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Show 167: The 2nd Commandment of the Church, Fasting and Abstinence · The Uncensored Catholic

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Speaker 1: A Hey, y'all, welcome today's show. We will continue today
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discussing the six commandments or precepts of the Church. This
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one has to do with fasting and very very interesting
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and observance, you know, basically observance of holy days and
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days of fasting and unerstaining and all that. But we'll
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continue first where we left off yesterday in radio replies,
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and we're discussing papal infallibility. The questioner asks, if God
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makes the Pope infallible, why does he need theologians to
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go into questions first and arrange what he is to define?
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And name of reply infallibility. These are the two priests
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Rumbling Cardi, who wrote this classic book. I should say
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infallibility is not inspiration. If God inspired the Pope and
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his official teachings, there would be no need of human research.
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But infallibility means that the Pope acts according to all
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the laws of ordinary prudence, studying comparating the doctrines of
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the Church before coming to a decision. When research has concluded,
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the Pope may decide simply that the matter does not
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warrant definition. But if he does decide to define a
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given doctrine, the Holy Spirit will certainly preserve him from
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any error in doing so, and the defined dogma will
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owe its infallibility not to previous human research or ability,
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precisely to the assisting influence of the Holy Spirit. Person continues.
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The early Church did not admit the pope was infallible,
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nor any pope before Pious the ninth claim such a privilege,
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and they answer, the doctrine is contained in Christ's words
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to Saint Peter, and the early Church was well aware
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of this fact. Tertullian wrote in the year two hundred
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concerning Saint Paul's rebuke of Saint Peter. If Peter was
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rebuked by Paul, it was certainly for a in conduct
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not in his teaching. Saint Cyprian around two fifty six
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AD wrote of the See of Rome, would heretics dare
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to come to the very seat of Peter, where the
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apostles faith is derived, and whither no errors can come.
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Saint Augustine in the fourth century gives us the famous
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expression Rome has spoken, the cause is finished. The early
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popes had little need to insist upon a doctrine which
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was denied by none of the faithful. The Council of
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Ephesus in four thirty one thus expressed its firm conviction.
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No one doubt, nay, it is known to all ages
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that Peter, the chief and head of the Apostles, the
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pillar of the faith and foundation of the Church, received
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the received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord
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Jesus Christ, Peter, who even to these are own days,
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and always in his successors, lives and exercises his authority.
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Fifty one, Pope Leo wrote his decision to the bishops
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of the Church assembled at Chalcedon, and when the letter
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was read, all cried out, Peter has spoken through Leo.
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The person says A later infallible pope condemned Honorius Honorious.
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I guess this way you pronounced it for having talk heresy. First,
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Honorious did not give an infallible decision concerning the matter
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in question. Second, his personal opinion was not heretical. Within
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a few years of the death of an honorious Pope,
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John the fourth wrote, some men have distorted the meaning
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of Honor Honorious to their own purpose and contrary to
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the truth. Thirdly, no later pope condemned Honor Honorious as
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a heretic, but for imprudence and neglecting to settle the
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controversy of the time and thus prevent the growth of
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further heresy. That sounds like but Francis rather imprudent and
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allowing there to be confusion. In my personal opinion, he
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was blamed rather for not using his infallibility than for
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misusing it. Yes, I mean if Pope Francis would come
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out and make official statements on doctrine, things would be
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a lot more clearer than the confusion he seems to propagate.
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On certain topics, they ask, if the popes are infallible,
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the laws of earlier popes must be those of later popes.
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Yet the laws of the Catholic Church have varied, and
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they answer, it is not necessary that all the laws
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of earlier popes must be those of later popes. Infallibility
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concerns doctrine and morals not necessarily discipline. Disciplinary laws adapted
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to particular chimes change with the times, and the person says,
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did not bad popes do acts which their successors thought wrong,
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And they answer, yes, to cond up with some popes
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and their personal lives is impossible to justify. They ought
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to have been thoroughly ashamed of themselves, And I think
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we can do just one more question and answer here, Well,
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two more questions and answers, and they will wrap up
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this little subject. Then where was the protection of Christ
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the person asked, with his church preserving her as a
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church in spite of the personal iniquity of these men,
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I have never claimed that a pope can do no wrong.
