“Jesus in the Desert” by Barthélemy Parrocel
Lent starts tomorrow with the observance of Ash Wednesday. Probably one of the most secularly famous events in the Catholic liturgical calendar, ash distribution services draw unusually large crowds from otherwise non or non-practicing Catholics and even some non-Catholics. While the ashes do represent a very cool tradition and present a unique opportunity for evangelization, few of these irregular church attendees understand that the Church asks them to fast on this day, or even what that looks like. So, what is fasting, why do we do it, and what can it teach us about the Theology of the Body?
The practice of fasting stretches back to the beginning of Christianity, and even before, into ancient Judaism. Our Lord speaks of fasting in the Gospel of Matthew saying, “when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:17-18). In this passage, Jesus not only makes it clear that He expects us to fast, but that we should fast with the same humility and charity that should pervade the whole of Christian life. We should fast for the sake of virtue, not recognition. His own fast in the wilderness to prepare for his ministry actually forms the basis for our practice of Lent.
Generally speaking, to fast means to abstain from food. Specifically, the Church asks us to eat only one full meal and two small meals which, when put together, do not equal a full meal. The Church holds this formula as the minimum obligation for Catholics on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but Catholics are allowed and even encouraged to take on more strict fasts for their own spiritual growth. Fasting can also refer to our abstinence from meat on Fridays, and whatever else we may have given up for Lent. The Church asks this of us to help us enter in to Christ’s suffering in His Passion, and to help us master ourselves. By abstaining from food, despite our hunger, we gain a greater control over our appetites—our desires.
In his Theology of the Body, Pope Saint John Paul II teaches us that self-mastery practices like fasting help us grow in our spiritual lives. He writes, “self-mastery is indispensable in order for man to be able to ‘give himself,’ in order for him to become a gift, in order for him… to be able to ‘find himself fully’ through ‘a sincere gift of self.’ (TOB 15:2) In short, unless we possess ourselves, we cannot give ourselves. Pope John Paul asserts here that when we master our passions, we attain more freedom by the control we gain over our own actions. With this freedom we can choose to give ourselves to God and others, instead of giving ourselves over to our passions. For example, a man enslaved to his desires will not have the strength to resist temptations that might harm his family, and may even give in to sins such as adultery in extreme cases. Conversely, a man who has mastered himself through practices such as fasting has far more freedom from temptations that may come his way. He becomes more free to love.
This Lent, as we fast not only from food on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but from whatever else we have offered up to God, let us remember with joy that God has asked us to carry these burdens out of love for us—to help us to love.
“Ash Wednesday” by Julian Fałat
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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