Quote from one of the Ancient ​Writings of the Church
The Final Word: Peter Chrysologus “The Golden-Worded”—Bishop of Ravenna, Italy (c. 380-450 AD)
Fasting is the soul of prayer and mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the peti-tion of others. When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your fasting is a mockery. Offer your soul to God; make to Him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give Him yourself you are never without the means of giving. To make your fast-offering acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mer-cy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues. If you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit. When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by hoarding, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and