Office of the Hours from Tuesday, Third Week in Lent

From a sermon by Saint Peter Chryslogus, bishop

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting, and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives....So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God's ear to yourself.
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 look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny others, your asking a mockery....
When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows in your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to others.