Lent: All About Weakness

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The teachings of Jesus Christ go against everything in our world and in our universe. Charles Darwin taught us that "only the strong [or fittest] survive." And certainly our physical world bears out the truth of that statement. It is the smartest, the brightest, the strongest, the most beautiful who rise to the top. We see this in nature, where the weak are devoured by the strong.  We see this in our culture everywhere: in the sports world, in academia, in the business world, in entertainment and, sadly, in religion.  

Adolph Hitler was one of many who led - or better stated, misled - an entire country with the philosophy which originated with the atheist Friedrich Nietzsche: weed out the weak and the helpless and create the Master Race, the "Übermensch".  Sadly, despite the defeat of Adolph Hitler, the world has continued to elevate this demonic philosophy in the practice of abortion and euthanasia, not hesitating to kill and destroy any person who does not measure up or is in any way "inconvenient."  

Yet, Jesus Christ told us just the opposite: blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn. Isaiah 66:2 tells us that God looks to " those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word." St. Paul tells us in II Corinthians 2:10, "when I am weak, then I am strong."

Fasting and Gluttony

I do not like to fast.  I would be dishonest if I said anything else.  I personally find fasting one of the most difficult spiritual exercises.  My only hope is that because I find it so difficult, it is more meaningful when I do it.  I've heard people "pooh pooh" the Catholic way of fasting - which is two small snacks per day with one regular meal - as being "sissy."  Well, I guess I'm a sissy because that is what I do and I still find it very difficult.

But all that aside, fasting - the denial of self - is one of the most important and powerful spiritual tools we have been given. Every time we say no to self, it enables us to say yes to God.  Fasting is a major spiritual tool that Catholics use during Lent.  It cleanses both our minds and souls and prepares us for the solemnity of Holy Week and Good Friday and the great feast of Easter when we celebrate our Lord's resurrection.  Prior to Vatican II, it was a requirement for all adult Catholics to fast the entire 40 days of Lent (those with health problems, pregnant women, etc. were exempted from this requirement, of course).  The thinking since Vatican II is that we don't want to place too many "burdens" on people, so that was scrapped with so many other things, all to the detriment of people's souls.  But that's for another time.

There was a very good reading in today's Traditional breviary about fasting and gluttony which I would like to share.  It centers around Moses - who spent 40 days in complete fasting and prayer before God - giving the 10 commandments to the people of Israel, who were engaged in gluttony and sin.

Moses Giving the 10 Commandments
to the Children of Israel

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. Basil the Great

We know that Moses went up with fasting into the Mount. For he would not have dared to go unto its burning and smoking top, nor to have entered the thick cloud, except he had been made strong by a fast [when we feel weak physically, that is often when we are strongest spiritually]. And it was during this fast that he received the Commandments written with the Finger of God on tables of stone. Thus was fasting the means of the giving of the Law on the mountain-top. But below at its foot, gluttony was the means of leading the people into the worship of idols, and so of polluting them. It is written : The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. One drunken bout of the people made void, and of none effect, all the toil and patience of the forty days, during the which the servant of God had fasted and prayed unceasingly. Those tables of stone, written with the Finger of God, were received through fasting and were broken through drunkenness. For the holy Prophet thought it not meet that a people filled with wine should receive Law from God.

In one moment of time that people, who had by means of great wonders been taught to worship God, fell headlong through gluttony into the cesspool of Egyptian idolatry. The which things, if thou wilt consider, thou shalt see that fasting leads to God, and feasting to the loss of salvation. What was it that degraded Esau, and made him a slave to his brother? Was it not but a dish of pottage―a toothsome morsel of food stewed in a pot―for which he sold his birthright? And Samuel, was he not granted to his mother's prayers through fasting? And Samson the mighty, what was it that made him invincible? Was it not fasting, wherewith he was conceived in his mother's womb? Fasting conceived him ; fasting nurtured him ; fasting made him the man he was ; even as the Angel of the Lord had commanded his mother, saying : She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink. Fasting begat Prophets. Fasting is the strength and mainstay of mighty men.

Fasting giveth wisdom to rulers ; it is the trustiest keeper of the soul, the sure ally of the body, the strength and armour of brave men, the training of athletes, and wrestlers. It is fasting which maketh us strong against temptation, which prepareth us for the service of God, which dwelleth with sobriety, and is the author of temperance. Fasting maketh men valiant in war, and gentle in peace. Fasting maketh a Nazarite to be holy, and a priest to come unto perfection. Without fasting it is unlawful to touch the Sacrifice, not only in that mystical and true worship of God which now is, but also according to the Law, in those sacrifices which of old time were offered as figures of the true. Fasting opened the eyes of Elias to look upon a great vision, for when he had cleansed his soul by forty days of fasting, there on Horeb the Mount of God, he was made able, so far as man may be made able, to see God. Moses, receiving the Law a second time, a second time prepared himself by fasting. Except the Ninevites had fasted, both man and beast, herd and flock, they had not escaped from the ruin that hung over them. In the wilderness fell some, and who were they? Yea, they were such as lusted after flesh meat.

