A thought-provoking post on our tradition of fasting during Lent, entitled "Fancy a pretzel? What members of the Eastern Churches and even Muslims can teach Western Christians about fasting." Here's a snippet:
In the past, most Latin Christians would have given up all meat for Lent, as well as dairy products and wine. This major abstinence from luxurious food was merely the foundation for all the other Lenten penances that our ancestors would also have embraced. Needless to say, most would have increased their spiritual and corporal works of mercy during the forty days that lead up to Easter. Of course, many also fasted on only one meal a day throughout Lent, whilst some even went as far as to only eat one or two small meals a week. To this day, most Eastern Christians observe Lent in a far stricter way than their brothers and sisters in the Western Church. Many Orthodox and Eastern Rite Christians still abstain totally from meat, alcohol, milk, butter, cheese and eggs throughout springtime's penitential season.
Go here and read the entire post. It's well-worth it.
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