Celtic Odyssey

With this being 'Fat Tuesday' and Lent starting tomorrow with Ash Wednesday, I wanted to just touch upon this idea of fasting. For the entire time of Lent, I will be 'fasting' various things including, but not limited to, the computer (except my weekly post of the weekly collect and my monthly reflection) and most foods. But, I want to share with you an idea of fasting that you may not be familiar with. Fasting isn't necessarily about giving up food or other things. It seems that it can be more about taking care of those who are the least among us. [This] is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help ( Isaiah 58.6-7 ). Maybe we all know of someone who is in need of this kind o...

Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus. As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dea...

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Child revealed your glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of your countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into the likeness of Jesus from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The monk felt nothing. He had been sitting under the willow tree for what seemed like hours, and though he tried to quiet his mind, thoughts bombarded him like bees swarming a hive. The more he sat, the more his mind raced. ‘How am I supposed to hear God when I can‘t keep my mind quiet?’, he thought to himself. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself.’ The monk opened his eyes to see his abbess standing in front of him. ‘How did you know what I was thinking? Do you have the gift?’ the monk asked. ‘No. I don’t have the gift,’ the abbess answered. ‘Your anguish is written on your face. What is troubling you?’ ‘I'm such a lousy monk!’, the monk exclaimed. ‘I can’t even sit here in silence without my mind racing like a frightened horse. And the things that are running through my mind are not holy in the slightest! My thoughts are sinful. I have to be the lowest of the low when it comes to spiritual things.’ The monk buried his face in his hands. The abbess, full of compassion, leaned f...