Fast with a Contrite Spirit

Friday After Ash Wednesday 

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Isaiah 58: 1-9A

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.Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed...

Well, well, today is the First Friday of Lent.  Are you ready to abstain from meat again this week?  As a semi-vegetarian, it's not so difficult for me personally. Normally I eat fish on Fridays anyway, so it's not that big of a change.  I think going without my Friday night bottle of vino is more of a sacrifice!! However, for so many others the no-meat thing is rough.  I've heard of folks taking a bite of a burger or a steak on a Lenten Friday, totally forgetting about the required fast.  I'm sure Our Lord is quick to forgive.....

I've noticed over the years how fast food chains are marketing Lent to their advantage. Burger joints, such as Wendy's, offer "for a limited-time-only" fish sandwiches.  Other sit and dine restaurants showcase their seafood specials on the menu's front page.  Restaurants know that the Lenten "fast" is a huge business opportunity.  I wonder if seafood establishments like Long John Silver's and Red Lobster make most of their yearly revenue off of Fridays of Lent. 

If one considers the matter of fasting more closely, Lent seems to be the only time of the year where it's a primary focus of our faith.  Certainly, the bible talks about fasting a lot, and we should consider fasting more often.  But, do we really pay attention to true meaning of fasting during other times of the year?  I think when most of us think about "fasting" we think about not eating before our yearly blood work and physical examination.  (Yuck!)  Or, we go through a "cleansing and lose-the-weight- quick fast" as we subject our bodies to copious amount of lemon-infused water, herbal concoctions, and fiber-rich foods. (With many trips to the bathroom as a side effect!)

Fasting has quite a negative reputation.  We see pictures of young African children wasting away because they don't have enough food to eat.  Their fasting is not purposeful with a spiritual intention but more of a fasting out of necessity.  They simply do not have enough food to nourish their bodies.  Then there are others who fast on purpose, again not for the intention of honoring God but as a side effect of deep psychiatric illness.  Those with Anorexia and Bulimia use food as a way of controlling their self images.  They literally starve and purge themselves to make themselves feel better.

Fasting shouldn't be something we do to punish or hurt ourselves.  It should be done with a contrite spirit; that is, a spirit of deep repentance for our sins.  Fasting shouldn't be a gloomy endeavor, and certainly not something that we complain about.  In fact, fasting is inter-related with prayer and almsgiving.  All three are holy actions. As we fast we pray and as we fast we give alms!  Prayer unites together fasting and almsgiving, encouraging us to remove our selfish tendencies, and with humble contrition, donate our time, talents and treasure in service to others.

So fast with a contrite spirit and pray for others!

-J.