Fasting, repentance and almsgiving ... must I?

We are in the thick of Lent and hopefully looking hard at the three things which the Church asks of us at this time of the liturgical year: fasting, repentance and almsgiving.

Fasting & sacrifice

Fasting and sacrifice has, for centuries, been used by the faithful as a tool for penance. Lent, being a time of increased acts of penance therefore places stress on the place that fasting should have in our lives. Of course, the obvious form of fasting is from food and, specifically, meat, particularly on Fridays. Fasting, though, is about much more than cutting down on food as a method of showing or doing penance. Fasting is about gaining control over one’s body in order to gain a greater control over one’s thoughts and mind. We all know how it is possible for our mind, imagination and appetite (for all sorts of things, not necessarily food) to run out of control, sometimes with serious consequences. Christianity places great emphasis on gaining a greater control over every aspect of ourselves: our thoughts, our words and our deeds.

The concept of fasting is, therefore, to encourage us to take a greater control of over ourselves: we fast from food in order to get a greater control over our appetite and therefore our bodies. However, unless fasting is linked to a very positive determination to become more centred on Christ, then it may be a waste of time, for the psalmist says, “For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my sacrifice a contrite spirit, a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.” (Psalm 50/51)

We therefore need to look at other aspects of fasting and sacrifice which will help us to gain that ‘contrite and humbled spirit’ to which the psalmist refers and which will help us to gain a greater control over our inner lives.

Repentance

I know that the very word ‘repentance’ immediately puts us in mind of zealots calling us to ‘Repent! Repent! For the end of the world is nigh!’ Well, we can have no idea about the end of world except to know that it will come and that there will be final judgement. In the book written by the prophet Jeremiah, we are told that “I, the Lord, search the heart, I probe the loins to give each man what his conduct and actions deserve” (Jer 17:10). Whilst we can have confidence that God is a God of love and mercy, he is nevertheless also a God of justice.

Therefore, there always remains the need for us as individuals and collectively, as a society, to examine our conscience in the light of God’s Love and Truth with a view to discerning what aspects of ourselves – our thoughts, words and behaviour – stand in need of correction. Humanity is flawed – it always has been – therefore there will always be the need to repent: in other words, to convert. Don’t be fooled into thinking that conversion is always a once-in-a-lifetime and overwhelming event (though for some, such as St Paul, it was). Conversion is no more than a re-orienting of one’s whole self towards God. “In the New Testament the Greek word metanoia, often translated as conversion or repentance, means something very profound and personal: not merely a change of manners but a change of heart, a turning away from sin, a return to the Father’s love” (from ‘The Essential Catholic Handbook’).

The prophet is told by God that, “I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put my spirit in you and I will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you. You will be my people, and I will be your God”. Ezekiel 36:26

Ongoing conversion, that is, waking up every day and reminding oneself of the need to put God first in all things, is a constant, daily requirement if we are never to lose sight of our ultimate goal.

Almsgiving

In Luke’s gospel (Chapter 16, verses 19-31 … do read it!) we hear of the rich man who ‘used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day’ but who failed to see the beggar Lazarus lying at his gate yearning and hungering for the food scraps, and whose wounds were licked by passing dogs. They both died, Lazarus going straight to heaven and the rich man to a very hot place. The rich man’s sin (and therefore the cause of his eternal punishment) was not that he was wealthy, dressed well and ate even better, but that he had ignored the needs of those less fortunate than himself.

The prophet Isaiah says, “Fasting like yours today will never make your voice heard on high. Is that the sort of fast that pleases me, a truly penitential day for men? Hanging your head like a reed, lying down on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call fasting, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the sort of fast which pleases me – it is the Lord who speaks – to share your bread with the hungry and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked” (Is 58:5-7).

The Church therefore urges us to use Lent as a time of an increased giving and sharing of our wealth. Of Faith, Hope and Charity, we are told that greatest of these is Charity. To give alms is to enter in a mysterious way into the suffering of those who need our help. St James tell us, “Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” if you don’t give them the necessities of life?” (James 2:15) We are told that, shortly after the ascension of Jesus, his disciples “shared their belongings with one another. They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed”. (Acts 2:44)

Fasting … repentance … almsgiving … all words which ring of the Old Testament but which remain alive and kicking in this, the 21st century, and still so important for our personal growth towards a greater Christocentricity during this Lenten season.