Breaking My Fast

I finally made it through the end of my fast! I feel quite good, though I'm still a little tired. I've been trying to catch more sleep while doing this thing, but of course one thing or another has kept me from going to bed as early as I'd intended. I ended up losing 12½ pounds and 3 inches from my gut.

So far I've kept somewhat to my after-fast eating plan. (I have to confess that I broke down this morning and had a cup of coffee. ^-^; ) I had the orange juice for breakfast, but I decided to up my caloric intake today. As part of my plan to swing right back into exercising, I'm going Hiking with Homosexuals tonight, and I need enough fuel to make it. (I'll still be consuming less than 1000 calories, however.) For my morning snack I had my orange, and I'm still having the vegetable broth for lunch. I've decided to have a Robek's for my afternoon snack to bolster my energy, but I'll continue to have only a salad for dinner.

Morning Mass

I woke up late this morning, so I ended up at the 8:05 a.m. service rather than the 7:00 a.m. one. The gospel reading was Jesus' revelation of the "Lord's Prayer," and the insights offered by the pastor in his homily got me to reflecting on the meaning of the words.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,

hallowed be Thy name

In his sermon, the priest pointed out that the word "our" means that God is not my Father or your Father but everyone's. "Whether your Chinese or Russian, baptized or unbaptized," we are all children of God. And as such, we are all brothers and sisters. No one, and no one religion, has claim or dominion over God...God has dominion over us. As I've said before, my antinomian belief system doesn't include the idea of "one true faith." I practice mine because it is what I know, not because I think it's the "correct" one.

"Every god ever worshipped devoutly in the hearts of men is the one true god!"
—Roderick MacLeish, Prince Ombra

Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven

Putting God's will before our own is a difficult concept for the norms of our culture. All in all, I believe that the American emphasis on the individual and individual rights and freedoms is a good thing. Unfortunately, it also breeds an attitude of self-centeredness and self-entitlement at the expense of others. (Just take a look at people's cell phone habits—one of the reasons I don't own one.)

The Pentagram, a five-pointed star and mystical pagan symbol, is a non-Western illustration of this concept. The proper positioning of this symbol has a single point facing upwards, just as the proper positioning of the cross symbol has the horizontal bar closer to the top. An inverted pentagram with two points facing upwards is as evil a symbol as an inverted cross. Each point on the star represents an elemental force: earth, fire, water, air & spirit. A single point at the top represents the spirit being paramount over the four mundane aspects; that is, spiritual growth and wisdom and balance are more important than physical needs and desires. When you invert the pentagram, you're placing your own selfish material gain over the greater good.

"An it harm none, do what ye will."
—The Wiccan Rede

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass
Against us

The first line simply asks God to provide for our basic needs, and it harkens to my mind the idea of "Live simply, so that others may simply live." (OK, it's a bit trite to quote bumper-sticker clichés, but it really is apropos here.) We live in a culture of consumerism, yet simple vanity isn't the only good reason to reign in our frenzy of acquisition. The documentary "Affluenza" makes the disturbing observation that if the entire world consumed at the same level as the United States, the entire earth's resources would be depleted in a matter of years.

The prayer goes on to remind us that our forgiveness from God depends on our ability to forgive others and underscores our sacred duty to one another. There is a parable in the New Testament about a king who sought repayment of an enormous debt from a man. The man begged the king for patience since he was unable to pay, and the king took mercy on him. He didn't give the man more time, but cancelled the debt entirely. Then the man went to a servant of the king who owed him a small sum. He throttled the servant and demanded payment. The servant begged for mercy, but the man refused him and had him thrown in prison. When the king found out, he was enraged that one who had been shown such compassion would then fail to offer it to another. He had the man imprisoned and tortured until his debt was paid. Jesus concludes with, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:23-35)

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

I have a knack for temptation, especially since tend to actively seek it out. As my grandmother used to say, "Those who go looking for trouble usually find it." I don't consider my plunging into sex and drugs and alcohol a sin in itself. But they are self-defeating behaviors keeping me from becoming the man I want to be.

For Thine is the kingdom,

The power,

And the glory, now and forever.

Amen.

The virtuous, the kind, the just, the righteous will all have a share in the unfathomable splendor of God's infinite love for all eternity.

"The wicked shall be unmade upon the lathe of Heaven."
—Chuang Tzu, Book XXIII, paragraph 7

Feast Day of St. Thomas More

Today is also the feast day of Saint Thomas More. He was the Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry the VIII. Due to his allegiance to the Catholic Church, Thomas More refused to endorse the king's divorce and was eventually beheaded. These events are chronicled in A Man for All Seasons, a play by Robert Bolt. I read the play in high school, and it made an impression on me. It wasn't so much the details of the politics involved that interested me, as was the fact that Thomas More didn't back down from his convictions.