More St. Augustine: "Lent is the Epitome of our Whole Life"

   

St. Augustine and the Fires of Wisdom
from Wikimedia Commons

  “Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, kindles the true light of chastity."        ----St. Augustine, "On Fasting and Prayer

"The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.  Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times." --The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 49.

Here's some more from St. Augustine, appropriate for Lent:

"Christians must always live this way, without any wish to come down from their Cross--otherwise they will sink beneath the world's mire.  But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make even a greater effort during the days of Lent.   It is not a simple matter of living through forty days.  Lent is the epitome of our whole life."
--St. Augustine, Sermon 205, I.  As quoted in Augustine Day by Day, March 14th

I can't add to that.