Friday, March 7, 2025

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Needless to say, today’s readings involve fasting.  The first calls into question the fasting of Israel in the sixth century before Christ.  The gospel questions the purpose of fasting with the supreme call to joy present.

Fasting is an outward sign of an interior disposition of humility.  It indicates one’s willingness to do God’s will and not one’s own.  Trito-Isaiah chastises the nation of Israel for putting on a show as if they intended to keep God’s commandments.  In reality, however, they mean “business as usual” with just lip service to justice as God commands.

We say Lent is a forty-day fast.  In most years, however, there are only thirty-eight or thirty-nine days of fasting.  The difference is accounted to a suspension of fasting on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, and March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  Both days call for celebration, not signs of humility.  Besides Sundays, on the other days of Lent we should not only fast but make up for the times in which we have not rendered full justice to God or neighbor.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Ash Wednesday

(Joel 2:12-18; II Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6.16-18)

At the beginning of the first “Rocky” movie, the protagonist is completely out of shape.  As he begins training for his big fight, he strains to run up a flight of stairs.  Later in the movie, however, after weeks of training Rocky bounds up the stairs like a deer being chased.  A transformation has taken place.  Rocky has sloughed off both weight and lethargy to perform in a totally superior way.  Such a transformation is our goal during Lent.

Although it may improve our looks, shedding a few pounds should not be what motivates us to give up sweets for six weeks.  If it were, we would be no better than the hypocrites whose righteousness Jesus tells us to supersede in today’s gospel.  No, we must concern ourselves primarily with internal order not external appearance.  Through fasting, prayer, and charity we hope to become like Jesus himself.  His self-control and compassion are the high stars in heaven to which we hope to come near.

It is only natural that we begin Lent with a touch of regret.  It is hard to forsake comforts and concentrate our minds on what is holy.  But our reluctance will turn into rejoicing at the end of the forty days.  Then we will find ourselves renewed in soul and body.

Friday, February 24. 2023

 Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Remember when our mothers told us to eat our food because there were children in China going hungry?  Comedians make fun of the logic, but there is a connection between the two.  It parallels the reasoning behind the lesson about fasting in the first reading today.

Isaiah chastises the people for fasting while ignoring the needy.  Fasting – experiencing voluntary hunger -- should make us conscious of God’s command to feed those without food.  Our mothers admonished us with a similar end in mind.  They wanted us to show gratitude to God for the food He has provided by eating it.

Food is a good although we sometimes distort its value by eating too much.  In any case food is not the greatest good.  God is.  To recognize God as such we fast during Lent.  Because God commands us to do so, it would a travesty for us to fast from food and not assist the hungry.

Friday, March 4, 2022

 Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah has led some priests to discourage fasting as a Lenten practice.  They say people should do something positive for their neighbors rather than deny themselves.  Up to a point, they have a point.  However, Jesus does not reject fasting in the gospel.  As today’s passage indicates, there is a time for fasting.  Christians traditionally made that time the season of Lent.

Nevertheless, Christian fasting should be accompanied by good deeds. Without such deeds fasting becomes hollow ritual, an exercise in vanity.  Everyone is aware that fasting likely ends in weight loss which is often favorable to health and beauty.  Good works indicates that these are not all we seek by fasting.

We might ask whether fasting itself does any good.  The answer is that it depends upon our motivation, which is usually complex.  If we fast, at least in part, out of love for God, we will grow closer to Him.  Fasting may be compared to joining a solidarity march in support of the Ukrainian people.  Even though we are far away, the people may become aware of our concern for their fate.  Also, done out of love, it becomes another good act by which we grow in virtue.

