Fasting: The Exercise for the Soul

The gospel reading today is relatively short. Yet in its shortness it perfectly illustrates what a Catholic --- the lay Catholic, most especially --- must go through in pursuing one's path to holiness.

The gospel mentions (1) the 40 days of fasting, (2) the temptation of Christ, (3) the death of John the Baptist and the beginning of Christ's ministry. Let me expound on these.

1. 40 Days of Fasting

When we temporarily deprive our bodies of food, we temporarily detach ourselves from the world, mute its influence and allow our spirit to manifest itself with minimal distraction. It's not as easy as it sounds though. Many succumb to the pain of withdrawing from food that we regularly crave.

This is why fasting can only be done voluntarily. (When done involuntarily, it's called starving one's self and that's not good). It is the will to suspend eating that  makes fasting a spiritual exercise. It brings us to a state of being that's a tad closer to our immortal God.

In my experience, fasting can happen in a number of ways.

• The most common is detaching one's self from food. 
• The other is detaching one's self to one's gadgets (oh yeah, it requires will power to let go of social media these days, for instance, or simply scrolling whatever you have on your smart phone). 
• Still another is detaching one's self from one's hobbies --- giving up reading for instance and spend it on reflecting.

To be effective, fasting needs to be done at a sufficient amount of time. Jesus spent 40 days of fasting in the dessert. Catholics today are called to fast only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. That isn't much, really, isn't it? Any extra you do would be an exercise of your will and God would laud you for it.

Come to think, we see no other better example than from Jesus himself. The act of coming to earth as human to live and die among men was already, by itself, an act of fasting on God's part. He gave up his almightiness to live among us. Through Jesus Christ we know God understands us and loves us anyhow. In fact, God loves us so much he had to do all these for us!

2. Temptation

Ahhh, this happens everyday. But you're most susceptible when your body is weak and when your will is even weaker. This is why most sexual infidelities happen during moments of dryness in one's relationship with one's husband or wife. This is why corruption happens when one sinks in the perception of "not having enough" (which can happen to both materially rich or poor people, by the way).

But temptation also defines us, particularly when we are in the state of fasting. When our stomach is full it is easy to say "No" to a hamburger. But when our stomach is empty, crumbs look like a treasure. Our ability to say "No" to food with an empty stomach, or with a bleeding heart, or with a bleeding finances, is purely an act of will, an act of spirit, which brings joy to God who has given the *will* to us as a precious gift.

Jesus was tempted too! One can say how could the devil possibly tempt Jesus. But know this, Jesus was also human at this time. He needed food to survive. He needed resources to accomplish it. He also needed protection from those who'd seek to destroy Him. Satan challenged him in all these counts.

Now remember that God already manifested as himself during the time of Moses. Did that change the hearts of the Israelites? No, sir. Israelites wanted someone more real. To them, yes, God was in Sinai. But God was too far away to be felt. So they chose to build false gods much nearer to them. They built gods they could touch.

So, in response to their prayers, Jesus came. By tempting Jesus to create bread from stones, protect himself through the angels, and to exercise power on earth, Satan basically wanted to derail God's plan! Jesus did exactly the opposite: Jesus lived and earned a living among men, made himself vulnerable and preached God's message of salvation purely out of love and never by coercion. It was an act of will on Jesus to preach the gospel the way he did.

3. Death of John the Baptist and the Beginning of Christ's ministry

The death of John the Baptist was sad news for Jesus. It was also a signal for Him to start His public ministry. John was a good man, a very Godly man, and a very righteous man. John was a also a very vocal man. He did not shy away from speaking against the sin of the human king. Because of that he died.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.
Mark 1:14-15

Jesus foresaw what would happen to him in just a matter of months. Yet did he shy away from public ministry? No, he commenced it. We all know that Jesus, as a human being, was also subject to fear. The agony in the garden was a testimony of that. Yet he went on anyway.

The agents of fear is attempting to grip the Christian world today. Terrorists wantonly kill Christians in the open, believing that they're doing it for God. Who'd dare speak against these inhuman acts?

Pope Francis did. These terrorists dream of sacking Vatican City, the smallest state in the world without an army. Yet Pope Francis still spoke against their misdeeds.

We, Catholics, are expected to do no less wherever we are. But let's do all these out of love, out of charity, because that was the space where Jesus came from:

Christ's Commission Continues

The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Such message continues to this day and every Catholic is called to deliver that message to each person we meet. How exactly shall we do it?

Let's do it exactly the way Jesus did it:

1. Let's fast and commune with God
2. Let's say No to temptation
3. Go out and proclaim God's Word

Father Chito Vicente, a very good priest, spoke to my community just last night. He gave some practical tips on how to do proclaim God's Word:

1. Personal Sharing - just tell people about how Christ has touched you, what the cross means to you, etc.
2. Our Actions - this refers to both big and small, such as going to mass, following traffic rules. Actions speak louder than words, so we say. Saint Francis of Assissi believes so too. Being a good citizen has a lot to do with being a good Christian.
3. Prayer at Home - always pray sincerely before meals and set aside time for the whole family to pray together.
4. Share the Word through whatever means available to you, including social media. Technology these days is available to everyone, including you --- blogging platform (such as Wordpress or Blogger), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. You can use them to know what's going on. You can use them to let everyone know about God's Word.

May God bless you and your household!