I noticed certain Protestants once again this Lenten season attacking the practice of Lent. Working in their usual form they appear to ignorant of Scripture as well as Church History, which both give testimony to fasting, as well as to the practice of a Lenten season. Although the amount of time to be practiced for Lent and the date of Easter was not universal, it was practiced since the earliest days of Christianity. In fact we have Saint Ireneaus writing to the Pope (St Victor I)in his day the following, "The dispute is not only about the day, but also about the actual character of the fast. Some think that they ought to fast for one day, some for two, others for still more; some make their ‘day’ last 40 hours on end. Such variation in the observance did not originate in our own day, but very much earlier, in the time of our forefathers" (Eusebius, History of the Church, V, 24)
After the Church was able to come out in the open and practice her faith after Constantine, we start to see a more universal practice come into place. The Council of Nicea (325), in its disciplinary canons, noted that two provincial synods should be held each year, "one before the 40 days of Lent." St. Athanasius (d. 373) in this "Festal Letters" implored his congregation to make a 40-day fast prior to the more intense fasting of Holy Week.(Saunders 2002)
There are many more examples of the Early Fathers of the Church preaching or writing on the importance of the Great Fast of Lent. The 40 days of Lent was soon adopted since many Biblical examples give us traditions to follow in honoring Our Lord's passion, death and resurrection. Biblical verses from the Old Testament are looked at as prototypes of Jesus' fast as well. "Moses stayed there with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights, without eating any food or drinking any water" (Ex 34:28). Elijah walked "40 days and 40 nights" to the mountain of the Lord, Mount Horeb (another name for Sinai) (I Kgs 19:8). Most importantly, Jesus fasted and prayed for "40 days and 40 nights" in the desert before He began His public ministry (Mt 4:2). (Saunders 2002) So we then had the Church looking to Our Lord's fast in the desert as an example to be followed.
The type of fasts also varied from place to place, but the most common fast was to abstain from meat, and dairy. Pope St. Gregory (d. 604), writing to St. Augustine of Canterbury, issued the following rule: "We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese and eggs." (Saunders 2002) In the early ages of Christianity, fasting included also abstinence from wine, as we learn from St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, Theophilus of Alexandria, and others. (Gueranger 1997) Fasts have varied throughout Christian history with religious orders oftentimes holding much stricter fasts, then going more lenient, then back again. In the 1700s fasting evidently became very relaxed in the West forcing Pope Benedict XIV to write a letter in 1741. "The observance of Lent is the very badge of the Christian warfare. By it we prove ourselves not to be enemies of the cross of Christ. By it we avert the scourges of divine justice. By it we gain strength against the princes of darkness, for it shields us with heavenly help. Should mankind grow remiss in their observance of Lent, it would be a detriment to God's glory, a disgrace to the Catholic religion, and a danger to Christian souls. Neither can it be doubted that such negligence would become the source of misery to the world, of public calamity, and of private woe." (Gueranger 1997)
In the West Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. In the East it begins on the Clean Monday, which was the Monday before Ash Wed this year. This starts off the 40 days of the Great Fast. The Sacred Scriptures also tell us that there will be fasting in the Church. Jesus in Matthew 9:14-15. The disciples of St. John the Baptist came, one day, to Jesus, and said to Him: "Why do we and the pharisees fast often, but Thy disciples do not fast? 'And Jesus said to them: 'Can the children of the Bridegroom mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast." We then see the apostles in the book of Acts fasting as well. Acts 13:3 and 14:23 for example. So the Bible is no stranger to fasting. Saint Robert Bellarmine, a great Saint of the Reformation era shows us how Sacred Scripture attests to fasting as well.
From Live Well, Die Holy: The Art of Being a Saint, Now and Forever, St. Robert Bellarmine, Sophia Press pgs. 57-62
"Another advantage of fasting is that it tames the flesh; and such a fast must be particularly pleasing to God, because He is pleased when we crucify the flesh with its vices and concupiscences, as St. Paul teaches us in his letter to the Galatians; and for this reason, he himself says, "But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway' (Gal 5:24, 1 Cor 9:27)."
"Another advantage is that we honor God by our fasts when we fast for His sake. Thus the apostle Paul speaks in his letter to the Romans: 'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service' (Romans 12:1). In the Greek, "reasonable service" (logiken latreian) is "reasonable worship"; and St. Luke speaks of this worship when mentioning the prophetess Anna: 'And she was a widow until fourscore and four years, who departed not from the temple, by fasting and prayers serving night and day' (Lk 2:37)"
I often see some Protestants (Usually of the Reformed flavor) attacking those who fast, yet it is Jesus and the apostles they also attack unwittingly. It is with great joy to see that many Protestants are now beginning to realize the importance of this spiritual exercise.
