Fasting

One of the things the church asks us to do in lent is fasting. But why? Does Jesus really want us to go hungry?

The truth is, it is not hunger that Jesus wants for us, but holiness. To become holy, we need to learn to master ourselves, so that we can “take up our cross” and follow Jesus. To “take up our cross” means to embrace the cost of doing what is right, even when it is difficult.

To be able to do something difficult, we need to learn how to say “no” to lesser things, so that we can say “yes” to greater ones. Every athlete knows that you need to push your body hard, past its “comfort zone”, to excel in sports. This often means not giving your body what it wants, but making your body do what you want. So it is with fasting. We fast so that we can learn how to say no to ourselves, so that when we are faced with a decision between what is right and what is comfortable, we will be free to choose what is right.

So how to fast? First, do what the Church asks: fast on the prescribed days and abstain from what you are asked. Second, consider fasting by choice. Do not starve yourself, especially not if you have health issues to consider or if you are underweight. Instead, skip a treat, or omit the sugar in your coffee or the butter on your bagel. Or look beyond food by fasting from something you like: give social media a rest, leave the cellphone in your pocket, skip a favorite show, get up a few minutes earlier. Whatever you do, do it willingly and cheerfully, thinking not of what you are giving up, but what you are gaining: the ability to say No to yourself, so you can say Yes to Jesus.