If we set our eyes and desires on the physical, we will perish along with it.  If we look instead to the heavenly, spiritual things of God, we will gain eternal life.  That is one of the major lessons of Lent.

A Time For Fasting

Today, Ash Wednesday, is an obligatory day of fasting in the Catholic Church for all adults between 14 and 59 years of age.  Exceptions, of course, can be made for health conditions.  Fasting permits one regular meal and 2 small snacks not to equal one regular meal.  Drinking of liquids is also permitted. 

In the Traditional Brevary today, there is a reading by St. Augustine that shows the benefits and potential pitfalls of fasting:

From these precepts it is evident that our every action should be directed towards the attainment of an interior life, which alone giveth true happiness. For if contrariwise we seek our reward in outward things, we shall be conformed to the fashion of this world, and thus forfeit God's promise of happiness, to wit, that we shall be conformed to the image of his Son. Such happiness, inasmuch as it concerneth inward things, is all the more certain and enduring. Howbeit, the special teaching of this passage is this : That vainglory can come forth, not only from worldly elegance and human pretensions, but even from a condition of sad countenance and dirty disfigurement. Furthermore, the latter kind of vainglory is the more dangerous, in that it deceiveth under the pretence of an humble service of God.

On the one hand, whosoever sheweth unbridled indulgence, whether in bodily comforts and dress, or in other forms of elegance, thereby standeth manifestly convicted as a follower of the pomps of this world. Nor doth such an one, by his pretence of godliness, deceive anybody. On the other hand, whosoever from choice, and not of necessity, professeth Christianity in such wise as to draw attention unto himself by reason of his seeming humility, or his particular disregard for outward things, this man is to be judged from the fashion of his other behaviour, as to whether therein he sheweth a desire for mortification, or rather for vainglory. For the Lord biddeth us beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. Rather, as he saith, by their fruits shall ye know them. 

Now here is the test of the seeming godliness of such folk. When some adversity bringeth upon them the loss of the advantages which they had gained, or sought to gain, by their profession of godliness, then it must needs appear whether they be wolves in sheep's clothing, or sheep in their own. Nevertheless, a Christian should not seek to tickle the fancy of other folk by a parade of elegance, on the plea that hypocrites do seek to beguile the unwary by a display of frugality. For sheep should not lay aside their own clothing because wolves do sometimes falsely assume the same.

Let us pray.
Grant, O Lord, unto thy faithful people, that they may both piously undertake the venerable solemnities of the Fast, and persevere in the same with unfailing devotion. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen. 

Friday - Ember Friday and Day of Penance

Today is Friday, and as every Friday in the Catholic church is, it is a day of penance.  It is the day Our Lord and Saviour was crucified so that we may live, and the Catholic Church has always marked this day as such.  This is what the current Cannon law says:

Can. 1250: The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

 Can. 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 

Can. 1252: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

For the United States, the Bishops have ruled as follows:

• Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent. 

• Every person between the age of 18 and 60 must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. 

• Every person 14 years of age or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on all other Fridays of the year, unless he or she substitutes some other form of penance for abstinence.

Ember Days - It's Good For Your Soul

Today is Ember Wednesday.  What's an Ember Wednesday, you say?  You've never heard of such a thing?  Well, that's because this is another Church tradition that was dumped in 1969.  Why did the Church dispense with these days?  You tell me.  These days involve fasting and abstinence.  In that sense, they are just not fun!  So why do we need them?

Below is one of the best descriptions of Ember Days that I have found:

Ember Days by Rev. Bernard Strasser, O.S.B.

This illustration shows, to a certain extent, how the ember days resemble our own lives. In the springtime we receive supernatural life through Baptism (represented by the baptismal candle); throughout the summer and autumn of our lives our souls are nourished by the Body (the host has been made from the kernels of wheat) and the Blood (the chalice) of our Lord. In the winter we reap the harvest of our good works as we begin our journey into eternity, fortified by Holy Viaticum and the sacrament of Extreme Unction (oil).

Ember Days

While man’s prayer is often entirely a petition, liturgical prayer is primarily praise, thanksgiving, and adoration. A typical example of this is the Gloria of the Mass in which we note the gradual rise of praise of God until it reaches a wonderful climax: “Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.” (We praise Thee. We bless Thee. We adore Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory.) In her official liturgical prayers the Church constantly exhorts us to praise, adore, glorify, and thank God. Moreover, she has set aside special seasons to offer prayers of gratitude for the gifts of God. This happens four times a year on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the ember weeks which fall at the beginning of the four seasons of the year.