always be a little faith in our doubt.
May
there always be a little joy in our sorrow.
May
there always be a little life in our dying.
May
there always be a little hope in our sadness.
May
there always be a little courage in our fear.
May there always be a little slow in our hurry. Amen.
(Adapted from Song of the Seed by Macrina Wiederkehr)
Praying Lent:
https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/prayer-spirituality-resources/praying-lent
Praying Lent:
https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/prayer-spirituality-resources/praying-lent
Nothing
is more practical
than
finding God,
that
is, than falling in love
in
a quite absolute, final way.
What
you are in love with,
what
seizes your imagination,
will
affect everything.
It
will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with
your evening, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and
what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall
in love,
stay
in love
and
it will decide everything.
Pedro
Arrupe, s.j.
(1907-1991)
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Blessed
Are You Who Bear The Light
Blessed are you
who bear the light
in unbearable times,
who testify
to its endurance
amid the unendurable,
who bear witness
to its persistence
when everything seems
in shadow
and grief.
Blessed are you
in whom
the light lives,
in whom
the brightness blazes ___
your heart
a chapel,
an altar where
in the deepest night
can be seen
the fire that
shines forth in you
in unaccountable faith,
in stubborn hope,
in love that illumines
every broken thing
it finds.
Author: Jan Richardson
From Circle of Grace/
http://www.janrichardson.com/index.htmlichardson.com
janrichardson.com
Remembering Sister Clara Rehberg (d.1909)
The first Sister of St. Agnes . . .
Gertrude Rehberg, named Sister Mary
Agnes Clara, is one of the first of three women to join Father Rehrl. He provides a convent in the village of Barton, Wisconsin, where the
sisters receive rudimentary instruction in religious life and for teaching.
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026
February 8, 2026
www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com
Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 112; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16
The Sermon on the Mount continues with its teaching on the moral life of the believer. The concepts are rather basic as we hear in the Isaiah reading: feed the hungry, shelter the oppressed and homeless, clothe the naked, and care for each other as you would care for your own family. Why then, after 3,000 years, do we need reminding, and why do we collectively do a poor job of it? Especially today, we need to take better care of refugees, displaced persons, and immigrants. While many of you do your part and are exceedingly generous, there are those among us whose attitudes are indifferent or downright hostile. As a human community, we can do better.
We Christians are called to go above and beyond basic humanity. The Gospel shows us that our work is quiet work. We are a people who show the way of goodness and righteousness. We may not always be called to act, but we are called to show our attitudes and wisdom to others. We have to see that our presence in times of discord and confusion slows down the corruption around it. We are to be the ones who remain centered, know how to breathe during confusing times, and respond thoughtfully to crises rather than react precipitously or rashly. We are people who know how to use our anger well. We do not act angrily, but we act out of the energy anger gives us. We show the world that we see goodness and hope, and we inspire others to build up the kingdom of heaven. We must see that we hold onto and cherish what is good to keep it from spoiling or going bad. Our presence magnifies the work of God.
As salt, we realize that we must engage with the world on its terms and creatively figure out how to change it for the better. As salt, we cannot allow ourselves to disappear into the world so that we no longer have any power to change it. We cannot let our hearts and minds get beaten down so that we are defeated, discouraged, or exhausted. We cannot give up hope. We are to stay in the world with softened hearts and keep them from getting battered. An indifferent heart needs resuscitating.
As light, we are to be the beacons of inspiration and hope so that others can see our wisdom of faith and be nourished by it. We are to be models of promise so that others can live one more day. As disciples, we cannot withdraw from the world so that darkness reigns. One candle that it lit in a dark world can help others see. We must find ways to ignite other lights with the flicker that we possess.
You are already that salt and light. You must recognize the privilege you enjoy because you can point the way forward to others who cannot see the good that is being done by so many people. You are the difference makers in the world, especially when you help people move from to an expanded consciousness. You are the ones who continually point out that God’s evolving project is still unfolding, and that God needs us to build this kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. You are the ones who are to show the way of light and goodness. Do well, my friends. Be the peace you want to see in the world. Be the world you want to create.
A Quieting Prayer
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping
greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of
sky; and for everything
which is natural which
is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;
this is the birth
day of life and love and
wings: and of the gay
great happening
illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing
seeing
breathing any-lifted
from the no
of all nothing-human
merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes
are opened)
~ e.e. cummings ~
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On the day you are wearing
your certainty like a cloak
and your sureness goes before you
like a shield or like a sword,
may the sound of God’s name
spill from your lips as you have never
heard it before.
