Wednesday of the
First Week in Lent
(Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32)
The Lenten fast sixty years ago required adults to not
eat between meals and to not eat meat more than once a day. Many Catholics either could not or would not
make these sacrifices. For the sake of
unity and perhaps to curtail people from judging one another these rules were
relaxed. Since the Second Vatican
Council the Lenten fast in the United States has been simplified. Catholics are not to eat meat on Fridays and
to not eat between meals on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Still some people have difficulty meeting
this reduced command.
The practice of a communal fast is presented in today’s
first reading. The Book of Jonah tells
how non-Jews once responded to the Word of God by fasting. On order of their king the whole population
along with their animals did not eat or drink.
Truthfully, there is no other historical record that this fast took
place. Very probably the book was not written
as a tale to change Jewish attitudes towards foreigners as well as to promote devotion
among Jews. Yet the idea of a communal penance
is clearly established.
We too much consider ourselves as individuals and not as parts
of a community or, better, communities. We
need to recognize that we both reap benefits and do damage according to the
groups to which we belong. When these
groups injure others, we should recognize some responsibility. The most patent example of injury for
Catholics, as for many other organizations, has been racial prejudice. Doing a common penance in reparation for these
sins seems both fair and wise.