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As a man, he will have temptations like other men,
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and he will be free to resist those temptations or
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to consent to them. After all, he must save his
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own soul like anyone else. He is not going to
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be preserved from sin in spite of himself. Why should
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he be compelled to be good? Goodness results in heaven,
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and heaven must be earned. Every man, infallible or not,
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must have his own struggle to be good to save
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his soul. And the Pope is not, and has never
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claimed to be impeccable. Remember, impeccable is not the same
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as infallible. Infallible simply means the Pope cannot be wrong
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through the power of the Holy Spirit. When officially making
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statements on doctrine and morals, officially teaching from the chair
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of Saint Peter, impeccability would be perfection, no sin, whatsoever,
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and that's not guaranteed. In fact, I mean, we can
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look at Saint Peter denying Christ. We can see that,
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you know, one of the apostles Jesus shows was Judas.
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Jesus gives no protection to any Christian against their own
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proclivity to sin and error in their personal lives and opinions.
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Only to the Pope in official matters of morals and
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doctrines of the Church. But for our sakes, not his own.
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God endows him with infallibility that he may tell us
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with certainty what we must believe and do in order
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to save ourselves. Whether he lives up to it himself
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is quite another manner and his own business. It's quite
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possible to give splendid advice and not to live up
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to it oneself, that's for sure. And finally, what an
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elastic system. The person says, the pope can be evil
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and your doctrines from a sink of iniquity will be good. Well,
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here's an anti Catholic for you. And then the answer,
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The pope cannot be evil in the sense that he
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is free to be wicked. He is not morally free
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to do as he pleases. But if some rare and
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individual pope did happen unfortunately to be wicked. Then we
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say that God would infallibly preserve him from error in
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such ex ex cathedra definitions as he might be called
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upon to make for the good of the whole church.
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Ex cathedra is when He gives us says, this is
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official doctrine. In teaching, this is official morals of the
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Catholic Church. After all, under God's providence, the false prophet
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Belam and Chiafass, the Jewish priests, both men of evil dispositions,
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predicted and taught the truth in spite of themselves. All right,
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let's get on to the exhaustive explanation of the Catechism
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of the Catholic Church, Father Sparrago's classic work from the
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eighteen nineties, and we're onto the second commandment or precept
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of the Church. By the second Commandment of the Church,
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the priests step of fasting is laid upon us. Fasting
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is as ancient as the human race itself. Even in Paradise,
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it was enjoined upon man to abstain from the fruit
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of one tree. Moreover, certain meats were forbidden to the
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Jews port for instance, Salviticus eleven. On the day of propitiation,
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the Jews were not permitted to taste food for twenty
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four hours. Our Lord fasted forty days, so did Moses
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and Elias before him, and Saint John the Baptist the
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Precursor fasted most rigorously. The Church has good reason for
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away in the obligation of fasting upon the faithful. The
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laws of the Church in regard to fastening are in
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reality very strict. They have, however, been largely relaxed by
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the bishop to suit exigencies of time and place. The
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rule of fastening was originally so stringent that on the
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fast days not only was abstinence from flesh meat enjoined,
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but milk, eggs, and butter were also prohibited, and no
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food was to be taken before sundown. But owing to
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the increase of constitutional weakness and still more of the
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spread of religious indifference in course of centuries, the rule
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has been more and more relaxed. Bishops are empowered to
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prescribe each for his own diocese on what day's meat
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is permitted. Hence the rule varies in different dioceses, and
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it is well ongoing to another diocese to ascertain what
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the rule is. In that part. There are three kinds
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of fasting at present, one abstinent from abstinence from flesh meat,
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two take making one full meal only in the day,
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and three strict fasting, in which both of these are
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enjoined the Second Commander of the Church. In the Second
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Commander of the Church, we are ordered to abstain on
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all Fridays of the year, and to fast during the
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forty days of Lent, on the inverre days, and the
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vigils of certain feasts. That's the eighteen nineties, and would
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that were still true in the case everywhere, But the
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Church recognized, as I've mentioned several times, that especially in
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the Americas, there are many more people living inland than
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in coastal areas or near rivers or large lakes than
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had been the case in Europe and much of Asia.
