The Value of Fasting

Bulletin Column – March 1, 2020

            Every Lent, I hear people tell me, “Father, I don’t like to give up something for Lent; I like to take on something extra.” That’s a great idea – but also one that misses part of the meaning of Lent.

            During Lent, the Church gives us three spiritual weapons: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (generosity to the poor). These weapons help us overcome the three temptations that we all face daily: prayer overcomes the temptations of the devil, fasting helps us discipline the weakness of the flesh, and almsgiving removes the temptation to worldly riches and possessions.

            So when people say they are “taking on” something rather than giving something up, they mean that they are practicing prayer or almsgiving (or, better yet, both).

            But the Church intends for us to engage all three weapons! It’s not an either-or but a both-and (or all-of-the-above!). So why is fasting so important, and how can we do it well?

            1. First, fasting helps us grow in self-mastery by strengthening our will. St. Paul tells us that “the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” (Gal 5:17). We are engaged in a battle between our lower desires (those of the body) and what we know is truly good (relationship with the Lord). Because of original sin and the effect of concupiscence, our desires have become disordered. Now we all want to sleep in rather than attend Mass; we desire chocolate more than broccoli; we would rather watch Netflix than read Scripture.

            So, to overcome this concupiscence, we fast! Our will is like a muscle – when we exercise it, it grows stronger, so that our flesh does not rule over our spirit. If we can give up a chocolate bar, it becomes easier to give up gossip. If we can deny ourselves a second helping, we learn to deny ourselves a lustful indulgence. Fasting is the tool that can help us overcome stubborn sins!

            2. Fasting helps create a space for God. Any sort of ache in our life – boredom, loneliness, restlessness, painful memories, depression – can be an avenue for God to invade your life. But too often, we tried to avoid these aches by filling them with things: food, distraction, social media, etc. When we fast, we are taking away our usual coping mechanisms, the comforts we think we couldn’t live without, and we then invite God into that aching, painful place. He will come in a powerful way.

            3. Fasting helps us identify with Christ. Feeling the pain of an empty stomach helps us remember Christ’s pain upon the Cross. Feeling “cut off from the world” because we gave up social media helps us realize that Christ was rejected and alone in His Passion. When we feel pain or discomfort for the sake of Christ, we become more like Him.

            4. Fasting helps us grow in gratitude. Sometimes we take for granted the gift of eating whatever we want, taking hot showers, etc. But when we deny ourselves a physical pleasure, we realize how much it meant for us. The first dessert on Easter Sunday is so much sweeter because we had foregone it for the previous forty days.

            So what are some good ways to fast? A couple general suggestions:

            1. Be reasonable. Find something that will challenge you but not break you. One year I tried to give up listening to music for Lent – but I found that I was becoming so grouchy that it backfired! Make sure that your fast doesn’t make you grumpy or too tired or fainting with hunger. Don’t be afraid to modify your fast if you find that you took on too much (or too little!)

            2. Don’t compensate. If we are giving up desserts, that does NOT mean that we should compensate by eating more of the main dish than we should! If we are giving up social media, don’t compensate by watching an extra hour of television. The point is not to substitute one bad habit for another, but to create the space for God to act.

            3. The highest rule is charity. If someone gives up dessert for Lent but their friend made a batch of cookies specifically for them, going through great effort to demonstrate how much they cared, then the charitable thing to do is to take the cookie and eat it with gratitude. Fasting is never an end in itself – it is meant to make us more like Jesus.

            So, my friends, I pray that you will have a wonderful Lent – let us make use of all three weapons of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that the Church gives us!