“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting for forty days and forty nights, He became hungry…” (Mt. 4:1)
Before beginning His public life, Jesus spent forty days in the desert to pray and fast, to do penance for us. He, who was a divine Person, had not sinned and could not sin, yet He wished in this way not only to give us an example, but also to offer the Father worthy reparation for our sins.
The tempter always uses the same strategy: he tries to make us fall into sensuality through the desire to eat; into pride through presumptuous arrogance; and into greed for wealth, power, and the pleasures of life. Jesus prepared Himself for temptation by praying and fasting.
And this is what the Church invites us to do during the season of Lent. Forty days to travel a path of conversion, dedicated to prayer, to meditation on the Word of God — above all to reflecting on the life of Our Lord — and also to penance — which is the voluntary sacrifice we impose upon ourselves — all done out of love, united to the merits of Christ, as preparation for the great feast of Easter Resurrection.
Obligatory practices of penance
The Church has established certain penitential days on which the faithful should devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, deny themselves, fulfill their own duties more faithfully, and above all observe fasting and abstinence.
All Fridays of the year and the season of Lent are penitential days and times. Every Friday, unless it coincides with a solemnity, abstinence from meat, or from another food determined by the Episcopal Conference, must be observed. Fasting and abstinence are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Abstinence binds those who have completed fourteen years of age. Meat is considered the flesh and organs of mammals and poultry. Soups and broths made from them are also prohibited. Fish and products derived from animals such as margarine and gelatin (without meat flavor), eggs, dairy products, and any seasoning based on animal fat are permitted.
Fasting binds all adults until they have completed fifty-nine years of age. It consists of reducing the usual amount of food consumed. One full meal and two lighter meals are permitted, provided that together they do not equal the main meal in quantity. The fast is broken if one eats between meals or consumes a liquid considered food, such as shakes, but not milk.
The Episcopal Conference of each place may determine in greater detail the manner of observing fasting and abstinence, and may substitute them in whole or in part with other forms of penance, especially works of charity and practices of piety.
The bread-and-water fast
Whenever it does not prevent the fulfillment of the duties of one’s state in life — as husband or wife, worker, student, etc. — or cause illness, Sister Lucia, the seer of Fatima, states: “we can and should not limit ourselves to that — what is obligatory — which, in truth, is very little compared to the need we all have to do penance for our own sins and for those of our neighbor.”
For example, fasting on bread and water — which can be done by taking a little bread and water three times a day — or, if necessary, replacing the water with an herbal infusion. But not only during Lent; we can also extend it to other days throughout the year: Fridays, in honor of the Heart of Jesus, or Saturdays, in memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What does Sister Lucia say?
The Message asks that we offer God a sacrifice from everything we can: “From everything you can, offer a sacrifice as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners” (Words of the Angel).
Another reason that God presents to us and for which we should make sacrifices: to repair the sins by which He is offended, our own sins and those of our neighbor. Whenever we offend someone, we should repair, whenever possible, the sorrow and damage caused; for this we usually ask forgiveness, apologize, etc. Now, with even greater reason.
Penance in food: Along the path of our daily lives, we find many and varied kinds of sacrifices that we can and should offer to God. The sacrifice of gluttony which, in many cases, is obligatory. Abstaining from excessive alcoholic beverages, which impair judgment, dull reason, and degrade dignity, leaving the person in a state of ruin before God and honorable men. How many unhappy families because of this sin of gluttony! Why not offer God the sacrifice of not drinking, sharing with the poor what would otherwise be spent, with such harm, on excesses and sins, while many of our brothers and sisters lack the necessities of life?
Offer to God as a sacrifice some small pleasure in eating, in a way that does not harm the physical strength we need in order to work. Thus, for example, exchanging a fruit we like more for one that is less pleasing, a sweet... or a drink...; enduring thirst for a certain period of time and then quenching it, yes, but with a less pleasant beverage; abstaining from alcohol, or at least avoiding excessive consumption.
Everything with simplicity, love, and gratitude: when we serve ourselves, we should not choose the best. But if we cannot set it aside without being noticed, it is better to take it simply and without concern, giving thanks to God for the comfort He provides, because we cannot believe that God, the good Father that He is, is only pleased with us when He sees us mortified. God created good things for His children and likes to see them make use of them without abuse and after fulfilling their duty of work to deserve them, and to receive them with gratitude and love for the One who filled them with His gifts.
Resolution for the week: to offer, through the hands of Our Lady, a fast or some penance in food and drink, in order to obtain above all the conversion of my heart.
Sources Ad Sensum:
Code of Canon Law
Calls of the Message of Fatima
