20190308
RIGHT
PERSPECTIVE OF FASTING
08 MARCH, 2019,
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 58:1-9 ©
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The sort of fast that pleases me
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Thus says the Lord:
Shout for all you are worth,
raise your voice like a
trumpet.
Proclaim their faults to my people,
their sins to the House of
Jacob.
They seek me day after day,
they long to know my ways,
like a nation that wants to act with
integrity
and not ignore the law of its
God.
They ask me for laws that are just,
they long for God to draw
near:
‘Why should we fast if you never see it,
why do penance if you never
notice?’
Look, you do business on your fast-days,
you oppress all your workmen;
look, you quarrel and squabble when you
fast
and strike the poor man with
your fist.
Fasting like yours today
will never make your voice
heard on high.
Is that the sort of fast that pleases me,
a truly penitential day for
men?
Hanging your head like a reed,
lying down on sackcloth and
ashes?
Is that what you call fasting,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the sort of fast that pleases
me
– it is the Lord who speaks –
to break unjust fetters and
undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke,
to share your bread with the hungry,
and shelter the homeless poor,
to clothe the man you see to be naked
and not turn from your own
kin?
Then will your light shine like the dawn
and your wound be quickly
healed over.
Your integrity will go before you
and the glory of the Lord
behind you.
Cry, and the Lord will answer;
call, and he will say, ‘I am
here.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 50(51):3-6,18-19 ©
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A humbled, contrite
heart, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my
offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
A humbled, contrite
heart, O God, you will not spurn.
My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I
have done.
A humbled, contrite
heart, O God, you will not spurn.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you
would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you
will not spurn.
A humbled, contrite
heart, O God, you will not spurn.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ps129:5,7
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Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
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Or:
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cf.Amos5:14
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Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Seek good and not evil so that you may
live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may really
be with you.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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Matthew 9:14-15 ©
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When the bridegroom is taken from them,
then they will fast
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John’s disciples came to Jesus and said,
‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus
replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as
long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the
bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’
RIGHT
PERSPECTIVE OF FASTING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 58:1-9; PS 51:3-6,18-19; MATTHEW 9:14-15]
Fasting is one of the
three pillars of the Spiritual exercises of the Lenten Season. Fasting is highly recommended by the
Church on Fridays in Lent except on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday when fasting
is obligatory. Fridays are traditionally days of penance and where
fasting is not possible, then abstinence or some other forms of penance is
required except when it is a solemnity.
Unfortunately, like the
Israelites, many find that fasting has not been a real help to their spiritual
life. They
ask, “Why should we fast if you never see it, why do penance if you never
notice?” Indeed, often, like the Israelites and the religious leaders
during the time of Jesus, we tend to fast for the wrong reasons. Some
fast or abstain from meat out of routine because the Church says so. It
has become a habit so much so that the purpose and motivation of the penance
are often forgotten. If it is done purely out of routine, then it has
defeated its purpose. That is why there are those who abstain from meat
but enjoy a lavish seafood meal. We are then observing the law but not
the spirit of the law.
Others fast for vanity
reasons. They want to
reduce their weight to look good. Again, the motive is not pure.
They are fasting for themselves and for their vanity, not to unite their sacrifice
with the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Then there are others who fast
to show off to others that they are very disciplined and able to control their
diet. They are seeking to earn the praises of men. Of course, some
so-called religious and pious people fast to impress others with their piety
and holiness. “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are
fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.” (Mt 6:16)
Still, there are others
who fast for other selfish reasons.
They want to save money so that they can buy other things for themselves.
They do not fast so that they can identify with the poor and the suffering, and
the money saved to be given to the poor who have nothing to eat or clothes to
wear. The Lord spoke through Isaiah, “Is that the sort of fast that
pleases me, a truly penitential day for men? Hanging your head like a reed,
lying down on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call fasting, a day
acceptable to the Lord?”
Some also think that by
fasting, God will hear their petitions. This motive is not wrong but it gives the
impression that God desires us to suffer and that He is a joy- killer. It
seems that God is a grudging God and would not give us anything unless we
punish ourselves. But God is always merciful and He wants us to have the
things we need even without our asking. The reason for fasting is not so
much because God wants us to suffer but so that we show our sincerity and
earnestness in asking for what we need from the Lord. Fasting is a means
to purify our desire and clarify that what we are asking is truly good for us
and for others.
Finally, there are
others who fast for apparently religious reasons so that God will forgive their
sins. Again,
this motive is not all that wrong. But the truth is that He forgives us
freely as well. The psalmist says, “A humbled, contrite heart, O
God, you will not spurn. My offences truly I know them; my
sin is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is
evil in your sight I have done. For in sacrifice you take no
delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.” So if we fast it not
so that God can forgive our sins but it is an expression of a contrite heart, a
desire to repent and sincerity to change our lives. Through fasting, we
want to share in the love and mercy of God by extending that mercy to others as
a way to demonstrate that we are turning from our old way of life to that of
Christ.
So why should we
fast? “John’s
disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘why is it that we and the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not?'” Jesus’ reply is clear, “Surely
the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the
bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom
to be taken away from them and then they will fast.” We
fast because we cannot feel the presence of God anymore and our relationship is
distant from Him. We have lost Him through sins and distractions. Fasting
is to help us draw near to Him. “They seek me day after day, they long to
know my ways, like a nation that wants to act with integrity and not ignore the
law of its God. They ask me for laws that are just, they long for God to draw
near.”
How can we draw near to
Him through fasting? Fasting is the key to discipline in prayer. Fasting helps us to yearn for God
when we are less distracted by worldly pleasures. We can pray better when
we eat less so that our minds and body will not be too tired to
pray. All religious traditions, even non-Christian ones, underscore
the need for prayers to be accompanied by fasting. Unless we can exercise
control over our body, we cannot control our mind and thoughts at prayer.
We will be easily distracted and wander all over the place. By exercising
control over our body, it is hoped we can also exercise discipline in our
spiritual life and especially in our fight against the sins of the flesh and
that of the world. St Paul shared, “Do you not know that in a race the
runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you
may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive
a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor
do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so
that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9:24-27)
Secondly, fasting helps
us to feel the love and mercy of God especially when we contemplate on Christ’s
suffering on the cross for us. Only when we are identified with Christ’s suffering
for us, can we begin to feel with others from the love we have received from
Him. When we know how much Christ suffered for us, we can suffer for
Him. “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that
one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so
that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died
and was raised for them.” (2 Cor 5:14f)
Thirdly, fasting also
helps us to translate prayer into action through identification with the
suffering of our fellowmen. When we fast, we learn to identify with the poor, the
sick and the suffering. For this reason, before Jesus
began His ministry, He fasted for forty days. He wanted to feel with the
temptations of man so that He could be a compassionate High Priest. “For
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without
sin. Let us, therefore, approach the throne of grace with boldness, so
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15f)
Finally, the real fruit
of fasting is love and charity and hence associated with almsgiving. The Lord rejected the fasting of
the Israelites because they failed to translate their fasting into charitable
and just actions. “Look, you do business on your fast days, you
oppress all your workmen; look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast and strike
the poor man with your fist. Fasting like yours today will never make your
voice heard on high.” Fasting leads us to true justice and charity.
Like Jesus, we fight for the oppressed, shelter the homeless and clothe the
naked. The Lord said, “Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me – it
is the Lord who speaks – to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the
yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread
with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be
naked and not turn from your own kin?” In this way, real fasting brings
us to union with God and with our fellowmen. Indeed, “then will your
light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity
will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will
answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.'” We come to know His
presence in our midst and we, in turn, become His blessing to others.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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