20250307 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES ARE MEANS NOT THE END
07 March 2025, Friday after Ash Wednesday
First reading | Isaiah 58:1-9 |
The sort of fast that pleases me
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):3-6,18-19 |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps129:5,7 |
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!
Or: | cf.Amos5:14 |
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!
Gospel | Matthew 9:14-15 |
When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast
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.’
SPIRITUAL EXERCISES ARE MEANS NOT THE END
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 58:1-9; PS 51:3-6,18-19; MATTHEW 9:14-15]
During the season of Lent, the Church encourages us to undertake the three spiritual exercises of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. But it is strange that the scripture readings today appear to discourage us from fasting. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord rejected the fasting of the people. In the gospel too, Jesus seemed to take the tradition of fasting lightly. In reply to John’s disciples who asked Jesus why His disciples did not fast, unlike them and the Pharisees who took fasting seriously, Jesus said, “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them?”
As we are at the beginning of the Lenten season, the liturgy wants us to keep the right perspective in what we do. We can be so concerned with particular details that we forget the larger picture. So it is important that whilst looking at the details or the spiritual practices recommended by the Church in Lent, we must not forget the objective of this season, which is to prepare us to celebrate the Nuptial Wedding with our Lord. The Church wants to prepare us to be the bride of Christ by strengthening our spiritual life through the Lenten exercises.
Indeed, the Lenten liturgy is careful not to over emphasize on penance and good works during this season, even if they are helpful and important for one to come closer to God. This was what the Lord instructed the prophet to say, “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.” What is more important is that we come to know Christ and put on Christ in our life. This explains why from the fourth week of Lent, the focus is more and more on the identity of our Lord, His imminent passion, death and resurrection. Knowing Christ and following Him is ultimately the purpose of Lent. Only in Christ can we find salvation. Only in Christ do we understand what love is all about. It is our union with Christ that gives us real happiness.
So whether in fasting, prayer or almsgiving, what is more important is whether what we do is merely for show, fulfilling a duty, or truly an expression of our love for God and for our brothers and sisters. The people of Israel asked the Lord, “Why should we fast if you never see it, why do penance if you never notice?” The truth is that they might have fasted, just like Catholics who try to follow the laws of the Church. They fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. They abstain from meat on Fridays. They fulfil the obligation to attend Mass every Sunday, etc. But they are not living a life of integrity, a life of justice and charity towards their fellowmen, like the Israelites. The Lord said, “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?”
Indeed, the Lord makes it clear that fasting itself is but a means to an end, which is to live a life of integrity. If they continue to oppress their workmen, just like some Catholics who treat their domestic helpers or workers like slaves, not giving them sufficient rest and respect, their fasting is useless. Just looking sad and remorseful for their sins will not make God listen to their prayers and come closer to them unless they truly seek justice for their fellowmen, and practice charity towards them. Unless, we become better people through fasting, such religious exercises are hypocritical and do us no good.
True fasting is to make us identify with the poor and the suffering. Truly, if one lacks compassion for others, it is because we are numb to their suffering. We should not treat others badly, especially our workers, scolding and shouting at them, when we ourselves would feel embarrassed or hurt if others did the same to us. How could we make our domestic helpers work all day and night with little rest when we know how tired we are after working all day long? They are no different from us because we are all human beings. Our needs are also theirs. We must feel with them and treat them the way we want to be treated, as the Lord said, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Mt 7:12)
What truly pleases the Lord is not the fasting but the outcome of the fasting. Fasting must lead to almsgiving. This is the first principle for fasting. He 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?”
Fasting is a means to enter into ourselves and examine our sins. In the responsorial psalm, the psalmist says, “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. 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.” When we enter into fasting, we become more focused in life, especially when we reflect on what we think, what we do or say, we become more aware of our faults and shortcomings. What is important is that fasting leads us to have a contrite heart and keeps us humble knowing that we are also sinners. This will lead us also to forgive those who have sinned against us.
Finally, fasting has another reason as well. Fasting should not only lead us to live a life of charity and justice but it should also lead us to God. In the gospel, Jesus underscores when we should fast. “The time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them and then they will fast.” One of the reasons for fasting is to make us feel the absence of God in our life. Fasting is always very helpful in strengthening our prayer life. This is why, when we do a retreat or seek a closer relationship with the Lord, we are encouraged to fast so that we are reminded of our hunger for God. Physical hunger keeps us focused on our need for God. Without fasting, we will be busy doing our things and allowing the world and its pleasures to drown our thirst for God. So fasting is always helpful to make a person more focused on prayer, leading him to contemplate on God. When we feel that the Lord is absent in our lives, fasting helps us to be sensitive to His absence and creates in us a longing for God’s presence and love.
Truly, when we fast, we are transformed into the light of Christ. As the prophet said, “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.” When we begin to live a life of charity and justice, we will shine out like light at dawn. When we begin to reach out to others and feel with them in their suffering, we become one with them. When we become aware of our sins and our own failures, our wounds would also be healed because we know that others are also sinners and weak like us. Those who are not healed and cannot forgive are those who think that they are perfect and expect others to be perfect. They cannot see that they are also selfish, dishonest, rude, uncharitable and not always truthful. When we recognize our own sinfulness, our own emptiness and our hunger for love, understanding and compassion, we too will be able to render to others what we have received from God. Hence, as the prophet said, “Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.'” Indeed, the Lord lives in us and works in us when we welcome Him into our lives and let Him live in us. He is our bridegroom and we are His bride, in union with Him in love and in life and in death.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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