The Gift of Fasting!

As I asked the students from our school this morning, "What liturgical season is closely associated with fasting?" The answer is of course, "LENT!" The three goods of the Lenten Season are: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. My follow up question was, "Is Lent the only time that you can fast?" Yes or No? The answer is, "NO!" Fasting is a gift that we can use at all times. When we fast, we take away something that we are used to, and that will hopefully make us grow in our awareness of God's presence in our lives. It helps us in our prayer life. When we think of fasting we think of cutting back on our food intake, but there are other things that we can fast from: television, radio, computer, shopping, and the list can go on. Hopefully during those times of fast we spend in prayer, reading the Bible, or other spiritual works. This time of fasting is to help us in our relationship with God and one another. Fasting is found in the Bible and we see it in today's gospel, Luke 5:33-39. Jesus says that his disciples will fast when the bridegroom is taken away, but while the bridegroom is among them, they will continue to eat and drink. We live the gift of fasting everyday because we have a longing for Heaven. We look forward to the joys of eternal life. We know that our mission here on earth continues. A mission to proclaim the Good News and to live our faith to the fullest. This time of fasting prepares us for the glory that is to be revealed so we need to pray, we need to get our lives in order so that when that time comes, God will welcome us into His eternal Kingdom. Fasting is good penance but it is also a gift. Let us continue to use that gift wisely and make it a meaningful part of our lives and our faith. Blessings to you!!!