Lent- the perfect diet programme
Local people have been advised that traditional Christian Lenten principles are a tried and tested method of helping improve lives.
St Eugene’s Cathedral will next week introduce a Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving (PFA) Programme for Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday.
A spokesman said: “Lent has a special significance as a time of spiritual renewal, particularly in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. Society is full of diets and healthy eating programmes. These all focus on the person. However, the church was way ahead of any of these programmes, in the past during Lent everyone ate three meals a day for the whole Lenten season.
“The PFA programme is designed to draw us closer to God. Participants will receive a special prayer to pray each day which will be available this weekend at the back of the Cathedral. This is designed to help us to live with love, compassion and forgiveness at the heart of our daily lives.”
The second aspect, he added, involves voluntary fasting, committing to just three meals a day, with no snacks.
“This can be a deeply spiritual experience, one of reaching out in empathy to the many for whom one meal is a luxury,” he said.
The third part relates to Almsgiving, by supporting the Trocaire Lenten Campaign, as well as donating to the food bank.
People are being urged to attend Health and Wellbeing information talks available at 8pm every Wednesday of Lent. A guest speaker will talk each week on topics such as Guided Meditation, Be Clear On Cancer, and Food for Health.
“The difference between this programme and many other diet and health programmes is that this one focuses on God and others, not on us”, the spokesman said.
For further details go to www.steugenescathedral.com, or check out the parish bulletin and Facebook page.