FASTING AND ABSTINENCE: What is the Practice? - Catholic Precept #4

well fasting is defined as abstaining from all or certain foods for a particular time or for a particular purpose and it's actually one of the oldest practices in our judeo-christian tradition it goes as far back as Moses and the Mosaic law he gives prescriptions and times for fasting and as well as abstinence in the Old Testament we hear about fasting in the Psalms and the prophets they speak of engaging in fasting and especially for the purposes of penance for the forgiveness of sins we read in the Old Testament about the people fasting as a point of expression of sorrow fasting before God as a discipline especially at certain times of the year maybe for certain festivals of the year we read about it in the New Testament and the Acts of the Apostles it speaks of the Apostles and the early Christians engaging in times of fasting as well as prayer st. Paul speaks of fasting even Jesus fasted for forty days when he was in the desert to be tempted by the devil and in the sixth chapter of Matthew Jesus actually gives us a prescription an instruction for fasting as he addresses what are popularly called the three pillars of piety prayer almsgiving and fasting and he Jesus actually instructs us when he says when you are fasting don't look glum like the hypocrites do who you know look miserable look preoccupied so that everyone can see that they're fasting but when we fast Jesus instructs us doing in such a way that only God can see that we are fasting comb our hair wash our face don't look glum don't look like we're fasting and God is the only one who can see that we are fasting and will reward us for that discipline and that act of piety that we do before God and so Jesus gives us a specific instruction on how to engage in fasting and that is carried on into the early life of the church and down through the centuries which we continue now some people do it individually for various reasons and occasions but as church we continue the practice of fasting and abstinence especially during the season of Lent when we are engaging in practices of penance and self-discipline as we're preparing for the celebration of Easter well every now and again especially as Lent is approaching or when we're in the early days of Lent some people will ask me why must i fast why is fasting important and sometimes they tell me that because they themselves don't fast and usually the reason they give me is because as they say it I don't get anything out of it I don't see why it's important and one of the reasons it's important that we must remember is that fasting connects us to the wider community of the church it connects us to one another as a people of faith now during the season of Lent yes we engage in individual penances we give things up individually you know we give up chocolate we give up smoking drinking soft drinks and we do it as an exercise in self-discipline also to help us recognize the many gifts that God has given us but as a practice of self-discipline that will naturally be the temptation that sometimes encroaches upon us over time to take that sacrifice back to end that sacrifice before Lent is over and instead of giving in to that temptation and taking back what we've given up we turn to God in prayer to give us the strength to maintain the discipline throughout the season of Lent and those are things we do individually but there are also things we do during Lent that bind us together as Church because you remember we are a community of faith Jesus did not establish the church on individual followers he established a community and we are still connected to the wider community that is the church and so during Lent we grow individually and we grow as church and fasting and abstinence connects us with that wider community that is the church and the days of fasting that we do together as church are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and then together as church we abstain from meat on Fridays during the season of Lent and some would even tell me well father I don't abstain from me because I don't consider that a sacrifice but you look at the abstaining from meat not so much as a sacrifice but as an observance just as as a nation what do we do on the 4th of July we gather and we observe the shooting of fireworks not because we have to but because just engaging in that practice connects us to the wider nation of the United States also in Thanksgiving what do we do we eat turkey not because we have to but because it's an observance something we do to connect us together as family in a meal and the wider community of the nation that is giving thanks to God on that particular holiday and so when we abstain from meat we don't abstain from meat because we can't eat meat but because as Catholics we don't eat meat because we are part of a wider community that is the church that engages in this observance during the season of Lent a second fasting is also a discipline it addresses a basic instinct we all have as human beings and when we look in the Gospels of Matthew Mark and Luke Jesus himself fasted in the desert for forty days and what does it say afterwards he became hungry and what is the first temptation that is imposed upon him by the devil command these stones to be made bread in other words satisfy your hunger satisfy your basic human instinct for food and for nourishment and that is a temptation that Jesus experiences and fasting addresses that we are not slaves to our basic human instincts when we are hungry we simply just don't eat at the drop of a hat or eat what's right there in front of us we exercise self-control in which we are not mastered by our human appetites we are the master and fasting takes many different forms well for example at table when we sit down to eat a meal we're hungry but we don't just dive in and eat what do we do we pause for a few moments and we give thanks and the grace before meals we can consider that a 30-second fast we don't just immediately start eating and sometimes we catch ourselves when we eat before we've actually said the grace before meals and so fasting addresses a basic human instinct and shows that we are not mastered by our instincts but that we can show mastery and self-control over these and fasting is aimed in that direction but it also translates into other disciplines that address our other human instincts for example our thirst our need for survival you know we can at time be violent individuals when we are angry we are called to exercise self-control so that our violent nature or our anger does not overwhelm us our human desire for procreation and reproduction our sexuality is one of the strongest instincts that we have fasting can address that as well because if we can master our hunger then how much more can we be master over our sexual orientation or our sexual urges and that we are not mastered by them but we are master of them and that can lead to greater lives of chastity and celibacy depending on what our vocation in life happens to be so we are not mastered by our human instincts we are masters of them and fasting as one way in which we exercise that mastery over our humanity we are more than our human instincts as human beings we are made in God's image and likeness with a rational soul that lifts us above our basic human instincts our hunger is not our master our human sexuality is not our master our violent nature and our emotions are not our master God is our master we are not slaves to our instincts we are free children of God made in His image and likeness and we are master over our human instincts as God as master over us and so that's an important reason why we engage in fasting and why fasting is important for us as a