Kevin Perrotta - Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving: Spiritual Practices That Draw Us Closer to God

Prayer, Fasting,
and Almsgiving

Spiritual Practices That
Draw Us Closer to God

Kevin Perrotta

the WORD

among us

press

Copyright 2012 Kevin Perrotta
All rights reserved.

Published by The Word Among Us Press
7115 Guilford Road
Frederick, Maryland 21704
www.wau.org
16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 978-1-59325-197-0
eISBN: 978-1-59325-435-3

Nihil Obstat: The Rev. Michael Morgan, Chancellor

Censor Librorum

November 9, 2011

Imprimatur: Most Rev. Felipe J. Estvez, STD, Bishop of St. Augustine

November 9, 2011

Scripture texts used in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989 and 1993 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Scripture texts marked NAB are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition copyright 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Cover and text design by David Crosson

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other, except for brief quotations in printed reviewswithout the prior permission of the author and publisher. Made and printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Perrotta, Kevin.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving : spiritual practices that draw us closer to God / Kevin Perrotta.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-59325-197-0 (alk. paper)

1. Spiritual lifeBiblical teaching. 2. Spiritual lifeChristianityTextbooks. 3. Prayer-Biblical teaching. 4. FastingBiblical teaching. 5. Christian givingBiblical teaching. I. Title.

BV4501.3.P467 2011

248.4'6--dc23

2011037611

Contents

Welcome to
The Word Among Us
Keys to the Bible

H ave you ever lost your keys? Everyone seems to have at least one lost keys story to tell. Maybe you had to break a window of your house or wait for the auto club to let you into your car. Whatever you had to do probably cost youin time, energy, money, or all three. Keys are definitely important items to have on hand!

The guides in The Word Among Us Keys to the Bible series are meant to provide you with a handy set of keys that can unlock the treasures of the Scriptures for you. Scripture is God's living word. Within its pages we meet the Lord. So as we study and meditate on Scripture and unlock its many treasures, we discover the riches it containsand in the process, we grow in intimacy with God.

Since 1982 The Word Among Us magazine has helped Catholics develop a deeper relationship with the Lord through daily meditations that bring the Scriptures to life. More than ever, Catholics today desire to read and pray with the Scriptures, and many have begun to form small faith-sharing groups to explore the Bible together.

We designed the Keys to the Bible series after conducting a survey among our magazine readers to learn what they wanted in a Catholic Bible study. We found that they were looking for easy-to-understand, faith-filled materials that approach Scripture from a clearly Catholic perspective. Moreover, they wanted a Bible study that could show them how they can apply what they learn from Scripture to their everyday lives. They also asked for sessions that they can complete in an hour or two.

Our goal was to design a simple, easy-to-use Bible study guide that would also challenging and thought provoking. We hope that this guide fulfills those admittedly ambitious goals. We are confident, however, that taking the time to go through this guidewhether by yourself, with a friend, or in a small groupwill be a worthwhile endeavor that will bear fruit in your life.

How to Use the Guides in This Series

The study guides in the Keys to the Bible series are divided into six sessions, each dealing with a particular aspect of the topic. Before starting the first session, take the time to read the introduction, which sets the stage for the sessions that follow.

Whether you use this guide for personal reflection and study, as part of a faith-sharing group, or as an aid in your prayer time, be sure to begin each session with prayer. Ask God to open his word to you and to speak to you personally. Read each Scripture passage slowly and carefully. Then take as much time as you need to meditate on the passage and pursue any thoughts it brings to mind. When you are ready, move on to the accompanying commentary, which offers various insights into the text.

Two sets of questions are included in each session to help you mine the Scripture passage and discover its relevance to your life. Those under the heading Understand! focus on the text itself and help you grasp what it means. Occasionally a question allows for a variety of answers and is meant to help you explore the passage from several angles. Grow! questions are intended to elicit a personal response by helping you examine your life in light of the values and truths that you uncover through your study of the Scripture passage and its setting. Under the headings Reflect! and Act! we offer suggestions to help you respond concretely to the challenges posed by the passage.

Finally, pertinent quotations from the Fathers of the Church as well as insights from contemporary writers appear throughout each session. Coupled with relevant selections from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and information about the history, geography, and culture of biblical times, these selections (called In the Spotlight) add new layers of understanding and insight to your study.

As is true with any learning resource, you will benefit the most from this study by writing your answers to the questions in the spaces provided. The simple act of writing can help you formulate your thoughts more clearlyand will also give you a record of your reflections and spiritual growth that you can return to in the future to see how much God has accomplished in your life. End your reading or study with a prayer thanking God for what you have learnedand ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in living out the call you have been given as a Christian in the world today.

Although the Scripture passages to be studied and the related verses for your reflection are printed in full in each guide (from the New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition), you will find it helpful to have a Bible on hand for looking up other passages and cross-references or for comparing different translations.

The format of the guides in The Word Among Us Keys to the Bible series is especially well suited for use in small groups. Some recommendations and practical tips for using this guide in a Bible discussion group are offered on pages 126129.

We hope that this guide will unlock the meaning and value of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and make you eager to engage in these spiritual disciplines as a way of drawing closer to Christ our Lord.

The Word Among Us Press

Introduction

Seeking God through the
Spiritual Disciplines

A few years ago at a convention, physical fitness expert Bill Phillips had an unpleasant surprise. Hundreds of men and women who introduced themselves as avid followers of my magazine came up to shake my hand and chat, he said. What struck me most about the entire experiencewhat absolutely floored mewas how strikingly out of shape most of these people were.

Those at the convention were not just reading Phillips' materials; they were following his advice. But Phillips could see that although they felt betterthey were happy to meet him and thanked him for his magazinefew of them were getting the benefits that he had intended.