May your knowing be undone.
May mystery confound your
understanding.
May the Divine rain down
in strange syllables
yet with an ancient familiarity,
a knowing borne in the blood,
the ear, the tongue,
bringing the clarity that comes
not in stone
or in steel
but in fire, in flame.
May there come one searing word –
enough to bare you to the bone,
enough to set your heart ablaze,
enough to make you
whole again.
International
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Master of the Universe:
On this most solemn of occasions, we
open our hearts, minds, and souls to you.
As we remember the six million, the eleven million, the
indifference, and the evil;
As we honor the heroes, the martyrs, the survivors, and
the victims;
We ask you to soothe our souls, to amplify our
memories, to strengthen our resolve, and to hear our prayers.
We ask for your presence in our midst; for healing,
light, and love to soothe and ease our pain, as we commemorate the horrors that
were committed not long ago. Please, oh Holy One, be gentle with our souls.
We ask that you help us to forever remember the stories
we hear. As tales of the atrocities are shared, as we re-encounter the
unthinkable, we ask that these memories be strengthened and never fade, in the
hope that those who remember the mistakes of the past will not repeat them.
Please, oh Holy One, amplify our ability to remember.
We ask that you strengthen our will, that you help us
to ensure that the world does not again see such monstrosities. We say “never
again” and we dedicate ourselves to this principle, to the idea that justice
does not allow persecution, that genocide shall not be repeated, and that
vigilance is the responsibility of freedom, at all costs. Please, oh Holy One,
make manifest our resolve that these horrors remain but memories.
We ask that you answer our prayers. We pray that the
call of evil falls on deaf ears, that those who fight for freedom and justice
always prevail, that those who need protection do not become victims. We pray
that the lessons we learn from this darkest hour allow all humankind to better
itself, and to truly and nobly embody the idea that we are each made in Your
image. We pray for the souls of the millions and millions of victims of this
brutality; we pray that we honor their lives and their memories by observing
this day, and by doing everything in our power and beyond to make sure that no
such shadow again darkens our world.
Above all, we pray for shalom—for wholeness
and peace—to be in our midst, now and forever. Please, oh Holy One,
answer our prayers and bring us a world devoid of hatred, filled instead with
peace.
Ken yehi ratzon – may this be God’s will. And
may we all say together, Amen.
This prayer was originally shared at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station’s 2014 Holocaust Remembrance Service.
Lord, make me your witness.
In
this world of darkness, let my light shine.
In this
world of lies, let me speak the good news of truth.
In the
world of hate and fear, let me radiate your love.
In this
world of despair, let me spread hope.
In this
world of systemic injustice and institutionalized evil, let
me promote justice and goodness.
In this
world of sadness and sorrow, let me bring joy.
In this
world of cruelty and condemnation, let me show your
compassion.
In this
world of vengeance and retaliation, let me offer your
mercy and
reconciliation.
In this
world of war, let me serve your gift of peace.
In this
world of violence, make me a teacher and apostle of your nonviolence.
In this
world of death, let me proclaim the new life of resurrection.
Help me
to witness to the resurrection of Jesus by loving my
enemies,
showing compassion, feeding the hungry, sheltering the
homeless,
serving the poor, liberating the oppressed, resisting
war,
beating plowshares, and disarming my heart and the world.
In the
name of the risen, nonviolent Jesus, Amen
Taken from You Will be My Witnesses: Saints, Prophets and Martyrs, By John Dear
Father, Mother, God,
Thank you for your
presence
during the hard and
mean days.
For then we have you
to lean upon.
Thank you for your
presence
during the bright and
sunny days,
for then we can share
that which we have
with those who have
less.
And thank you for
your presence
during the Holy Days,
for then we are able
to celebrate you and
our families
and our friends.
For those who have no
voice,
we ask you to speak.
For those who feel
unworthy,
we ask you to pour
your love out
in waterfalls of
tenderness.
For those who live in
pain,
we ask you to bathe
them
in the river of your
healing.
For those who are lonely, we ask
you to keep them
company.
For those who are
depressed,
we ask you to shower
upon them
the light of hope.
Dear Creator, You,
the borderless
sea of substance, we
ask you to give to all the
world that which we
need most—Peace.
prayer - Maya Angelou
