"Abba Macarius said, 'If you rebuke someone and do it with anger, you have allowed a passion to control you. You have not saved anyone and have destroyed yourself'."

Our father
 

I received on e-mail a divine version of the song of "Our father".
Andrea Bocelli sings it in English together with a choir.
I put the link in the section for music (not everybody reads the English corner).
It is so beautiful, I cried.
Just hear it...

http://gloria.tv/?media=479543&language=3SsSaAhCEfb

Do we really have the same faith as Saint Maximus ? Let us read:
"The extremities of the earth, and everyone in every part of it who purely and rightly confess the Lord, look directly towards the Most Holy Roman Church and her confession and faith, as to a sun of unfailing light awaiting from her the brilliant radiance of the sacred dogmas of our Fathers, according to that which the inspired and holy Councils have stainlessly and piously decreed. For, from the descent of the Incarnate Word amongst us, all the churches in every part of the world have held the greatest Church alone to be their base and foundation, seeing that, according to the promise of Christ Our Savior, the gates of hell will never prevail against her, that she has the keys of the orthodox confession and right faith in Him, that she opens the true and exclusive religion to such men as approach with piety, and she shuts up and locks every heretical mouth which speaks against the Most High. (Maximus, Opuscula theologica et polemica, Migne, Patr. Graec. vol. 90)".

The faith of this great catholic saint is that the Apostolic See of Rome has divine origin. Let's read what Saint Maximus says:
"the blessed Pope of the most holy Catholic Church of the Romans, that is, the Apostolic See, which is from the incarnate of the Son of God Himself, and also all the holy synods, accodring to the holy canons and definitions has received universal and surpreme dominion, authority, and power of binding and loosing over all the holy churches of God throughout the whole world. (Maximus, Letter to Peter, in Mansi x, 692). ".

Those who tell us they follow the Early and Holy Fathers of the Church, are they following the real doctrine of Saint Maximus ? Are they saying like him and with him that the Church of Rome has received "universal and supreme dominion, authority, power of binding and losing" ? Or, in fact, they reject what Saint Maximus was saying ?

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." – Arthur Ashe

dedication for the Great Lent
 

"Fasting is a great thing but love is even greater".

St. Nikolai Velimirovich - The Prologue of Ohrid

How do you understand this?

Me, for instance, I am making a trip to see my parents in Romania this March. They are not really fasting, and are thinking to make a lot of goodies for me when I come. Think they will be very upset if I refuse them, so I am really thinking not to.

New York's answer to the Sistine Chapel:
Priest spends six years covering every wall of his church in vivid byzantine style religious paintings

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/...27_634x424.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/...15_634x501.jpg

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...yle-icons.html

Love is very hard to achieve at first(especially love for enemies,for those who hurt or betray us);so in my opinion I fast in order to gain some spiritual power to get there.
Fasting for me is the ABC of relation with God;if I cannot abtain myself temporarily from bodily pleasures I feel unworthy to even call upon God!
Fasting is discipline for my body and mind,is like exercising to be a solder in the God's Army.


About your trip and fasting during that time, it will be better to ask your spiritual father for guidance.