It is important to look at the Spiritual benefits that this Great Fast gives us. I quote Abbot Gueranger O.S.B. "Lent, then, is a time consecrated in an especial manner to penance; and this penance is mainly practiced by fasting. Fasting is an abstinence, which man voluntarily imposes upon himself as an expiation for sin, and which, during Lent, is practiced in obedience to the general law of the Church. According to the actual discipline of the western Church, the fast of Lent is not more rigorous than that prescribed for the vigils of certain feasts, and for the Ember Days; but it is kept up for forty successive days, with the single interruption of the intervening Sundays." It is important however to remember that one must be disposed to fast. In other words, fasting for the sake of fasting is not going to do anything for you spiritually, if you are not united to Christ in mind and in heart. If one is not disposed to the graces of Our Lord, fasting will be nothing but a dry, dead exercise. Hence we see the great Saint Ephraim (306 – 373) giving his spiritual council on the matter.
Taken from Hymn 1: The True Fast and Christ, Adam, and Satan
1.2
This is the fast which exalts; which appeared from the First Born So as to extol the younger ones. There is occasion for delight for the discerning ones in fasting; When one sees how much he has grown. Fasting secretly purifies the soul So it can gaze on God and grow by the vision of Him. For the weight that is from the earth, bends it back to the earth. Blessed is he who gave us fasts, The sheer wings by which we fly to him.
1.3
Fasting is bright and beautiful for any who bright enough yo gaze on God. The Turbid One, stirred up by anything cannot fix the eye on that Clear One. He who possesses a clear eye He can gaze upon him; as much as it is given to him to gaze. Instead of the clarifying wine, let us clarify our thought So that we will be able to see the Clear One Who overcame the Evil One by means of fasting, that Disturber of All.
1.6
This is the instructive fast, it teaches the athlete the ways of the contest. Draw near to it, study, learn to struggle shrewdly. Behold he instructed us to fast with our mouths and hearts, Let us not fast from bread and think thoughts In which the hidden poison of death is hidden. Let us confess on the fast day the First Born
Who gave us the word of life to meditate on.
1.9
The Troubler mixes filth with our Clarity, So as to make the first-fruits of our prayer and fasting hateful. It is possible by his jealousy, that our gift be rebuked.
Take away your deceits from your fasts, remove mockery from your praise. May your voices wash your mouths from lies. Allow us, O First Born in your mercy To uproot hidden weeds from our thoughts .
The Catechism gives us a summary of fasting as a form of penance and preparation.
Fasting as a form of Penance
1434 The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others....
1438 The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).
- CCC pgs. 360-361
Fasting as a form of Preparation
1387 To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observe the fast required in their Church. Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.
- CCC pg. 350
Finally I would like to reiterate the proper use of fasting, and its spiritual benefits when used in union with Christ and His Church. Pope Benedict XVI recently gave a talk on the current Lenten season. He said, "In the New Testament, Jesus brings to light the profound motive for fasting, condemning the attitude of the Pharisees, who scrupulously observed the prescriptions of the law, but whose hearts were far from God. True fasting, as the divine Master repeats elsewhere, is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who “sees in secret, and will reward you” (Mt 6,18). He Himself sets the example, answering Satan, at the end of the forty days spent in the desert that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt 4,4). The true fast is thus directed to eating the “true food,” which is to do the Father’s will (cf. Jn 4,34). If, therefore, Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,” the believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in His goodness and mercy."
"The practice of fasting is very present in the first Christian community (cf. Acts 13,3; 14,22; 27,21; 2 Cor 6,5). The Church Fathers, too, speak of the force of fasting to bridle sin, especially the lusts of the “old Adam,” and open in the heart of the believer a path to God. Moreover, fasting is a practice that is encountered frequently and recommended by the saints of every age. Saint Peter Chrysologus writes: “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself” (Sermo 43: PL 52, 320. 322).
The entire message is found here at the Vatican website.
Sources
History of Lent- Fr. William Saunders 2002
The History of Lent-Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.
Saint Ephraim's Hymns on Fasting-Gary A. Anderson, Sidney Griffith, and Robin Darling Young
Live Well, Die Holy: The Art of Being a Saint, Now and Forever, St. Robert Bellarmine, Sophia Press
Message Of His Holiness Benedict XVI For Lent 2009
0 comments:
Post a Comment