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So it was not possible for many people to get
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fish every Friday. If they could, it was going to
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be very expensive. Seafood used to be the common meat
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of the masses, I mean, wealthy people eight beef and
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pork and chicken, and the poor had like ten oysters
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for a penny. And of course now oysters are a
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dollar or two a piece usually, I mean nice fresh
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oysters from the coast, preferably unshucked, but if you want
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to buy them on the half shell. Oysters are my
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favorite food. So I long for the time when oysters
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were like ten for a benny. In early America, in Massachusetts,
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they actually had to pass a law saying that prisoners
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could only be served lobster once or twice a week.
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I mean that people didn't. People thought it was inhumane
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to have to eat lobster or too often. Seafood was,
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especially freshwater fish, the food of the poor. And people
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still think that way about catfish and such, which is
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ridiculous because properly cooked catfish is absolutely wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
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So it's bluegilling bass. And I mean, if I had
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my druthers, as we say in the South, what I
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would rather do, my druthers, I'd rather have this. I'd
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probably live on oysters and crab and maybe a little
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steak every now and then, and I'd be so satisfied.
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I mean, I love seafood, so for me, eating fish
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on Fridays is a pleasure, But it is actually considered
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by the church to be a pennance. Well, and especially
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before the railroads and refrigerated freezer cars and all that.
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Anyone that lived inland, if you were anywhere between the
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Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes,
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or on the other side of that, basically anywhere between
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the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast, you're going to
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have a real hard time getting you fish on Fridays.
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So the Church lifted that requirement. I absolutely believe it
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is good to abstain from meat on Fridays if you
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possibly can, if you can afford it, if you have
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affordable options, if you have healthy options. I would not
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I mean, you know, I jokingly say, I mean even
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eat a filet of fish from McDonald's if you have to.
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That's not exactly healthy. Okay too, to salad would be
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a much better choice. But if you can, it's still
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very good to abstain from meat on Fridays. And of
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course you could just eat salads and cheese. You could
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have any veget you could have mac and cheese in
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the early well again and Father Sparago's time, and he
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was even saying in his time, dairy was allowed, dairy
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and eggs. So you know, the Church has made many
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accommodations to modern life, where we don't live for near
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rivers and waterways anymore, and where meat is no longer
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a luxury. I think most anywhere, fresh fish, fresh clams,
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fresh oysters, crab, meat, certainly lobster, all the stuff I
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love is far more expensive than a hamburger. So you know,
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the Church understands. But if you can, and you know,
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I love to fish, I mean that's like my It's
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the thing I've loved to do most since I was
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a small child. So I love the whole process of it.
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And you know, if I can go fishing, I can
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eat fish for free on Fridays, so all the better.
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But if you can abstain from meat on Fridays, do so. Now.
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The inverer days are have also been lax, and those
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were days of fasting and absence that were required in
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Fosh Barago's time. No longer. But again good if you
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can do it. So let's start with meat on Friday.
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And remember everything Father Sparaga says about this is not
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it's not entirely applicable to us in twenty twenty four,
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at least in America. Check your diocese. But I think
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this is pretty much universal. Now, he said, not only
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is meat prohibited, but all dishes in preparation which it enters, fish, turtle,
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and shellfish may be eaten. I love turtle, and that
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would also include frog legs, and let me tell you,
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frog legs and turtle absolute delicacy. So again, not much
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of a penance for me. I mean, I can get
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really excited about such dishes. But anyway, he says, fish, turtle,
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and shellfish may be eaten, also eggs, milk, and butter.
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In almost all countries, the Church has forbidden the use
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of meat because Christ sacrificed his flesh for us, also
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because meat is an article of food easily dispensed with,
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and yet what man generally likes the best. Another reason
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is to remind us that the lusts of the flesh
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are to be resisted Galatians five nineteen, and these are
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fostered by eating meat. I'm not sure that's really the case,
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but you know, well, better men than me in the
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history of the Church have said it is, so who knows.
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All I can tell you is, when I was a teenager,
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I was a vegetarian, and yeah, that didn't really help
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me a whole lot whatsoever. I actually got a lot
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more control over my passions and such as a meat eater,
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and I did as a teenage vegetarian without a doubt.
