If you ask Pope Benedict XVI ‘what should I do this Lenten season?’ he will respond: “Fast”. This is the main focus of his message for this year’s Lenten season. Drawing from the Scriptures and Church Fathers, he explained the meaning and importance of fasting in our life.
In fasting we deprive ourselves of something that in itself is good and useful for our bodily sustenance. Why? He says it’s a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it. But true fasting, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mt 4:4; 6:18, Jn 4:34), does not culminate in mere avoidance of material comfort/food, rather it is directed towards doing the will of God.
“In our own day, fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one’s body. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a “therapy” to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God,” says the Holy Father.
Fasting helps us to mortify our egoism and open our heart to love of God and neighbor. Quoting St. Augustine, the Pope explains that in the face of divergent and negative impulses, fasting confers unity to the whole person.
“At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live. By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger. It is precisely to keep alive this welcoming and attentive attitude towards our brothers and sisters that I encourage the parishes and every other community to intensify in Lent the custom of private and communal fasts, joined to the reading of the Word of God, prayer and almsgiving.”
He urges us to cast aside all that distract the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul. He says, “I am thinking especially of a greater commitment to prayer, lectio divina, recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass.
“With this interior disposition, let us enter the penitential spirit of Lent. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Causa nostrae laetitiae, accompany and support us in the effort to free our heart from slavery to sin, making it evermore a “living tabernacle of God.” With these wishes, while assuring every believer and ecclesial community of my prayer for a fruitful Lenten journey, I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.”
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