Friday, February 19, 2021

 Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

In the days of perennial Friday abstinence, preachers often ranted about people eating lobster.  What kind of a sacrifice is that? They would say.  They had a point.  Lobster is rich and tasty, hardly a hardship.  The criticism echoes the one offered in today’s reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

The writer did not live toward the end of the eighth century B.C. like the prophet most of us think of when we hear the name Isaiah.  He lived and prophesized two centuries later.  The Jews had not long returned from the Babylonian exile.  They were rebuilding Jerusalem and wanted to live the traditions of their ancestors.  They fasted and prayed for God’s assistance.  Speaking for God, the prophet tells the people that their fasts and prayers are in vain if they do not practice justice.  God told their ancestors to pay workers fairly and to directly assist the hungry and homeless.

In Lent especially but also throughout the year, we should heed the prophet’s words.  Our prayers and fasting must be oriented to caring for those in need.  We must support a society where everyone has both material and spiritual resources to live with dignity.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr

(Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 2:18-22)

Fasting, a form of self-denial, has many purposes.  During Lent people fast to show remorse for sins.  Holy women and men fast to show their love for God.  Fasting prepares athletes for training and competition.  Doctors demand that patients fast before medical procedures. 

In Scripture Jesus fasts before he goes out to proclaim the Reign of God.  This fast is likely intended as a discipline preparing him for the rigors of mission.  In the exercise he comes to realize that more than on anything else he depends on God.  In today’s gospel, however, he tells the Pharisees that his disciples do not have to fast for the moment.  He explains that now is their time for spirited fellowship.  Fasting, he indicates, is more appropriate for mourning.

Unfortunately many people have abandoned the custom of fasting.  Even the simple penance of meatless Fridays during Lent seems too much a burden for some.  We should fast regularly by not eating for an extended period or by abstaining from food we particularly enjoy.  In so doing we show not only our willingness to submit to God but also our love for Him.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Some always question whether fasting is a worthwhile activity.  After all, if it does any good, the benefit is not readily seen.  Many even advisenot to fast during Lent but to do something of more obvious merit.  Today’s first readings indicates that helping the oppressed is what the Lord wants most of all.  But the gospel hints, at least, that giving up food is sometimes required.

Why is fasting a good thing to do?  Three reasons have been long proffered in favor of fasting.  First, fasting takes one’s attention from lustful objects and demonstrates one’s self-control.  It is true – the more we think of food, the less will our minds wander to sex.  More importantly, however, fasting raises one’s mind to God.  The distress it causes makes one naturally look to God for relief.  Finally, fasting is an act of penance which satisfies for sins.  As the Letter to the Colossians says, one can join his or her suffering to Christ for the benefit of the Church.  A fourth reason for fasting may be added.   One can show love for God by refraining from what he or she enjoys.  A man shaved his head when his wife was undergoing radiotherapy for cancer as an expression of solidarity with her.  So people can think of their fasts as a way to express solidarity with Christ in the desert.

All adult Catholics are required to fast during Lent.  We should not eat any meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of the season.  We should also refrain from eating more than three times on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  In these ways we show ourselves as members of a community on the way to renewal.  Few people would say that these mandated practices comprise a great challenge.  We might also augment our fasting by, for example, abstinence from sweets or alcohol.  Such sacrifice will not hurt us  Quite the contrary, they will likely enable us to emerge even stronger from the Lenten journey.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Fasting – Isaiah in effect denies it in the first reading today, and Jesus delays it in the gospel.  There is, therefore, cause to wonder about its worth. 

Physicians often require patients to fast before undertaking various kinds of medical procedures.  Of course, people needing to lose weight regularly fast for salutary reasons.  Religious traditions, despite the reservations of the readings today, have long considered fasting a way to purification.  Not only does it allow the body to purge itself of contaminants, but it signals a victory over one’s desires.

Although the practice almost mocks the meaning of the term, Catholics are bound to fast only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  That is, on these two days we are not allowed to eat between meals.  But individual, more strenuous fasting is encouraged.  Skipping a meal and even passing an entire day without eating can express genuine love for the Lord.  We must remember, however, the fasting that pleases God most.  As today’s reading from Isaiah proclaims, God wants us to work so that all people may be free.  That is, we are to free the poor from excessive want so that their fasting may be a willful act of love and not an inescapable necessity.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Fasting – Isaiah in effect denies it in the first reading today, and Jesus delays it in the gospel. There is, therefore, cause to wonder about its worth.

