Rich Food for our Bodies, Rich Food for our Souls
Lent is a time of preparation and reflection, Christians around the world are thinking about Christ’s temptations in the wilderness and readying themselves for the upcoming Easter celebration. For many, giving up some kind of food is part remembering Jesus’ forty day fast.
Most of us who live in rich countries don’t often have to consciously think about food – it is everywhere. It is when we are intentionally avoiding it that it is so much on our minds. During this Lenten season, ask yourself “are we what we eat?”
Food sustains us and gives us energy for life. The choices available to us in supermarkets are vast. Breakfast cereal is one example of how confused and obsessed we are with the multiplicity of information. We have lost much of our knowledge of the goodness of whole, natural foods and have replaced these with a host of artificial colours and sweeteners – and maybe even a free toy! Are we finding value in our value-added food or simply a full stomach at the cost of taste and nutrition?
Lenten Challenge
Discuss with your household one whole food item you can add to your menu and abandon the packaged, pre-processed option.
Prayer
God who calls us into an everlasting covenant, give us rich good for our bodies and our souls. Why Fast?
Our belief is that hunger in a world of such abundance is a matter of injustice. More than a billion people are chronically malnourished. The coexistence of abundance and abject poverty imply some changes are necessary to our daily life. As followers of Jesus, we are being called to respond in prayer and action. To "fast" really means to hold firm to an observance - whatever it may be - which involves voluntarily giving up food, or whatever else is standing in the way of a Divine calling...
Register Now for Fast for Change !
How Can I Participate?
1) STAND UP and be counted among the people across Canada who are getting involved - Register your participation, and order free materials to create your own event!
Click Here to Preview the Resource Kit !
2) PRAY and REFLECT > Fast from Food however you can, in ways that fit with your personal health. Pray and reflect on how small changes in your daily life can have an impact on hungry people around the world, a path to living more simply so that others can simply live. Use the materials for worship and reflection found on this website. You can also fast from other things or practices that are connected to injustice.
3) GATHER > With one or more people around a table that’s been set for supper, without the food. Instead of eating, share your reflections around the day of fasting. Share also your ideas for action.
4) SHARE > Your Experiences with us. Take a picture or Send us an email and tell us about your Fast, and a small change you think you can make.
5) ACT > The small things we do in our daily lives to benefit those around us and around the world are sacred acts of solidarity and they enrich our own lives as well. Look into possible next steps for your community of faith to act on to promote food justice.
Register Now for Fast for Change !
Learn More About Food Justice!
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is an organization committed to food justice, and invites people to become involved in various ways. Look for events and activities under the Public Engagement section of the main website under "Programs" and join the effort to END HUNGER.