If praying is our attitude towards God, it is telling him that we love him above all things, and it is the highest manifestation of our freedom; if almsgiving is our attitude towards others, loving others as we love ourselves, and it is the only guarantee of equality and social justice, then what is the point of fasting?
Just like praying and almsgiving, fasting is also more than depriving ourselves of food; it points to our attitude towards ourselves. We have already described the two values on which human life is based: freedom, in its individual dimension, and equality, in its social dimension.
Fasting is how zero is at the service of mathematics; it was the invention of zero that made mathematics possible; with Roman numbering system, where zero does not exist, mathematics was not possible. Similarly, fasting makes equality and love of neighbour possible, as well as freedom and love of God.
Fasting in the broad sense – How can I acknowledge the other in my life, be it God or my peer, if I do not deny myself (Mk 8:34)? Or if I do not fast from my self-centredness and renounce the chance to exalt and swell my ego, by depriving myself of having more? What allegiance can I render to God if I consider myself as my own lord?
How can I serve God and be free if I serve money (Matthew 6:24), if I already gave my heart to riches, power and pleasure? If I do not possess myself, how can I give myself to the Other, God or my neighbour? How can I love my neighbour and feel equal to him if instead of serving him, I serve myself? And how can I share what is mine -- things, time and energy -- if I do not renounce them first? To use an expression that is very current in our crisis-ridden country, fasting is cutting back on expenditure; it is cutting down the time, energy and resources that I spend on myself, so to be able to give them, and myself, to others.
Fasting in the strict sense, that is, depriving oneself of food – Fasting, or dieting in medical language, is to health of the soul as sport is the health of the body. We do not live a life of fasting because we are not monks, nor do we live a life of sports because we are not athletes; but the practice of moderate fasting, boosts the health of the soul as the practice of moderate exercise boosts the health of the body.
Fasting and sport, understood in this way, are at the service of life because they train us for it, providing us with many benefits. Sport trains the body and mind by giving them more energy and health; fasting, as depriving ourselves of food, or abstaining from certain types of food, trains the soul in the art and ability of self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-control and willpower.
After breathing, eating is the most indispensable need we have, depriving ourselves of food takes a lot out of us; for this very reason, it is the best training to be able to fast in the broad sense, in other words, decreasing the "I" to affirm the "YOU", which is what really matters.
Fasting makes a person stronger mentally thus preparing us for bigger sacrifices and self-denials, but the opposite is also true; someone who lacks self-control in the matter of food consumption and is a glutton is very unlikely to be a person who shares, and is likely to be fickle and greedy.
Esau lost his birthright for a plate of lentils (Genesis 25:29-34); may gluttony, a sin that no one confesses to anymore in this consumer society, not lead us to lose our bodies and souls. As the people say, "the glutton digs the grave with his teeth" and "if you are too greedy you end up with nothing".
Fr. Jorge Amaro, IMC
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