Lenten Fasting: Lessons from Old Russia

Ash Wednesday, February 25, marks the first day of lent and the beginning of the Spring 2009, 40 Days for Life Campaign.

The following is an exerpt from Season of Mercy: Lent and Easter by Catherine Doherty

" Lent in Russia was really something deep and profound, and people cherished it as a simple and direct way to God. We recalled that the Fathers of the Church, who lived in the desert, fasted. All the monks in Russia fasted very much; everyone fasted, from the Czar to the housemaid. Fasting was very powerful in Russia. (For instance, when my father fasted, he would eat nothing but one potato.) People often lost twenty pounds or so, but it was not the loss of pounds that interested them; it was the spiritual meaning of the fast. " for more on lenten fasting by Catherine Doherty go to the link below
http://www.madonnahouse.org/publications/passiton/Pass-It-On-008.htm

To know more about the life of Servant of God, Catherine Doherty, please go to the link below
http://www.catherinedoherty.org/downloads/Robert_Wild_-_Catherine_Doherty_Servant_of_God.pdf