tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-820798894846245311.post8288126320671445991..comments2024-02-03T20:47:08.995-06:00Comments on This Side of the Pulpit: Fastenzeit is NearChristopher D. Hallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03906949438584923588noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-820798894846245311.post-84183763512882522822008-01-22T14:58:00.000-06:002008-01-22T14:58:00.000-06:00Well, he is a lovingly pastoral sort of priest!:-)...Well, he is a lovingly pastoral sort of priest!<BR/><BR/>:-)Chahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05671159425647448277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-820798894846245311.post-25611689221650794452008-01-22T13:32:00.000-06:002008-01-22T13:32:00.000-06:00This year it almost is, Doorman! Of course, if on...This year it almost is, Doorman! Of course, if one kept the Advent Fast...oh well. :)<BR/><BR/>-C, that sounds like a lovingly pastoral approach, and given the difficulty of the Eastern Rite fasting discipline and our standard diet in the West (much different than a standard Mediterranean diet), almost necessary, I'd imagine.Christopher D. Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03906949438584923588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-820798894846245311.post-28776174062291328222008-01-22T12:34:00.000-06:002008-01-22T12:34:00.000-06:00I recently heard a tape recording of one of my pri...I recently heard a tape recording of one of my priest's old sermons - it was a sermon delivered to his parish before I was in it, and in fact, before I myself became an Orthodox Christian<BR/><BR/>One thing I noted in his comments regarding the then-upcoming fast, was that he said, "You know the standard, now take some time and decide just what your level of participation will be - how it is that you will fast. Pray about it, plan it, and then try to be faithful to what you have set out to do."<BR/>He was careful to note that those who do not live in monastic settings, or who have family members who are not Orthodox, or with extenuating circumstances are sometimes not able to keep the fast strictly. But what was important, it sounded like, was that each make a decision - a prayerful decision about how they would fast that Lent. And that each person use Lent, and the discipline of fasting, for spiritual growth.<BR/><BR/>It sounded so surprisingly gracious to me - and made good sense, I thought.<BR/><BR/>FWIW.Chahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05671159425647448277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-820798894846245311.post-23557389436184957012008-01-22T09:32:00.000-06:002008-01-22T09:32:00.000-06:00I think lent should start as soon as the Feast of ...I think lent should start as soon as the Feast of the Epiphany is over. We need to change Church law to recognise the orgy of self-indulgence over Christmas.Doorman-Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06407399232593479871noreply@blogger.com