“It would perhaps be too much to say that the world needs another movement such as that which drew these men into the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. Ours is certainly a time for solitaries and for hermits. But merely to reproduce the simplicity, austerity and prayer of these primitive souls is not a complete or satisfactory answer. We must transcend them, and transcend all those who, since their time, have gone beyond the limits which they set. We must liberate ourselves, in our own way, from involvement in a world that is plunging to disaster. But our world is different from theirs. Our involvement in it is more complete. Our danger is far more desperate. Our time, perhaps, is shorter than we think.
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LENT 2024
Feb. 14 - March 29, 2024
BE STILL AND KNOW: 40 days to renew your body, soul (mind, emotions, will) and regenerate your spirit during Lent
Instant access to Lectio Divina 4 part course and Fasting 70 min teaching video, as well as Lectio Divina Booklet to print
Prerecorded 5 videos introducing one weekly practice during Lent (3.5 h) to be observed and added cumulatively during Lent:
Breathe like Desert Fathers - The Jesus Prayer puts your mind in your heart
Pray like Desert Fathers - Psalms name, carry, release, and heal emotions
Fast like Desert Fathers - Fasting cleanses your body
Fight like Desert Fathers - Word of God that becomes a weapon for walking peace
Think and Feel like Desert Fathers - Renewal of mind and heart
“Be still and know that I am God.” Ps 46:10
Many dig the first part, be still. It’s popular. It’s defined as basic, freeing, and fundamental to spiritual formation, emotional well-being, even mental health. ‘Being present’ had its momentum few years ago and is still a hot topic for religious and non/religious seekers of more attention-driven life. Be still is a good start. It leads to knowing that He is God. That’s how Desert Fathers and Mothers lived daily.
“Being still” is the hesychia for the East lung and the ‘sacrament of the present moment’ for the West lung in the Church. ‘Still’ in Hbr. ‘raphah’ is a verb which means ‘sink down’ and is translated also as ‘drop, withdraw, let go, let one alone, idle’.
If you sink into your heart, you will find God there and you will know Him. Your part is to sink in. His part is to reveal Himself and draw you to The Mystery of His glory which is Love radiating. Prayer is the entry to stillness and experiential knowledge of God is the reward, the communion, the desire fulfilled yet not satisfied, the dwelling of the Spirit between the Father and the Son.
Join us
Give to Stone to Flesh Missionaries to expand our mission
Join Stone to Flesh Missionaries and Community as we are praying, fasting, and giving to prepare for the Paschal Mystery. This Lent we want to become who we are so everything inside and around us can be revived, the risks we take can be life-worthy, and we can enter into the territories that only the friends of God can occupy. We dive into prayer, and spiritual reading, and give ourselves to fasting to align our desires with God's will.
We will be praying and fasting for a heart of repentance.
prayer
I will find silence so I can hear Him speaking from within. I will cross from shallow silence where "I" is the center and I will trek toward the peak where I am not only silent with my lips but where my heart is resting in the silence of the Holy Spirit. Be it at night or during the day, sitting or walking, short or long, I will not give up until the Word will resound louder than any other voice. I will pray no matter how great or how dull it will feel. I will join a network of people who carry each others burdens and prepare for a renewal, first within me, and then within my family, within circles of my friends, in my church or neighberhood. I must become who God created me to be to see the revival God has promised. I will ask for help when I will want to give up, and I will try not to give up when I will fail or become weak. If I do not have one, I will create intentional space for solitude and prayer. I will establish a rhythm and practice of prayer that can last after Lent is over. I will not get discouraged when I disrupt my plan, but go back to it.
Everyone picks the prayer time and kind according to their personal discernment. Fasting, prayer and almsgiving will provoke our hearts to hunger for personal revival that will spread from each heart into our families, work places, parishes, communities and neighborhoods.
FREE RESOURCES:
LECTIO DIVINA JOURNAL for personal printing at home
Fr. Agapetos from Transfiguration Monastery of Mount Tabor weekly Monday 7pm PST Psalms Instructions from Hebrew
Register HERE
the discipline of fasting
“We live in a society whose whole policy is to excite every nerve in the human body and keep it at the highest pitch of artificial tension, to strain every human desire to the limit and to create as many new desires and synthetic passions as possible, in order to cater to them with the products of our factories and printing presses and movie studios and all the rest. ”
I will find a way to fast so I can mourn my sins, carry the cross, enter into freedom and receive all that God will send my way.
The discipline of fasting is an ancient Christian spiritual practice that accompanies prayer and almsgiving through four liturgical seasons. We practice four times a year: The Nativity Fast (before Christmas), The Great lent Fast (before Easter), The Apostles Fast (after Pentecost), The Dormition Fast (before the Fest of Dormition).
As a spiritual discipline, fasting's goal is to reorient our attention, time and resources to the things that matter in the Kingdom of God. Fasting during Lent should provide enough food to satisfy the hunger and sustain the body for the glory of God. Therefore, fasting will look different for everyone. We propose Eastern Christian tradition of fasting for Lent. Pray to discern your kind of fast. Avoid laxity and legalism.
Pre-Lenten season: starts on the 10th Sunday before Pascha (Easter Sunday), focuses on preparing for Great Lent. During this time, normal fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays continues.
Significant days and fasting guide which you can modify according to your situation:
meat-fare sunday
Feb.4
Last day to eat meat until Pascha. Meat refers to the flesh from a vertebrae and includes fish. Shellfish are permitted. You become vegetarian.
Cheese-fare Sunday
Feb. 11
Forgiveness Sunday. Last day to eat animal products: milk, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt etc. You become vegan.
Clean Monday
Feb. 12
Great Fast starts. No food from midnight to noon. From now on one meal is permitted each day, Monday to Friday. All the time we drink water. Wine and oil are allowed on Sat and Sun.
Ash Wednesday
Feb. 14
Latin rite celebrates Ash Wednesday and Lent starts for Latin rite.
“During the Great Fast, we eat only once at about the ninth hour (i.e. 3 :00 P.M.) taking only dry food and vegetables without oil ; we do not drink wine, either, except on Saturday and Sunday, when we are also permitted to eat fish. During the Great (Holy) Week we observe, as much as possible, a complete fast without wine and oil until (Holy) Saturday night.”
Abstinence from: All Meats, Dairy Products and Eggs, oil and wine – no animal products
No abstinence from: Shellfish, Grains, Vegetables & Vegetable Products
Sundays, Solemnities and Feasts (March 19 - St. Joseph; March 22: Chair of St. Peter; March 25 - Annunciation) - no dairy, no meat, fish allowed
Holy Week is a separate fasting week from Great Lent for Eastern Christians. Fasting is intensified. Monday through Thursday one meal each day is taken but those who are able may fast completely. Many people eat uncooked food only. Friday and Saturday should observe complete fast.
Fb Group active throughout fasting seasons
Fasting should be done after personal discernment, consultation with spiritual director and/or a doctor, in case you have some health issues.
Can the Great Lent Fast be modified? Yes, there are several types of fast.
1. Water fast: you drink only water throughout the whole fast.
2. Liquid fast: you drink only water, veggie broth, herbal teas and highly diluted juices.
3. Daniel fast: as in the Book of Daniel chapter 1, you eat only vegetables, including juicing or as in the Daniel chapter 10, you eat vegetables, fruits, grains. You drink only water and herbal teas.
4. Abstinence fast: you abstain from certain kinds of foods, and you moderate the amount of food you eat.
GIVING
Give money saved from fasting to the poor, needy and distressed.