In the spiritual journey of Lent, in order to truly live out the true spirit of repentance and penance, let us listen to the teachings of successive popes on fasting.
(Vatican News Network) The spiritual journey of penance for Lenten, which begins on Ash Wednesday, has three basic elements: prayer, fasting and mourning. Especially fasting should not be understood only from the level of form. As Pope Francis has reminded us many times, it really makes sense if we follow the example of the Good Samaritan. If you live a simple and unpretentious lifestyle, living a “no waste, no throw away life”, it has its value.
What is fasting that the Lord requires?
Lent is a specific period of fasting and penance. But what is fasting that God needs? Pope Francis answered this question in his morning prayer meditation at Casa Santa Marta on February 16, 2018: it is not just a matter of “choosing food”, but of living a life of “humility” “Consistently” admit and correct one’s sins. This comes from the teaching of the Bible: “Bow your head like a reed”, that is, “humble yourself” and reflect on your sins. This, the Pope stressed, is “the fasting that the Lord wants: that is, truth, words and deeds”.
What is the value of fasting?
We can ask ourselves what is the value and significance for us Christians to prohibit us from eating something that is healthy and good for our body. Pope Benedict XVI recalled the teachings of the Bible and Christian tradition in his Lent message in 2009: “Fasting is an important aid in avoiding sin and everything that leads to sin. For this reason, The invitation to fast appears many times throughout the history of salvation. In fact, at the very beginning of the Bible, God commands man not to eat of the forbidden fruit. Since we are all under the weight of sin and its consequences, fasting Fasting becomes an instrument to restore us to our friendship with God.” According to the teaching of the New Testament, Benedict XVI emphasized that true fasting means eating the “true bread”, that is, doing the will of the Father (cf. 4:34).
What does fasting represent?
Fasting, therefore, is not simply abstaining from food in the spiritual journey of Lent. In fact, it represents “a complex and profound reality”. Pope John Paul II emphasized this in his address to young people in St. Peter’s Square on March 21, 1979: “Fasting is a symbol, it is a sign, it is The call to accept or to give up. Renunciation of ‘self’, that is, giving up too many whims or unhealthy desires; giving up one’s own vices, violent impulses and illicit desires”. Fasting means restricting many desires, so that we can have sufficient self-control, learn to adjust our emotional impulses, and develop a determination to do good.” John Paul II further pointed out that fasting means “giving up some of your own. things to meet the needs of the brothers, thus becoming an exercise in good deeds and benevolence”.
What is a better fast?
Lent is a time of renunciation and penance, but also “a time of communion and unity”. Pope Paul VI emphasized this in his Lent message in 1973, inviting us to listen to the urging of the Prophet Isaiah: “Is this not the fast I like? (…) The hungry, bring the homeless poor into his house, and when you see the naked and clothe him, do not shun your flesh and blood” (cf. Isaiah 58:6-7). These urges, the Pope noted, reflect the concerns of contemporary humanity, so that each person “actually participates in the suffering and poverty of all”.
Finally, recalling the teaching of Pope John XXIII, who stated in his radio message at the beginning of Lent in 1963 that the Church “does not lead her children into simple teaching, committed to acts of love and generosity for the good of our brothers and sisters”.
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