matter of self-discipline but we do not fast alone we do it together as church and that connection as church gives us the strength to endure and persevere in these practices as we give thanks to God for His many gifts as we overcome our human instincts as we are master of our humanity and in exercising that discipline that makes us grow stronger as a community of faith and as individuals in our relationship with God who has made us in His image and likeness well the practice of fasting as its exercised today and prescribed by the church is done predominantly during the season of Lent that period of 40 days in which we are preparing to celebrate our highest holy days in Easter and there are two days of fasting during the season of Lent and those days are Wednesday the first day of Lent and Good Friday the mid day during the Paschal treaty one the day that Jesus died on the cross and so those are the days in which the church is asked that we as a community of faith engage in the practice of fasting and the practice of fasting as I've observed is done in two ways predominantly one is in no particular order you skip a meal you have a light meal and then engage in a full meal throughout the course of the day the second is having a full meal and then the other two meals are light meals but together would constitute a full meal and so I've seen that as an option as to how one fasts so it's not simply eating nothing or having liquids only as I've heard some people misinterpret the practice of fasting but rather it's curtailing what we eat during that particular day now the practice of abstinence is also done predominantly during the season of Lent and the days of abstinence are the Fridays during Lent as well as Ash Wednesday and simply we abstain from eating meat on those particular days and it's not that we can't eat meat on those days is that we don't eat meat it's not so much a sacrifice as it is an observance they're not days of fasting they are days of abstinence we don't eat meat on Fridays and it's observed by Catholics and by many Christians now another form of fasting that we see common in the church today is the practice of fasting for one hour prior to receiving the Eucharist in communion when we go to Mass and we do that as a matter of reverence and preparation for receiving that great gift we have in the Holy Eucharist and coming before God and so we do not eat or drink for one hour prior to receiving Communion now time was when during the season of Lent every day was a day of fasting not just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday but every day during the season of Lent we engaged in the practice of fasting except for Sunday's that of course has been changed over time in recent years to simply days of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday also time was when Catholics abstained from meat every Friday during the year and there are many who continue to engage in that practice but now the prescribed days given to us by the church are fridays during the season of Lent as well as Ash Wednesday also time was when the practice was to fast from midnight the night before receiving Communion and again many people still continue in that practice but now the church simply asks that we fast for one hour before receiving Communion that has been adjusted over the recent years recent decades but these are the practices that we have today as a church which we engage in individually and as a community of faith and it constitutes for us as Church the fourth precept of the church which simply reads you shall engage on the days of fasting and abstinence as prescribed by the church which today are days of abstinence Fridays during Lent and Ash Wednesday and the two days of fasting of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday well every year someone invariably will approach me at the beginning of Lent and ask me that question about those who are under 14 or those who are over 60 and the practice of fasting and abstinence and they'll often ask well Father isn't it true that those under 14 and those over 60 don't have to fast and abstain and when you think about it what do people usually have in mind when it comes to the season of Lent they think of giving things up they think of fasting they think of abstinence they think of practices that might not be all that easy and all that desirable but one has to remember that Lent is also a time of spiritual growth not just for individuals but for all of us together as church as we prepare to celebrate Easter and the notion is that if one is over 60 or under 14 then they don't have to fast or abstain during the season of Lent and while that's true the interpretation isn't exactly all that accurate because it's not necessarily a loophole to get out of practices that we may find challenging or practices that we just simply don't want to do but rather it's a respect that the church has for parents who raise children as well as the elders in our midst and so the idea is not that they don't have to fast or abstain but rather that they are not under obligation to fast or abstain during the season of Lent and there's a difference there's a difference between not having to and not being under obligation let's just take a look at the children in our myths and the families first with our youngsters under the age of 14 the distinction is very pro parent and very Pro teacher children don't need to have an obligation imposed upon them why because their parents and their teachers are already engaging in the practice of fasting and abstinence and that they are teaching their children and teaching their students the practice so this exception to those under 14 is not really an exception the understanding is that they are in fact fasting and abstaining on the proper days because their teachers and their parents are teaching them the practice so that exception is actually very Pro parent and very pro teacher second with regarding our elders in our midst it's presumed by the church that people of a certain age are also of a certain disposition for observing these practices without having an obligation imposed upon them they no longer need an obligation in order to engage in these spiritual practices that they have a particular wisdom that comes with age where they do it on their own and serve for all of us an example of the elders in our midst who spent a lifetime engaging these practices because they see how these practices benefit the soul and benefit the community that is the church and I know many people who are in their 80s and a couple in their 90's who continue to engage in these practices and I know of many parents even with small children who are teaching them from an early age the importance and the value of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and of abstaining from meat on the Fridays during the season of Lent and they do so because they are among the oldest practices we have in the church they are practices that connect us with one another even as they help with our own individual spiritual growth and our relationship with God and they recognize that these practices don't need an obligation because they are important to us in our growth with our relationship with God and our relationship with one another our connection to one another as a community of faith that is the church you

Channel: Fr. William Nicholas

Views: 83,681

Keywords: Catholic Church, Catholicism, Fasting, Abstinence, Lent, Mass, Holy Mass, Israel, Hebrew People, Chastity, Temptations of Christ, Jesus Christ, Satan, Elderly, Youth, Teachrs, Parents, Thanksgiving (holiday), Independence Day, 4th of July (holiday)

Id: 9bRHoLxrVX8

Length: 16min 51sec (1011 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 02 2016