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With Lent starting in a couple days, I thought I would share my thoughts on fasting, how we're all a bunch of gluttons, and how we can, and should, do better.
Medieval fasting during lent, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, involved 40 days of fasting (all days except Sundays) No food was allowed until 3pm, and even then no meat, eggs, dairy, or sex. There may also have been complete fasts as well on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Today's law requires only abstinence from meat on Fridays, and abstinence and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (a fast being slackened to simply meaning 1 regular meal and 2 smaller meals). This requirement is clearly very easy compared to the old way.
I am not calling for a return to the old way. I'm calling for doing MORE than the old way.
Why do we need to fast? Remember the scripture: in Matthew 17, the disciples were unable to drive the demon out of a sick man. Jesus drove out the demon, and, when the disciples asked how He did so, He said "But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting."
So, there are types of demons that cannot be cast out without fasting. And what did Jesus mean by fasting? Well, when Jesus Himself fasted for 40 days - which is the origin of Lent - we read in Luke 4:2 that "He ate nothing at all during those days"
If there are demons that cannot be cast out except by fasting, and fasting, as Jesus practiced it, means eating nothing at all, we certainly fall very short of that with our present practice.
To be clear, our current laws are valid. Disciplines, unlike Doctrine, can be changed, and even changed for the worse. Many would argue that our lowered requirements are for the worse. Either way, remember that these laws are the bare minimum - never strive for the bare minimum.
"Well," you might say, "I'm not Jesus." Leaving aside the fact that we are called to imitate Christ, here is a more secular example: Angus Barbieri. From 1965-66, Barbieri fasted for 382 days straight, taking only vitamins and 0 calorie drinks. He went from 456 to 180 lbs.
"But I'm not 450 pounds!" Good. I'm not saying we should do a year of fasting. I'm not even saying, necessarily, that we should go for 40. But it shows the simple fact - if you have excess body fat on you, you can fast, and fast hard. Body fat is food.
For more info on extended fasting and health, http://www.3010.fit/fasting/ is the best summary I know of (I have no affiliation with them and endorse nothing else of theirs). Of course, their info comes from Cole Robinson, but this is a nice summary. Cole is also crazy, in a good way.
Basically, put salt and potassium in your water, and consume nothing else during an extended fast. No snacks - that will make your body enter starvation mode - eating muscle - whereas a complete fast is muscle-sparing, and has many health benefits (see above).
Back to the Church: following the fasting laws has gotten easier over the years. On the other hand, life has gotten more comfortable. Should we not react in the opposite fashion? If we have a desk job, should we not fast MORE than the ancient soldiers and fishermen?
I call for EVERY able-bodied Catholic to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday - a complete fast, nothing but water. If you're up for it, do more. If you are fat, do much more. The easiest way to start is a 72 hour fast - it breaks the fear of not eating.
My record is 5 1/2 days of complete fasting. My goal is to break that record this lenten season. I will update tomorrow with what my full plan is - I'm still working on it.
If you are struggling with some vice, especially vices of lust, fast. If are trying to quit porn, fast. Lust is a sin of the appetite, and you must mortify your appetite. Remember the words of Christ: "But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting."
Do we not wish to become saints? Then why do we not fast as the saints did? Do we not wish to imitate Christ? Then why do we not fast as He did?
“Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise.
“Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise.
Fasting is a good safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. "
Fasting repels temptations, anoints unto piety; it is the comrade of watchfulness and the artificer of chastity. In war it fights bravely, in peace it teaches stillness.” - St. Basil the Great
