Saturday, September 5, 2020 –
Today we are going to talk about the second of the TRHEE EMINENT GOOD WORKS: FASTING (AKA JEJUNIUM). Fasting is the one everyone hates because it is “hard” and makes you hangry. But, denying ourselves bodily passions is a good thing and brings us closer to God.
So, what is FASTING? Good news! The Catechism of the Catholic Church actually has an entry in the glossary for this one:
FASTING: Refraining from food and drink as an expression of interior penance, in imitation of the fast of Jesus for forty days in the desert. Fasting is an ascetical practice recommended in Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers; it is sometimes prescribed by a precept of the Church, especially during the liturgical season of Lent (538, 1434, 2043). (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, p. 879)
Fasting is so important; it is listed as one of the Precepts of the Church. I know, right!?
2043 …The fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.”) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart…(CCC)
To be clear, this does not mean you can or should **only** fast on the days prescribed by the Church. Rather, you can (and should) fast often in order to gain mastery over your body, your passions.
You know I love to quote me some Baltimore Catechism. Today is no different…BUT…we are going to kick it up a notch and go for not just our Baltimore Catechism #3, but also sprinkle in some Baltimore Catechism #4!
WHAT!? That’s crazy talk! Hold on to your keister. Things are about to get realz…with a Z! We will start with the more basic Baltimore Catechism #3:
Q. 1346. Why does the Church command us to fast and abstain?
A. The Church commands us to fast and abstain, in order that we may mortify our passions and satisfy for our sins.
Q. 1347. What is meant by our passions and what by mortifying them?
A. By our passions are meant our sinful desires and inclinations. Mortifying them means restraining them and overcoming them so that they have less power to lead us into sin.
Okay…wait. “Satisfy our sins”? That phrase does not mean what you think it means. Here it means “atoning,” which means to make amends or reparation. You will better see this in BC#4:
395 Q. Why does the Church command us to fast and abstain?
A. The Church commands us to fast and abstain in order that we may mortify our passions and satisfy for our sins.
“Mortify our passions,” keep our bodies under control, do bodily penance. Remember it is our bodies that generally lead us into sin; if therefore we punish the body by fasting and mortification, we atone for the sin, and thus God wipes out a part of the temporal punishment due to it. (Baltimore Catechism #4)
Are there some rules or guidelines for fasting? Indeed! BC#4 goes into a fairly long, rambly couple of paragraphs on the matter. For the sake of word counts and sanity, I will summarize in a lovely bulleted list:
- ONE full meal each day
- Your one full meal should NOT be an all you can eat buffet, just saying
- TWO smaller meals that together do NOT equal the larger meal
- NO snacking
- Liquids do not “break the fast” provided you are drinking for thirst, not sustenance (AKA drinking a protein shake would be a snack, not a liquid. However, your black coffee is fine).
- Liquids DO mitigate (lessen) the effects of a fast and work contrary to the intent because they do satisfy (ease) hunger somewhat (i.e. do not drink your weight in milk, soda, juice, or coffee because you are probably doing it to ease your hunger; and you are going to get fairly sick and nuts)
- Fun fact: Bishop Morrow in My Catholic Faith also includes beer in the liquids that don’t break the fast, but you should definitely consider NOT drinking because it isn’t really in the spirit of fasting and not eating while imbibing will probably get you very ill…and drunk!
- Definitely consider the quantity of food AND the quality of food while fasting (i.e. bacon wrapped filet mignon with a red wine reduction over blue cheese stuffed mushrooms is not a good idea for your “large meal”). Mmm…BACON!
- The Church prescribes (assigns) two days of fasting: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
- However, you can fast any time you want
- In fact, you are encouraged to fast often just like Christ fasted
- Fasting is NOT a “Catholic weight loss program”
- There used to be a LOT more to the fasting during Lent. The meaning of fasting during Lent remains, but the extent of the obligation to fast has changed over the years.
- Nobody is excused from penance, and those who are obliged to fast (proper age, good health, etc.) and are able SHOULD fast because it remains the PRIMARY form of penance
- Fasting is a very efficacious (effective, useful, valuable) form of penance
- Those who for SUFFICIENT REASON are excused from fasting, are NOT excused from abstinence (AKA no meat)
- Those who are excused from fasting:
- (1) those who are not yet 18
- (2) those who have begun their sixtieth year (from their 59th birthday onward)
- (3) those whose infirmity, condition, or occupation renders it impossible or dangerous for them to fast (i.e. health and safety)
- Being “excused” from fasting does not mean you shouldn’t try
- When in doubt about fasting or if you think you are excused, consult a good Priest
Side note: you CAN fast from things other than food. I highly recommend a social media fast or a TV fast or a fast from the crazy, end of the world pandemic nutters clogging up your news feed.
And that, folks, brings us to the end of FASTING and another day of learning. Tomorrow we will cover the last of the THREE EMINENT GOOD WORKS. Until tomorrow…
Saint Agnes, pray for us!
