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The Biblical and Spiritual Understanding of Prayerful Fasting & Abstinence Fasting and abstinence is a prayerful form of self-denial and discipline. It is another means to union with God. Catholics deny themselves food, drink, sleep or comfort, not because the body is evil or demands punishment but: (1) Fasting and Abstinence is a form of prayer of petition to God. (2) Fasting and Abstinence helps to remind us of God’s goodness and of our utter dependence on him. (3) To detach ourselves temporarily from some good things of the world in order to focus more fully on God and to hear Him speak to us more clearly and to unite our will with His will for us. Preparation for Easter, Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection includes a time of inner-renewal, penance, and turning away from sin. We do this during Lent in a special way but also throughout the whole of the year. During Lent we re-live the experience of dying and rising with Christ (Romans 6:3-4). Finally, acts of penance without true inner spirit of renewal are lifeless. True sorrow for sin is necessary for true conversion and an individual assent to having a living faith-filled relationship with Jesus. To share Christ’s cross is to be freed by Him ever more fully from the consequences of the fall of man. To share in Jesus’ suffering is to share in His glory (Romans 8:17; Matthew 16:24). Prayer, charity, giving alms or money to those in need is also involved in penance. All acts of penance are part of the total conversion called for by baptism and the total renewal in Christ. God is more important than food and other earthly things. We fast to share in the pain of those who do not have enough to eat. On Friday, the day Christ sacrificed his life for us sinners, we make this small sacrifice to discipline ourselves (1 Corinthians 9:27) and to overcome our sinful tendencies, that we might be more fully joined to Jesus and to the world’s hungry and deprived – all for His Glory. Additional scriptures for fasting and abstinence are: Mark 2:18-19; Acts 13:2, 14:23; 2 Corinthians 11:27; Matthew 17:21; 1 Corinthians 9:27; 1 Samuel 7:7-16; 1 Kings 21:25-29; Joel 2:12-13 |