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Some people quite our Lord's words, not those things which
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go into the mouth to file man Matthew fifteen eleven,
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as opposed to the prohibition. But he also said, the
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things that come from the heart, those things defile man
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Matthew fifteen eighteen. Disabears to the church, comes from the heart,
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and this it is which defiles, not the actual meat.
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If Christmas Day falls on a Friday, meat is allowed,
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because our Lord would not have as fast as a
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season of rejoicing Matthew nine fifteen. The feasts of the
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Church or fall on a Friday, you don't have you
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don't observe the absence. If you choose to, you really
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shouldn't on one of those days. It's a feast day.
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I mean really. In the early ages, the use of
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meat was also forbidden on Saturday. The original object of
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this prohibition was to oppress, to suppress, the observe it
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of the Jewish Sabbath day, which still lingered among Christian converts.
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And yes, we could show historical evidence from early Christians
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to our seven day adventistentaur observant friends hopefully and show
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that the first Christians, those the apostles, and those who
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learned directly from them, did everything they could to convince
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the first Christians not to observe the Jewish Sabbath. It
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is now done away with, Yet Christians often impost summer
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restriction upon their amusement on Saturday in view of better
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sanctifying the Morrow. During the forty days of Limp, only
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one full meal is to be taken as part as
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a partial imitation of Our Lord's fast of forty days
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and as a suitable preparation for celebrating the festival of Easter. Well, again,
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the church has really lacking that in observation that, well,
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most people have trouble fasting for forty days, okay, and
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I mean Fridays, we don't eat until sundown and then
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we have our meal. We can have two small snacks
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that don't equal one meal during the day and ash
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Wednesday of course as well. Really, that was a church
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just understanding that most of us who work either physically
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or mentally for a living, who are not not taken
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religious orders, have a lot of trouble doing our work
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when we're hungry. You wouldn't want a pilot, for instance,
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fasting for forty days, only eating one small meal at
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night and flying your airplane. I mean, I think we
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can definitely understand why the Church would laxen this one,
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and was very wise in so doing. The forty days
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of Lent began on ash Wednesday and last until Easter Day.
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The Sundays alone are not fasting days. Well, as I
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just said, now we only observe it on Fridays and
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ash Wednesday. The Lnden Fast was instituted by the Apostles
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and commemoration of Our Lord's Fast in the Wilderness Matthew Fov.
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It is a time of pennance and sorrow for sins.
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Hence violet vestimates are worn at the altar, and you
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know many priests and religious do so follow this. One
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of my favorite priests that I got to know probably
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ten to fifteen years ago. He's now my senior, Jeffrey Egham,
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presumably still living. At that point he was Father Ingham. Brilliant,
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brilliant man. He would remind you of the old I
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guess what sixties seventies Sherlock Holme series that ran on
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BBC Jeremy Brett, I think was the actor's name. That's
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what we look like, real bright eyes and long, thin fingers.
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And he would lose so much weight during that. I
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have no doubt that he observed the full forty days
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of fasting except for Sundays. The man literally would drop
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and he was never heavy. But I mean, you know,
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he certainly i'll stare, and very much a man of
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the intellect. Brilliant homilies. I mean, I wish I had
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recorded some of just his regular homilies, who were so wonderful.
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But I remember my priest's father, Gober one time said
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when you hear when Senor Ingham speak, you hear the
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voice of God. It was. He had this wonderful, like
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you know, sonorous quality to his voice, but it was
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also just absolutely brilliant. I mean, this was like a
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living a Quinas or Augustine. I mean, just really amazing,
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and probably weighed one hundred and fifty pounds normally, and
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during lent he'd probably dropped down to one hundred and
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twenty hundred ten. And that's fine for a priest who
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doesn't have to do any physical labor whatsoever, not not
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good for imagine a surgeon. You know with her hands
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shaky from fasting, you can't do it. Imagine the president
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with the nuclear codes. We don't want him to be
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all angry and ill from not eating, right, I mean, so, yeah,
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the church has for very obvious reasons. You don't want
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a cab driver, a bus driver, a school teacher. You
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don't want, I mean, imagine a bunch of teenagers in
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a high school getting all spacey and angry and ill
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and involatile because they're not eating. You know, obviously, nursing mothers.
