The Holy Priest-Martyr Blaise, Bishop of Sebastia (313-24)
Jude 11-25; Luke 23:1-34, 44-56
Read Jude 11-25
A major purpose of the coming Great Fast is to divest ourselves of worldly things that keep us from fully committing ourselves to Christ—to rid ourselves of the internal darkness that leads us to be the kind of people that Jude warns us about.
Instead, we need to keep ourselves in the love of God, rely on the mercy of God, and pray always in the Holy Spirit.
As a part of our life in repentance, it is crucial to examine where in our lives we are falling short, and why. Most of us are, at least to a small extent, persons who cause division, are worldly-minded, or devoid of the spirit, to use the language of the Apostle Jude.
There should be multiple aspects of our struggle to overcome this sinful tendency. The fast provides us with the tools to do this, namely prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Intentionally increasing our prayer during the fast turns our minds and hearts to the Lord, and better able to pray in the spirit throughout the day. Fasting forces us to turn down earthly good things in order to turn our hearts to the Lord, thus making us less world-minded. Almsgiving leads us to have a greater sense of solidarity and unity with the poor.
By prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we wage war on the sins of division, worldly-mindedness, spiritual aridity and build ourselves up in faith and prayer.