Medics often demand that patients fast before undertaking certain procedures. Of course, people needing to lose weight regularly fast for salutary reasons. Religious traditions, despite the reservations of the readings today, have long considered a way to purification. Not only does it allow the body to purge itself of contaminants; it represents a victory over one’s often excessive appetite.

Catholics in Lent are bound to fast only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. That is, only on these two days are we not allowed to eat between meals. But individual, more strenuous fasting is encouraged. Skipping a meal and even passing an entire day without eating can express genuine love for the Lord. Still, God has decreed that the fasting that pleases Him most is working so that all may enjoy the freedom without which fasting cannot be a willful act of love but an inescapable necessity out of want.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Remember when our mothers told us to eat our food because there were children in China going hungry? Comedians make fun of the logic, but there is subtle connection between the two. It is similar to the reasoning behind the lesson about fasting in the first reading today.

Isaiah chastises the people for fasting while ignoring the needy. Fasting – experiencing hunger --should make us conscious of those without food to eat so that we might help them. Our mothers admonished us to finish our dinner with a similar end in mind. They wanted us to be grateful for all the food we have so that we might help those with little.

Food is a good although we sometimes distort its value by eating too much. But it is not the greatest good. God is that. To recognize God as such we fast during Lent. Because God commands us to do so, it would a travesty to fast and not assist the hungry.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Fifty years ago every Catholic adult was supposed to fast every day of Lent. The fast consisted of not eating more than one full meal a day, not eating between meals, and not taking meat more than once a day except on Friday when it was completely prohibited. Probably because many began flouting the fast and others scorned the backsliders, the practices were abandoned in 1966 in favor of the much lighter fast the Church imposes today.

Christians fast for several reasons. As with Jesus in the desert, fasting prepares us for a religious mission. It focuses our attention on what must be done and recognizes the need for God’s assistance. During Lent our focus is renewal in the Spirit that comes at Easter. Fasting also brings us in solidarity with the poor by experiencing their want of food and also by freeing up resources that might be shared with them. Finally, it serves as an outer sign of inner affection for the Lord as when a lover will sacrifice a free night to accompany his beloved to the library.

In the reading from Isaiah today, the prophet excoriates the people for undermining the purpose of fasting. Rather than disposing them to care more deeply, fasting serves the people as a subterfuge for their greed. Because It has made the Jews more sanctimonious than saintly and more corrupt than compassionate, Isaiah wants to alter the rules. The desired fast will no longer be so much what the Jews give up but what they give. They must feed the hungry and release the unjustly imprisoned. Only then will God accept their self-denial as legitimate expressions of love.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Friday alter Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9ª; Matthew 9:14-15)

Like Mahatma Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, the Mexican-American farm labor organizer, often fasted. He did not necessarily ask others to accompany him in his sacrifice. He said that he fasted so that might be cleansed inwardly. He knew how fasting enables one to focus on objectives. Distractions, at least from food, will not sway the faster because he or she has already made a decision about them. Also, the sense of inner hunger gives urgency to the faster’s purpose.

The prophet Isaiah in the first reading today scolds Israel for not fasting rightly. Religious fasting should remind people of their first priority, which is God. However, Israel only exploits fasting to increase profits. It is as if the money the people save by not eating is used not to help the poor or even to buy some necessity for home, but to play the lottery.