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We can go down the list, and for that reason
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the people children and is sick and infirm are they
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don't have to fast on Fridays now either. So anyway,
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let's get back to what he was saying. It is
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natural to fast when we're in grief. I'm sure we've
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all experienced that when you're Some of us eat when
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we're sad, but I do. But when you're really worried
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about something, a lot of times you just forget to eat.
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Matthew nine fifteen. We ought to also during Lent to
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meditate upon our Lord's passion, which is commemorated in the
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Holy Week, and which usually forms the theme of the
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Lenton servants. By fasting meditation upon our Lord's passion, we
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most readily awake within ourselves the grace of contrition and
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consciousness of sin. The forty days of Lent are also
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a preparation for the Easter festival. In early times, the
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fast was much more rigorous. The primitive Christians ate no
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meat at all at the time and did not break
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their fast until evening. Even in the Middle Ages, meat
24:35
was prohibited and those who ate it were not admitted
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to the pastial communion. That's from the Council of Toledo
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in six point fifty three, and that's not Toledo, Ohio.
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By the way, those who broke the law were punished
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by the secular authority on the ground of contempt for religion.
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The rule of fasting is made very easy nowadays. All
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that the Church requires of us is to take only
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one full meal in the course of the day. A
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slight reflection is permitted in the morning, besides the evening coalation.
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I had no idea what that means. Drinking does not
25:10
break the fast. Yet we must only drink to quench
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our thorst thirst, and not in order to compensate for
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privations in the way of solid food. No one is
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required to keep the Fast of lit who is not
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attained the age of twenty one years. So even in
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the eighteen nineties that was the case. But now they
25:28
also allow two small two snacks during the day that
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don't constitute one meal, And that may be what he
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meant by a slight reflection is permitted in the morning
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beside the evening coalation. Yeah, I consider might aself to
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be fairly literate, but that one I'm not quite sure about.
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All right, we ought to keep the fast of the
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inbir days strictly in order to implore all my God
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to send us good priests and to thank him for
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the benefits received during the past quarter. Now we probably
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should still keep the Inbre days, and we really ought to,
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but it's no longer acquired. The Inverre days are three
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in number, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at the commencement of
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each quarter, each quarter of the year, so in other words,
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you know, every four months of old These were appointed
26:24
seasons for ordination of the priesthood. The Inbre days of
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winter of the winter season following the third week of
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Advent of the summer spring quarter. In the second week
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of Lent in the summer in Witsun week, and in
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autumn the third week of September. So yeah, good luck
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finding a calendar that tells you when Whitsun Week is.
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Even the Catholic calendars I get from the church don't
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tell me that. So anyway, we don't really observe these
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much anymore, even though we really probably should. Christ enjoyed
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upon us the duty of praying for good priests and
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the words the Harvey indeed is great, but the laborers
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are few. Pray ye there for the Lord at the harvest,
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that he send forth laborers into his harvest Matthew nine
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thirty seven thirty eight. We are also bound to fast
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on vigials of certain feat feasts in order to better
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prepare ourselves for celebrating those feasts. I to the best
27:24
of my knowledge, we're not required to do this anymore either.
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But you know, as I've said, the more we observe
27:30
these old traditions, the more our Catholic faith becomes ingrained
27:35
into our daily lives. It's really really very important, actually,
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and we need to get back to a lot of
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this stuff. You know, I would love to see every
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church have a Latin mess, but you know, I guess
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Pe Francis would disagree with me on that, and well, yeah,
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you know, I'm not going to say anything further. He's
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the Pope. The better our preparation, the more bun are
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the graces we obtain on the feast itself. The early
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Christians were accustomed to assemble together on the ease of
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great festivals, to pass the night and watching in prayer
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and insisting at the holy sacrifice of the Mess. This
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they did because they held the service in the daytime,
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they would have been liable to disturbance on the part
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of the Pagans. The early Church did things a little
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bit differently, also, oftentimes not to be noticed by the Pagans.
