The Church has kept its Lenten fast — in one form or another — since the time of the early Fathers. Ash Wednesday this year falls on Feb. 18, and once more our conversations turn to what we’ll “give up” for the 40-ish days that follow. Dessert? Television? Alcohol? Social media? Meat? There are many possibilities. We really should be doing something.
Fasting is a prayer of the bodily senses. We willingly give up one thing or another so that we can focus on Jesus Christ. The practice is integral to biblical religion. It’s always been there. In the Old Testament, we see that Moses and Elijah fasted. In the New Testament, Jesus did, as did the apostles after him. Jesus even left instructions for fasting, assuming the practice would continue in the age of his Church. He didn’t say “If you fast …” He said “When you fast …” (Matthew 6:16–17).
Thus, in Lent, the Church calls every Christian to observe some kind of fasting.
Spiritual writers down the centuries, however, have observed that we should not identify Lent with its fast — because it’s really a time of feasting. As we fast with the body, we feast with our soul. In fact, it’s the bodily fast that makes the spiritual feast possible. Lent detaches us from the delectable things of this world so that we can practice giving everything to God.
We trade earthly satisfactions for heavenly ones. Fasting is a discipline to remove distractions, sharpen spiritual senses, and align our desires with God. Following the Lenten path, we find ultimate satisfaction in him rather than temporary pleasures.
The fundamental problem isn’t with the things of this world. God made them to fascinate and delight us. He made them so that we would seek him — who created those good things and gave them to us in love. But we tend to stall at the delight and fascination. We forget to move on to thank and praise their Creator.
It has been our problem since the beginning. Adam and Eve wounded the whole world by giving it the whole of their hearts, instead of subordinating it to its Maker. That’s what disobedience brings about.
People can make an idol of anything. St. Paul spoke of those whose “god is the belly” (Philippians 3:19). It seemed silly to the people of Israel that the folks in neighboring countries would exchange “the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, or reptiles” (Romans 1:23). But that’s what we do — in fact, that’s what the Israelites did — when they favored the worldly over the heavenly.
When we give up something for Lent, we’re not saying that what we’re giving up is bad. If it’s bad — if it’s sinful — we should reject it out of hand, no matter the season of the year.
When we fast from it — give it up for a little while — we’re acknowledging its goodness and our very human weakness. We’re making the choice to feast our spirit on the Maker rather than feast our bodies on what God has made.
