Lent 2 - A Homily of Saint Asterius of Amasea

Lent isn’t all about suffering and beating ourselves up. St Paul warns us: ‘If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing’. All our fasting, almsgiving and prayer should lead to greater love in our hearts, and this obscure homily by Asterius of Amasea, a 4th century bishop in Cappadocia,  encourages us to love like shepherds, indeed, how to love as the Good Shepherd himself.