Theme: Fasting

The holy season of Lent is given to us by the Church as a time of renewal, purification, and return to the Lord. Traditionally, the Church’s Lenten discipline is built upon three essential pillars: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are not optional devotions for the especially pious; they are the balanced foundation of a fruitful spiritual life. Prayer lifts the mind and heart to God. Almsgiving turns our love outward toward our neighbor. Fasting disciplines the body and strengthens the soul. When these three are practiced together, they bring about real interior transformation.

Many people confuse fasting with abstinence, yet they are not the same. Abstinence means refraining from a particular food or pleasure. Under the moral law of the Church, we are obliged to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and every Friday of Lent. On the other Fridays of the year in the United States, abstinence may be substituted with another suitable penance. Abstinence is a concrete reminder that we do not live merely for earthly satisfaction, but for God.

Fasting goes further. Fasting is a deliberate reduction of food—or sometimes drink—for a specified period of time. It is a voluntary act of self-denial undertaken for spiritual purpose. We understand the principle even in ordinary life: before blood work, one must fast from food and drink except water. The Blessed Virgin Mary, in her reported apparitions at Medjugorje, called for fasting on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays. Whether one chooses such a strict fast or a more moderate form, the essence remains the same: fasting means eating less than usual, sometimes limiting oneself to one simple meal, or even only water for a time, offered to God in sacrifice.

The New Testament is filled with both the example and the command of fasting. In today’s Gospel, we see our Lord Himself. Before beginning His public ministry, He withdrew into the desert and fasted for forty days and forty nights. When our Lord speaks of fasting elsewhere, He does not say, “If you fast,” but “When you fast.” He assumes that His disciples will fast. Fasting is not an outdated practice; it is a necessary part of the Christian life. The Church still obliges us to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and we also fast from food and drink—except water—for at least one hour before receiving Holy Communion. These practices remind us that spiritual realities are greater than bodily appetites.

Some years ago, a former Pentecostal minister who later became a Catholic—Alex Jones, not the political talk show host—preached our Lenten Mission. During dinner one evening, we spoke about fasting. He shared how his former community practiced very strict fasting, sometimes taking only water for three or four consecutive days. He testified to the spiritual power that accompanied such sacrifice. He told of a woman suffering from a large tumor. The community united in prayer and fasting for her. At the end of that fast, she experienced a dramatic and miraculous healing. Whether through extraordinary miracles or quiet interior graces, God honors sacrifices offered with faith.

As we begin this sacred season, let us not reduce Lent to small inconveniences or token gestures. Let us embrace prayer, sacrifice, and fasting with sincerity. Offer your fasting together with prayer. Unite it to the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fast not merely to prove your willpower, but to deepen your dependence upon God. When we pray with faith and fast with expectation, we place ourselves in the posture of humility before Him. And God, who sees in secret, will not fail to respond according to His holy and perfect will.