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You got to remember, the early Church was very much persecuted.
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Our Lord himself used often to pass whole nights in
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prayer Luke six ' twelve. When at a later period
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the attendance of the nightly services fell off and inconveniences arose,
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the popes judged it to be advisable to transfer the
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celebration of the vigil to the daytime. The visual of
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Christmas is the only one in which the nightly celebration
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has been retained up to the present time with all
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the others, nothing so but the past. And you gotta
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love a Christmas Eve visual mass I mean and wonderful.
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These visuals are the days preceding the three great festivals,
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says Christmas Eve, Holy Saturday, and Saturday before Pentecost. The
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evil of the Assumption is also kept in most dioceses.
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But the rule respecting the fast fairies. It is by
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no means to desire the church that we should fast
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to the injury of our health, or that we should
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thereby be hindered from performing the duties of our station. Consequently,
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persons whose health this week are permitted to eat meat
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on Friday. The sick, those who are recovering from an illness,
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very aged people, and children under seven come within this rule.
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Children under seven, being incapable of sin, have no need
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for penance. Persons who have to exert themselves very much,
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either physically or mentally, are in some dioceses dispensed from
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the Friday abstinence. This, however, does not depend upon the
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nature of their calling so much as the constitution of
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each individual and the amount of work he has to
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get through daily. A dispensation is granted by some bishops,
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to those who have to travel on Friday, as well
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as to those whose meals are provided for them, such
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as servants, students, soldiers, et cetera, railway guards. And to
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those who are staying for their health. That's some health resort.
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The poor may meat, which is given to them as alms,
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otherwise they would have to go hungry. Yet all classes
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of people ought to endeavor to abstain fixed on strictest fasts,
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such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Above all, those
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who eat meat on absence days must be beware lest
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they give scandal to others. Saint Paul warns the faithful,
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thus take heed, lest perhaps your liberty become a stumbling
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block to the week. For Corinthians eight nine, and for
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his own party, says, if meat scandalize my brother, I
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will never eat flesh Verse Corinthians five thirteen. Persons are
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dispensed and fasting i e. From taking only one mill
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and twenty four hours, who are under twenty one years
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of age, who are constitutionally delicate, or who have continuous
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have or who have continued strenuous exertion, whether physical or mental.
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Young people who have not who have not, young people
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who have not done growing require more than one full
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meal a day of invalids. We've already spoken the class
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who are engage in active and laborious work. We include
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in those who exert themselves for temporal or spiritual welfare
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of their fellow men, such as confessors, priests, catechist schoolmasters, nurses, physicians, magisters, etc.
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Who frequently require to take something to sustain their strength.
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When the influenza was so prevalent, a general dispensation from
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fasting was granted. The command to keep ourselves in health
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is given by God and as the law of our namesture.
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Whereas the precept of fasting is laid upon us by
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the Church, and the law of God is paramount above
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the law of the Church. Those who cannot fast should
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substitute for it some other good work. Confessors have ordinary
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power to dispense them from fasting and impose some other
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good work, prayers or alms in its place. No one
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ought to carry fasting to an excess, for what God
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requires from us is our reasonable service Romans twelve to one.
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He who overdoes fasting is like a coachman who whips
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his horses into a gallop and runs the risk of
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upsetting the carriage, or like an overlay ended vessel that
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is easily capsized. Even some of the saints went to
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an excess in fasting, and afterwards much regretted it. No
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one ought to venture to do more than the rule
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prescribes without the advice of his confessor. Obedience is far
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better than self willed piety. As a rule, it is preferable,
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preferable to be temperate every day of the week, rather
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than to fast rigorously on one or two days. Fasting
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is intended to destroy the evil lust of the body,
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not the body itself. We must deal with our bodies
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as a parent deals with his child. He does not
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chastise him when he is docile, but when he is disobedient. Fasting,
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like medicine, must be used in moderation, or it becomes injurious.
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Fasting is beneficial both to the soul and the body.
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The intellectual powers are sharpened by moderation and our food.
