A Fast Pleasing for the Lord
There is a meme going around the Internet about fasting that has been attributed to Pope Francis, though I’ve seen similar things from before his pontificate so I don’t know whether the Pope actually said this or not. It’s an admonition of sorts, telling us how we really ought to be fasting.
It says, “Do you want to fast this Lent?” It then gives us a list of what we should fast from, which include things like:
- Fast from hurting words and say kind words
- Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude
- Fast from anger and be filled with patience
- Fast from worries and have trust in God
- Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity
- Fast from bitterness and fill your hearts with joy
- Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others
- Fast from grudges and be reconciled
I admit to having mixed feelings about this sort of thing. On the one hand, it’s easy to find criticism with some of what this list tells us. For example, sadness is not the opposite of gratitude. Sadness is an emotion, and it’s not wrong to feel sad if something sad happens. Even Jesus wept when Lazarus died. Being sad doesn’t mean you are ungrateful. And you can’t command anyone — yourself included — to stop feeling sad.
But the list does have a lot of good points. We shouldn’t say hurtful words. We shouldn’t complain so much, or be selfish, or hold grudges. We should be compassionate, and patient, and joyful. But is this really fasting?
My main criticism with this sort of thing is that it suggests there is something Pharisaical about good old-fashioned fasting from food. In the Catholic Church that means limiting yourself to one meal a day on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Most Catholics choose to deny themselves by giving up other foods during this time, such as desserts or dairy, or take on other forms of bodily penance like only taking cold showers.
This kind of bodily self-denial touches us in a very visceral way. It teaches us to deny our bodily passions and base instincts. It reminds us that comfort and pleasure are not the highest goods. But is it wrong to focus on physical self-denial? Are we doing something wrong if we fast from meat rather than fasting from anger?
I will sometimes hear people say things like, “I’m giving up gossip for Lent.” Well that’s good that you are giving up gossip, because gossiping is sinful. But that’s called repentance, not fasting. Repentance is turning away from something evil in order to turn toward the good. Fasting, on the other hand, is supposed to be a sacrifice, and sacrifice involves giving up something good, not something evil.
When God calls for sacrifice, he always demands the best. He calls for an unblemished lamb, not the lame and sickly one. He was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice, because Abel offered his first fruits, while Cain offered God what was left over.
But then we have this reading from Isaiah 58, which seems to be making the same point as the list I read. But — no surprise here — God’s word is a bit more nuanced than an Internet meme. After admonishing the people for fasting while carrying out their own pursuits, driving their laborers, and quarreling and fighting, God says:
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own (Is 58:6–7).
God doesn’t say not to fast. He calls us to be righteous when we fast. He calls us to work for justice and to free the oppressed. He calls us to take care of one another as we are fasting. He doesn’t say not to fast from food or practice other forms of bodily self-denial. In fact, in today’s gospel reading, Jesus says, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:15).
But for our fast to be a pleasing sacrifice before God, what we offer has to be good. And what we offer to God by our fasting isn’t really the meat or the dessert or whatever else we give up. What we offer God is ourselves. So we have to make of ourselves a pure offering.
This is why the Church teaches that our fasting is to be accompanied by prayer and works of charity. This is what makes the difference between fasting and a diet plan. We’re not doing it to lose weight or to punish our bodies. We do it as penance and a spiritual sacrifice.
If we fast while living in a spirit of injustice and ingratitude, then it will be like we read in the Psalm, “For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it” (Ps 51:18). But if we purify ourselves with repentance, prayer, and charity, then we can say, “My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn” (Ps 51:19).
So as we embark upon this season of self-denial and penance, let us take care that our fasting is accompanied by prayer and works of charity. These three things go together, like the three legs of a stool. Take one away and the other two aren’t effective. Let’s be mindful of the need to purify ourselves both body and soul, so that we can make of ourselves a sacrifice pleasing to the Lord.
