Useful and necessary
Cassian said, “We came from Palestine to Egypt, and visited one of the hermits. After he had welcomed us, we asked him, “When you receive guests, why don’t you fast? In Palestine they do.”
He answered, “Fasting is always possible but I cannot keep you here for ever. Fasting is useful and necessary, but we can choose to fast or not fast. God’s law demands from us perfect love. I receive Christ when I receive you, so I must do all I can to show you love. When I have said goodbye to you, I can take up my rule of fasting again. “The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them; when he is taken from them, then they can fast” (Matt 9:15).”‘
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
During Lent, we don’t fast on Sundays and l’m thinking it’s tied to this passage. I was also taught that God wants to give us that one day of rest, so we shouldn’t try to fast in attempts to show off how capable we are. What about a personal fast though? When l have a special intention, l fast for an entire period, including Sundays. Do you think that’s wrong?
>During Lent, we don’t fast on Sundays and l’m thinking it’s tied to this passage
Historically, Sundays haven’t been fast days because Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, a mini Easter, and therefore a day of feasting not fasting.
>We shouldn’t try to fast in attempts to show off how capable we are
If that’s why we’re fasting then we’ve already lost 🙁 Here’s what one of my spiritual fathers wrote on the subject of Sundays in Lent:
“A few basic ground principles. Sundays in Lent are Sundays OF Lent. These Sundays are Lent, but they are not counted to the 40 days because they are still the day we commemorate the resurrection. Sundays are never days of fasting, but they can be days of penance, and in Lent this holds true. Each Friday does not commemorate Good Friday to the degree that Sunday is the day of the resurrection, which is our Sabbath and of unique degree. Each Friday is a day we keep in mind Good Friday, but that is something quite different. The liturgy tells us all. A basic rule of thumb – if the Gloria is said or sung, there is no fasting and no penance. If it is not sung or said, then penance still obtains. So, on the basis of the above, Sundays in Lent, being Sundays of Lent, are still days of penance, but not of fasting. The Gloria is not sung or said on these Sundays, so any penance we have voluntarily taken on should be maintained. It would be no sin if we did not, but it would be a failure in our resolve. The Church gives us several high feasts and solemnities to relieve the burden of our penance, depending on where you are, but the Annunciation is a universal day of rest from penance.”
I think fasting is not as necessary as avoiding the deadly sin of gluttony. The body incarnate being the temple of God He obviously wanted us not to undernourish it?
Hey CrisisMaven,
Thanks for your comment, and welcome to Restless Pilgrim 🙂
I think there are a few assumptions just beneath the surface of your comment…
Firstly, fasting doesn’t necessarily mean fasting from food. Although it often does involve food, fasting can include fasting from certain material luxuries.
Secondly, the purpose of fasting isn’t just to avoid the sin of gluttony. Fasting has many purposes, but one of the most important is to strengthen the exercise of self-control, which is our weapon against all sin, not just gluttony. If I don’t have the self-control to abstain from food for a shot period of time, am I really likely to have the self-control to abstain from drunkenness, sexual sin etc?
Finally, your conception of fasting appears to only view it in detrimental terms to the body. However, there’s lots of proof that periodic fasting is a good thing for the body. I did a quick Google and this was the first link I came across.
Given the language you’ve used, I’m going to assume you’re a Christian. If that’s not the case then please correct me. However, if you are a Christian then I assume you hold the Bible to be authoritative and would therefore want to follow the exhortations to fasting found in both the Old and New Testaments. As such, I’d invite you to take a look at this article written by my friend Dominic on the subject of fasting and he spends quite a bit of time looking at its Scriptural basis.
Hope that helps.
God bless,
David.