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At here we go again, Nabu Chadnos sores court. Daniel
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ate the pulse and drank water, and he surpassed an
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understanding knowledge and wisdom of all the wise men of
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the kingdom. Daniel one by fastening, the soul is fortified
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and enabled both to bring the body into subjection first
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Corinthias nine twenty seven, and overcome the gentations of the devil.
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The fortress surrenders when the garrison is starved out, so
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the body, in her stress of hunger, yields to the
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will and the understanding. Our bodies have to be tamed
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like wild animals. The devil regards the flesh as his
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best ally. He knows that the enemy at a man's
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fireside could do him the worst and greatest harm. By fasting,
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we put our foe into iron, so that he cannot
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wage war against us. The birds of prey love a
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fat price. He does not make the half starve one
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his victim. The athlete who refraineth himself in all things
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for Corinthians nine twenty five, in preparation for the contest,
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is most likely to conquer. A high degree of virtue
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is also acquired by means of fasting, and inclines man
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to prayer. It helps him to overcome himself, to be gentle, patient,
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and chaste. It makes him resemble the angels, who neither
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eat nor drink in the same proportion that the animal
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part of our nature is lessened, our spiritual nature is invigorated.
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Like the skills of a balance. As one goes up,
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as one goes down, the other rises. Our health is
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improved and our life prolonged. By abstemiousness. That means abstaining
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is characteristic it. It is the parent of good health.
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The Hermits in the Theban Desert fasted rigorously, and they lived
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to be one hundred years old. Hippocrates, the father of medicine,
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reached an age of one hundred and forty years. This
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he attributed to the fact that he never fully satisfied
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his appetite. The wise man says, he that is temperate
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shall prolong his life Ecclesiastes. Somewhere in Ecclesiastes, a moderate
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man also enjoys wholesome and sound sleep. According to Ecclesiastes,
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by fasting we obtain from God the pardon of her sin,
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witnessed the Ninovites when they fasted by it. We also
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work off some of our purgatory. God hears and answers
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the prayers with those who fast. He heard the prayers
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of the centurion who fasten until the ninth hour Acts
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ten thirty, and he sent an angel to him. When
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Halafernes laid siege to Bethulia, the inhabitants took themselves to
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prayer and fasting, and they were delivered in a marvelous
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manner by Judith. Saint Augustine caused fasting an almed dimming.
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The two pinions of pro Fasting is a means of
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earning extraordinary graces, for God has ever been wont to
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recompense it with singular favors. After Moses had fasted, he
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was admitted to the honor of converse with God upon
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Mount Sinai. After Elias long fast, God appeared to him
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on Mount Horrepe three Kings nineteen. He who fast grows
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more and more spiritual. He is, in a measure divinized.
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Hence God vouchsaves to hold intercourse with him. Fasting is
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rewarded after death. Moses and Elias were presented at Our
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Lord's transfiguration because they alone of all the patriarchs, had
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fasted forty days as he did. Hence we see that
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the glory that Hence we see that glory is preserved
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in future life for those who fasten this world. In
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preface for Lent, the Church sings who by a bodily
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fast restrainest vices, uplifts our minds and grandest strength and rewards.
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Absence from food is only pleasing to God if at
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the same time we reframe from sin and perform good works.
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Fasting is not in itself of an excellent thing one
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Corinthians eight eight, but only as a means, whereby the
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suppression of our advices and the practice of virtuous facilitated.
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How does a profit a man if it abstains from meat,
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and by his calumnies destroys his neighbor's reputation. Such a
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one might be compared to a white, whitewashed tomb, outwardly
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beautiful but foul within Matthew twenty three, twenty seven. The
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devil does not eat, yet he is unceasingly employed in
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doing evil. Fasting without prayers like a lamp without oil,
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because we only fast to pray better. Fasting without almsgiving
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is a field without seat. It fosters the weeds of avarice.
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He fasts for himself, not for God, who does not
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give to the poor what he denies to himself. So,
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in other words, y'all, it's not a diet. It's not
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a way to lose weight. It's a penance, and you
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take what you would have spent on food and given
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alms or in prayer or good works. And it could
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be the time you would have spent eating or preparing food.
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That could be the you know whatever. So, in the
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words of Saint Padre Pio, who was quite big on
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fasting himself, pray, hope and don't worry, and I will
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talk you on next day.