During Lent the Church calls us to fast. The ashes we accepted on Wednesday were an explicit recognition that we have sinned. We have to ask ourselves, “What are we going to do about our sins?” The three great disciplines of Lent comprise the answer. First, we are going to turn away from the gratification of our appetites. Then, we will pray to God for forgiveness. Finally, we will show greater care for everyone, especially those in need. In these ways, we shall reach our goal, which is none other than God.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Samuel 9:1-4.17-19.10:1; Mark 2:13-17)

In yesterday’s gospel Jesus changes the water into fine wine at Cana. The story suggests not only the power of Jesus but, even more so, his majesty. Thinking about it, we see him as the choice vintage that delights the whole world. Today’s gospel, written by a different evangelist, relates a similar idea. Jesus is the new wine which requires a whole new way of living on the part of his followers.

The people who approach Jesus asking why the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast while his disciples feast, of course, miss the point. They see Jesus as a teacher of God’s law, not the law incarnate. They are ready to criticize his disciples, but, to make an analogy, how can one not leave a performance of “The Sound of Music” without humming “Edelweiss”? That’s what Jesus means when he tells the questioners that his disciples cannot accompany the joyous Jesus without celebrating.

But, then, should we followers ever fast? Some Gospel scholars believe that Jesus would not have us do so. They say that the second part of the passage in which Jesus speaks of fasting after he leaves his disciples is an addition to the original prohibition of fasting. Some might add that Jesus is always present in the Eucharist, in the Scriptures, in the poor, and in one another. This latter is true but not convincing. We should fast with Jesus during periods such as Lent. We also fast as a way to express our love for him as we might take pains to cook a meal for a friend. His sacramental presence, after all, is not completely satisfying. We long to see him face-to-face.

Homilette for Friday, February 27, 2009

Friday after Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)

Muslims are apt to ridicule the Catholic way of fasting. “What is so hard about not eating between meals,” they might ask, “when you can eat three times a day?” They see their fast of not eating or drinking at all during daylight hours as much more demanding. But we might query Muslims about the severity of their practice as they often binge throughout the night during their month of fasting.

God calls into question the fasts of both Catholics and Muslims as He chastises Israel in the reading from Isaiah today. His critique is that not that fasting has no value but that it must be accompanied by a change of heart. Indeed, fasting can facilitate conversion by palpably reminding us of those in extreme need. Not eating sweets should make us think of refugees in Africa whose daily bread is bitterness. Abstaining from meat should conjure images of poorly educated people in our own country whose lives lack substance. Then we must pray for the needy, give of our sufficiency to assist them, and advocate for changes in public policy that will safeguard their human dignity.

Homilette for February 8, 2008

Friday alter Ash Wednesday

(Isaiah 58:1-9a)

Like Mahatma Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, the Mexican-American farm labor organizer, often fasted. He did not necessarily ask others to accompany him in his sacrifice. Rather, he fasted in order that he himself might be cleansed inwardly. He knew how fasting enables one to focus on his or her objectives. Distractions, at least from food, will not tempt the faster because he or she has already made a decision about them. Also, the sense of inner hunger gives urgency to the faster’s purpose.

The prophet Isaiah in the first reading today scolds Israel for not fasting rightly. Religious fasting should remind the people of their first priority, which is God. However, Israel only exploits its fasting to gain more money. It is as if the money the people save from not eating is used not for the poor or for some necessity at home, but to buy lottery tickets.

During Lent the Church calls us to fast. The ashes we accepted on Wednesday were an explicit recognition that we have sinned. We should have also been asking ourselves, “What are we going to do about our sins?” The answer, of course, comprises the three disciplines of Lent. First, we are going to turn away from the gratification of our appetites. Then, we will pray to God for forgiveness. Finally, we will show greater care for everyone, especially those in need. In these ways, we shall reach our goal, which is no one other than God.

Homilette for February 6, 2008

Ash Wednesday

(Matthew 6:1-6;16-18)

Hester Prynne is the heroine of the famous American novel, The Scarlet Letter. She lives in colonial New England. After marrying an older man who leaves her for long periods, she allows herself to be seduced. When she gives birth to a baby, the town condemns her. Her penalty is that she must wear a big red A, meaning adulteress, on her clothing at all times. She stoically bears the mark of disgrace while she goes about town with her daughter helping others. As the years pass, the townspeople forget Hester’s crime. They see her care for others and come to think the A on her clothing stands for angel.

