Fasting is the worst!No matter how much I learn of its physical and spiritual benefits, I have had a bear of a time getting myself to enjoy the process of fasting and abstinence. Now that you’re sufficiently scandalized by my laxness, let me explain what God through his Church expects of us and how it’s one of the best ways to respond to God’s love for us.
Sacrifice is the most human response to being loved. We are ready to do whatever it takes to please the one we love. We do it for their good, but also because we know we will benefit from their happiness in turn. In the Old Testament, sacrifice entailed losing good meat and produce to the fire of the altar, all in the hopes that God would be pleased to reward this loss with greater abundance in the future. Even on a nonreligious level, sacrificing present goods for future ones benefits us in the long run. By delaying our gratification for basic desires like food and entertainment and doing what’s difficult, prepare for an abundant future (saving money, spending time with loved ones, going to church).
Fasting (eating less or nothing at all) and abstaining (avoiding certain categories) from food fit into this logic. Health trends promote both these practices to health outcomes like losing weight, gaining focus, and living longer. The Church has long considered these bodily practices valuable because they force us to deny our most basic animal instinct of self-preservation through food. We voluntarily give up quantities and categories of food because we know “man does not live by bread alone” (Dt. 8:3, Mt. 4:4). There are values more important than bodily life, and we choose to curb earthly desires for meat or large quantities of food to recognize our dependence on God, to do penance for our sins, and to use these blessings within moderation.
The minimum response of love and sacrifice to God for those ages 14-60 (health exceptions acknowledged) is: 1) to abstain from meat every Friday of the year in honor of the Lord’s sacrifice (or perform another suitable penance), 2) to abstain from meat every Friday during Lent (no exceptions), and 3) to limit food intake on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday to less than two full meals. You are encouraged at whatever age to keep the level of fasting and abstinence that best aids your growth in the spiritual life. As I said before, I find even the minimum requirement challenging on those Fridays when I want to eat meat (all of them). If meat’s not a hard sacrifice, then push yourself to give up something truly meaningful for God. We become more capable of small daily sacrifices out of love for God and others if we practice these culinary sacrifices with the frequency that God and his Church desire.
Summary of Precept 4:
To abstain from eating meat on Fridays (or performing another suitable penance) and to observe the days of fasting (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday-less than two meals each day) established by the Church.
