"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
Self-denial, then, is not a mask for self-contempt, but the necessary means for achieving self-mastery; and self-mastery makes possible our self-giving and self-fulfillment. Sin, according to this view, is not wanting too much, but rather settling for too little! It’s settling for self-gratification rather than self-fulfillment.
– First Comes Love, Scott Hahn
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
A timely warning, given that Lent is nearly over…
[Syncletica] also said, “The devil sometimes sends a severe fast which is too prolonged; the devil’s disciples do this as well as holy men. How do we distinguish the fasting of our God and King from the fasting of that tyrant the devil? Clearly by its moderation.
“Throughout your life, then, you ought to keep an unvarying rule of fasting. Do you fast four or five days on end and then lose your spiritual strength by eating a feast? That really pleases the devil!
“Everything which is extreme is destructive. So do not suddenly throw away your armour, or you may be found unarmed in the battle and easily captured. Our body is the armour, our soul is the warrior. Take care of both, and you will be ready for whatever comes.
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
“[Fasting is] an apprenticeship in self-mastery…is a training in human freedom… [E]ither man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy.”
– Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2339
You know who you are…
For the last six weeks Catholics have been abstaining from meat on Fridays as part of their Lenten observance. Lent is over!…Easter is here!…does that mean that we can stop now?
Christians have historically done penance on Fridays to remember our Lord’s Passion, as well as on Wednesdays to recall Judas’ betrayal:
…fast on [Wednesday] and [Friday] – The Didache (1st Century), Chapter 8
There has been some confusion over this subject in recent years, but Canon Law states:
The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent – Canon 1250
So, it’s clear that every Friday is a penitential day. But what kind of penance is required?