As mentioned in my last column, the pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Previously, we focused on prayer, and today, we examine fasting.
Throughout our Lenten journeys, we are called to distance ourselves from the foods, pastimes, and temptations of this earth in an effort to draw nearer to God.
This second Lenten pillar works together with the first, as we strive to rely on the sustenance of prayer and to prioritize eternal life over life as we now know it. We are called to make daily sacrifices, avoid meat on Fridays, and eat fewer and smaller meals on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday to heighten our longing for spiritual food, which comes only from God.
When I was younger, I used to dread sacrificing and fasting. Jesus, in Mt 6:16–18, does not say “if you fast” but “when you fast,” so I knew that the act was not meant to be optional; therefore, I would give up a favourite food and hold true to that promise from Ash Wednesday until Easter morning.
Once, as a teenager, I chose to have only liquids from before Holy Thursday Mass until after the Easter Vigil. In my spiritual immaturity, however, I think that I viewed these sacrifices merely as personal exercises in self-discipline rather than opportunities to genuinely grow in my faith.
Over the years, I began to think more of the sacrifice and pain Jesus endured for me, and I knew that avoiding chocolate or fasting from meals in no way compared to Jesus’ fasting, passion, and death. While this awareness made my Lenten promises more spiritual, I think that it almost “guilted” me into sticking to my word more than increasing my reliance on God.
Years of Lents and years of reflecting on the meaning of sacrifice have led me to a greater appreciation of the spiritual significance – and necessity – of fasting. First of all, fasting has taught me patience. As Catholic author Danielle Bean writes, quieting the voice of our inner self “is the main thing we are called to do as Christians — deny ourselves and focus on God and others. Fasting teaches us to not seek immediate gratification. You are not going to die because you feel hungry … Desiring something does not require immediate satisfaction.”
Fasting has also increased my sense of gratitude. St. Augustine of Hippo, in Confessions VIII, stated, “There is no pleasure in eating and drinking unless the discomfort of hunger and thirst have preceded them.” This is so very true. I think we can all appreciate the satisfaction of drinking a cold glass of water after exerting oneself on a hot summer day.
Fasting enables us to appreciate what we have and what we take for granted, and furthermore prepares us to truly rejoice in the Resurrection when we permit ourselves to indulge again. The sacrifice of a food-related indulgence also opens us to thinking of, and helping, those who physically hunger and thirst every day.
Fasting from foods or time-wasting habits, such as social media or television, likewise opens our minds and our schedules to make more time to fill our souls’ desire for God. Bean states, “When we empty ourselves out physically, we become prepared to receive God’s grace, strength, love, and presence. Physical hunger is a physical manifestation of a spiritual hunger and longing for God, a hunger that is built in to every one of us. Fasting helps us to see this and practice being receptive to God in our ‘emptiness.’”
Bean also reflects on the fact that fasting teaches us that we have the ability to face difficulties in life, with reliance on God. She says, “The practice of fasting teaches us to accept suffering that comes our way and be patient in it, because we know it will not last forever … We can reject the world’s view of suffering as something without value or meaning, and instead embrace fasting as a discipline that teaches us to trust in God.”
Having control and discipline over our basic need to eat can also enable us to grow in overcoming other desires, such as anger, pride, jealousy, and greed, to name a few.
Through sacrificing and fasting, let us make room for God in our lives. Let us suppress our cravings for the temporary foods and temptations of this world, instead fuelling our spiritual hunger through increased prayer and a deepening awareness of our personal relationships with God.
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