There are some years when Lent sneaks up on you. It has happened more than once in my life that I have found myself in the first weekend of Lent without a clear idea of what my Lenten discipline would be. Perhaps this has happened to you as well. And in those cases, if you’re like me, you’ve half-heartedly gone back to one of the old stand-by options – giving up sweets, alcohol, or snacking between meals. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with those disciplines in themselves, but do we find that they actually help us grow closer to Christ as we progress through Lent? If not, we might want to find something else to do, in addition to those worthy penances.
I recently came across a video by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, who proposed an interesting idea that I had never considered. Fr. Mark-Mary is a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who hosts a video series called The CFRs and the podcast The Rosary in a Year. In the video, he talked about fasting, which is one of the three traditional disciplines that Catholics take up during Lent, the others being prayer and almsgiving. He referred to the Eucharistic fast, and how those who wish to receive Communion at Mass must observe a 1 hour fast prior to receiving. The idea behind the Eucharistic Fast is that, by refraining from taking food for that hour, we might feel in our bodies a little bit of the hunger that our souls feel for the Eucharist. Through the observance of the fast, we are better disposed to receive the Blessed Sacrament with devotion and love. Fr. Mark-Mary suggests that a similar discipline could be adopted when it comes to hearing the Word of God at Mass.
To do this, he proposed that we decide not to listen to anything in the car while driving over to the church from our homes. Or, even better, we might maintain a media-free period before going to Mass, staying off our phones and away from the television until we get home from church. By doing this, we cultivate within us a recollected silence that prepares us to receive more from the proclamation of the Word of God in the liturgy, which intensifies our desire for the Word made Flesh in the Eucharist. Just like we don’t ruin our appetite with junk food before sitting down to a gourmet meal, we don’t want to have a mind and heart filled with noise from news and social media before we receive the proclamation of Sacred Scripture in the liturgy.
Fasting for the Word might be something we do as well on weekdays when we don’t attend Mass. Mornings are usually the time when our minds are most receptive. Instead of checking our phones when we wake up to see the latest news or posts on Instagram, why not fast from those things and make the daily Gospel the first thing we read in the morning as we have our coffee? As Our Lord says in this weekend’s gospel: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Fasting helps us to feel our hungry souls, which God wishes to feed with His living Flesh & Blood in the Eucharist and nourish with His living Word.
posted 3/8/25
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 