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First Sunday Of Lent
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"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the Devil. And when He had fasted forty days and
forty nights, He was afterward an hungred"
The Church, on this First Sunday of Lent brings before us the mystery of
the temptation of our Lord. She wishes that during the forty days of Lent, her
children should live like Christ in a spirit of penance, solitude, retreat and
prayer.
The Lenten fast probably dates from the time of the Apostles themselves. We
are going to spend forty days in fasting and abstinence. The traditional Lenten
fast begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter, all Sundays excluded. Only one
full meal a day (meat may be included), with two smaller meals (no meat) and no
food in between. This applies to those between the ages of 21 and 60.
Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays are days of complete abstinence from
flesh-meat for those over the age of seven.
A Catholic may, if he so wishes, observe the new regulations without sin. It is
strongly recommended that all Catholics follow the traditional practice, and
voluntarily observe the Laws of Fast and Abstinence above, in a spirit of penance,
mortification, and reparation.
Let us consider the purposes of fasting:
* Fasting mortifies the flesh and allows us to conquer our self-seeking
spirit. If we do not seek to fight against the wills of the flesh we are
sure to become the slaves of unbridled passion. This is what St. Paul means
when he says: "The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against
the flesh"
* Fasting reminds us of the great suffering of Our Lord, and allows us to
come closer to Him.
* Fasting intensifies our love for God. Do we not often feel a lessening of
our love towards Him? Fasting can greatly increase our love for the
Crucified Christ.
* Fasting is a means of atonement for our past sins, which -must- be expiated
here or after our death.
Fasting in itself, without the proper dispositions is useless. In order to
truly benefit from this fast we must have the proper dispositions:
-The first disposition is that we must undertake the fast willingly and
without complaint; for our love of God and the good of our souls.
-The second disposition is that we mustt fast with humility and not with vanity.
When Our Lord said 'fast in secret' He wanted us to understand that we must
not fast in order to be esteemed by others. Do not seek to appear more virtuous
than others.
-The third disposition is that we must fast in order to develop our spiritual
lives. We must combine this mortification with a spirit of prayer.
Thus, fasting is intended to develop our inner spiritual lives. There
is no value in fasting or suffering alone. They become valuable when we direct
them towards our spiritual welfare by uniting them with the sufferings of
Christ. The true spirit of fasting is one of moderation and mortification
done with the proper dispositions.
Many try to deceive themselves and to excuse themselves from the Lenten
fast without reason. These same people who refuse to abide by the Church's
laws on fasting and abstinence are the ones who need it most. Let them remember
these words of our Lord : "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself" .
When we fast with the proper dispositions, we lay up treasures for
ourselves in Heaven, where neither rust nor moth consumes, nor thieves break
in and steal (Matt 6:19-20). The key is prayer, reparation, and penance:
"Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish" (St. Luke 13:3).
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