The Proof of Fasting

The last post on the death of Fr. Peter Knowles prompted me to read a little of St. John Chrysostom, the "Golden-mouthed" Patriarch of Constantinople. Fr. Knowles was well-known for keeping the fasts of the Eastern rites and in one of St. John's writings there is a wonderful passage on keeping a true fast:

Do you fast?
Give me proof of it by your works.
If you see a poor man, take pity on him.
If you see a friend being honoured, do not envy him.
Do not let your mouth fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies.
Let the hands fast, by being free avarice.
Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin.
Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful.
Let the ears fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip.
Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism.
For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers?

(Taken from Daily Readings From the Writings of St. John Chrysostom, edited by Anthony M. Coniaris.)

News has just been received of the death of Fr. Peter Knowles OP from pneumonia. At the time of his death he had been residing at the Dominican Priory in his native Adelaide. Fr. Knowles, like the late Fr. Wilkinson, was a great supporter of the Library and presented talks here on several occasion.

Fr. Knowles was an archpriest of the Byzantine Rite since October 2005 and had served the Russian Catholic chapel in Kew. He was an accomplished and published expert on Eastern Catholicism, having written and presented papers on the history of the Catholic Church in Russia and Eastern monasticism. He had also made several visits to churches and monasteries in Eatern Europe and Russia. Previously Fr. Knowles had served as Master of Mannix College for eight years.

With his passing from this world the Church has lost a great priest, whose devotion to the liturgy, hospitality and commitment to the monastic ideals of prayers and penance, ingratiated and inspired countless souls.

Fr. Knowles' funeral service wil be held this Friday and the Most Rev. Peter Stasiuk CSSR, Bishop of Sts. Peter and Paul Eparchy, will be the principal celebrant.

May Christ our true God, Who rules over the living and the dead, place the soul of His departed servant, Peter, in the abode of the Saints, grant him rest in the bosom of Abraham, and number him among the Just, through the prayers of His most pure Mother, of the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy Apostles, of our venerable and God bearing Fathers, and of all the Saints; may He have mercy on us and save us, for He is gracious and loves mankind.
(From the Divine Liturgy)

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for him
St. Dominic, pray for him
Sts. Cyril and Methodius, pray for him

As this holy season of Lent draws to a close let us bare in mind the words of Fr. Knowles who often remarked that "to keep the fast is to keep the feast and to keep the feast is to keep the faith."