In a few moments we will have ashes put on our foreheads. Like Hester Prynne’s scarlet letter the ashes are a sign that we have sinned. We have loved ourselves too much. We have served God and neighbor too little. Along with wearing ashes today, we should make extra efforts to fast, pray, and help others every during of Lent. Then when we ask God’s forgiveness, He will wipe our sins from the record like the people lose memory of what Hester’s A originally means. Again like Hester, people will recognize us for virtues not for our faults.

So let us take on all the disciplines of Lent willingly. A generation ago some preachers recommended that we “do something positive for Lent” and not give up anything. That advice, though sincerely made, lacked wisdom. We must curb our desire for constant gratification as well as develop a practice of serving others. Efforts on both fronts shall draw us closer to God. Efforts, again on both fronts, shall allow us to rise with Christ on Easter.

Homilette for January 21, 2008

Monday, Memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr

(Mark 2:18-22)

Many people today diet but few seem to fast. They give up food as if they were fasting in order to look better and to feel better. But they would probably ask the opposite of what the disciples of both John and the Pharisees ask Jesus in the gospel today, “Why fast?” Some might answer quickly that we fast to please God? But is God really pleased when we give up food? Those who doubt the value of fasting are fond of citing Isaiah 58 where God tells the Israelites that He is more interested in works of mercy.

But fasting has its purposes which Jesus implicitly recognizes when he says that its time is coming. He also goes on a forty-day fast before beginning his public ministry. Recalling that difficult experience in which the devil sorely tempts Jesus, we also might ask, “Why fast?” The answer is that we fast so that we might know God. God may not be moved by our fasting but fasting makes us aware of His presence. Moses and Elias fast forty days before they receive their respective revelations. Luke’s gospel mentions that the prophetess Anna In the Temple is accustomed to fasting when she tells those who were awaiting a Messiah about the child Jesus.

Forgoing the satisfaction of eating makes us appreciative of the gift of food and all God’s gifts. A simple reflection on the hunger which fasting induces will permit us to see Christ in those who chronically lack food. Finally and most importantly, fasting confirms our commitment to serve God and not ourselves. As St. Agnes gave up her life to demonstrate her commitment to God, we from time to time should give up some food.

Homilette for Tuesday, July 31, 2207

Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola

(Exodus 33-34)

What kind of person can maintain herself or himself forty days without food or drink? We would say a strong-willed man or woman, someone who is tough, probably a person who no longer lives for himself or herself but one given in love for another whom he or she wishes to please with fullness of heart. As the reading from Exodus indicates, such a person was Moses, a Jew by birth, a noble by adoption, God’s prophet by divine election. Such a one is also Ignatius of Loyola who died on this date 451 years ago.

Like Moses before the burning bush Ignatius had a vision of God when he was a young man. He never revealed exactly what took place but said that he learned more from the vision than he did the rest of his life! It evidently taught him “to see God in all things” which became the inspiration of the Society of Jesus (or Jesuits), the religious order he founded. Ignatius wanted to spend his life in the Holy Land following the paths of Moses and, of course, of Jesus. But his holy land became a small apartment in Rome from which he directed the development of the Society into the foremost defenders of the Catholic faith.

Few or possibly none of us have the tenacity and, indeed, the love of God that characterize Moses and Ignatius. Yet, our lot is not simply to stand in awe at their accomplishments. Rather, ours is to practice discipline like they did. Discipline is a fundamental part of our discipleship of Christ. There may be no need, desire, or use in fasting forty days. However, going without a meal on a regular basis and abstaining from alcohol and coffee at an appointed should result in a clearer vision of God in the things He has created.