More than one saint has said that one Our Father prayed with love and devotion to God is better than 100 spewed off by rote. And they are right.
At one time it was all about "giving up stuff," then it was "adding stuff." But if we don't do it with love what is the point??
When I first came back to the Church I didn't know how to fast properly. One year I literally thought you couldn't eat a thing for 24 hours. Then I learned you could eat 2 small "collations" and one regular meal. So Scrupulous Sally here found out how much a "collation" is. Four ounces, I believe. Eventually I talked to Father about it and he told me I should not be weighing out my portions. (Guilty as charged....)
I think I did OK yesterday - however, the combination of no coffee + raging case of PMS = cranky Catholic. And I admit to having a little bread and milk before bed.
Am I going to hell for that? No. I don't think it was serving God to sit there clock-watching until 12:01 AM on Feb. 18 so I could shove some food in my mouth. Yes, I know I have food issues - I am overweight and I eat when stressed, when happy, when the sun is shining, when it's raining...so I did the best I could with the fasting, went to bed at a decent hour and got up this morning with enough time to spend 10 minutes with God reading a little scripture and praying. I did it with love, not because I have to tick boxes on my Lenten checklist. I trust that God in his mercy knows that.
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