They worship me every day, claiming that they are eager to know my ways and obey my laws. – Isaiah 58:2
FASTING
I
have always been underweight. As far as I can remember, I’ve tried all
sorts of vitamins and minerals, even Chinese medicine. I even had to
incorporate chocolates in my diet. How? When I was a teenager, I had to
eat chocolates after every meal. The doctor said that I could eat
whatever I wanted, and he even prescribed iron, vitamin C, B complex,
and other letters of the alphabet. I had to painstakingly take three to
four supplements a day. My generous grandmother provided me with the
treats after every meal. Nothing happened. I was — and still am — as
thin and flimsy as an angel fish.
I had been faithfully fasting since 2003 when I first joined a
community in Makati. So when Bro. Bo Sanchez advised the community that
underweight people are not supposed to fast from food, my heart was
crushed, and every inch of my body was asking why. Well, medically
speaking, I knew the answer, but deep down during my prayer time, God
impressed upon me that I should still fast from something as basic as
food. Why? Because I learned something as basic as self-control. Ems Sy Chan
1ST READING
Isaiah
chastises the Jewish people for their lack of faithfulness to the ways
of the Lord. He calls them to a new beginning, whereby they will live
the fullness of their religious faith without compromise or hypocrisy.
This is a challenge we all face, each in our own circumstances. Let us
ask God for the grace to remain faithful to Him.
Isaiah 58:1-9
1 Thus
says the Lord God: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your
voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 They
seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that
has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; they ask
me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. 3 “Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. 4 Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! 5 Is
this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance that a
man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you
call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 This,
rather, is the fasting that I wish releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking
every yoke; 7 sharing
your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your
own. 8 Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall
quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory
of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am!
P S A L M
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19
R: A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) 16 [18] For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus
is not interested in splitting hairs about the legal requirements of
the faith. Religion is found in the heart of each person. It is there
that the true measure of
religion lies, as it is in our hearts that our relationships find their
basis and origin. Christianity is all about our relationships — with God
(loving Him and doing His will) and with others.
Matthew 9:14-15
14 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus
answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from
them, and then they will fast.”
REFLECTION
SOUL FOOD
A
priest went into a restaurant to have a late dinner. He chanced upon a
group of rowdy teens shouting, making fun of the food, and heckling the
waitress. When the food was set before him, he bowed his head in prayer,
said grace and made the sign of the cross. One of the smart alecks in the group thought of making fun of the priest and spoke in a way audible to the whole diner, “So, we have a saint in the house.” Turning to the priest he asked, “Does everyone do that where you came from, padre?” The priest turned to the boy and responded quickly, “No, son, the pigs don’t.”
Does it really make a difference if you bless the food or not? Does the
prayer make the food more palatable? Does the blessing banish all the
unwanted calories and cholesterol? I concede it probably won’t.
So do I bless my food every time I sit before the dining table? Yes, I
do, always. I bow my head in prayer and utter a prayer of thanksgiving
because when I do so, the food ceases to be just a bodily and
gastronomic treat. When I bless God for the food I take, it becomes food
for the soul as well. When I bless God for the food I take, I open my
heart in gratitude and my soul is nourished as well. When I bless God
for the food I take, I dispose myself to the consciousness that “man
does not live by bread alone, but from every word that comes from the
mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Food not prayed over surely nourishes the
body, but food blessed and prayed over nourishes the body and soul.
This is why fasting is an essential part of Christian spirituality.
Both the First Reading and the Gospel speak of the practice of fasting.
Why do we fast? Not because food is bad. We fast in order to tame our
physical appetite, which aims only for self-satisfaction, so as to rouse
our spiritual appetite to “free the oppressed, feed the hungry, shelter
the homeless, and clothe the naked,” as Isaiah the Prophet enjoins us in the First Reading. Fr. Joel Jason
"Purify my intentions, Lord, as I fast this Lenten season."
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