Fasting is a powerful tool in the Christian life. It has been taught by both Jesus and the Church Fathers and the saints. For this reason, we present six reasons why every Catholic should take fasting seriously to improve their life of faith.
1. Fasting is Choosing a Greater Good
Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo, from the Institute of Catholic Culture, explains that fasting involves depriving oneself of a temporal good “to make a decision for a greater good.” He notes that although it is commonly associated with abstaining from food, it can also include giving up other comforts and entertainment.
2. Gives Balance to Spiritual Life
For Deacon Carnazzo, the fundamental purpose of fasting is to restore a proper balance between the created order and our spiritual life. “Since we are bodily creatures in a post-fallen state, it is easy to allow our passions to pursue physical goods and crowd out our intellect,” he explains.
Mons. Charles Pope, currently dean and member of the clergy of the Archdiocese of Washington DC (United States), assures that “fasting helps create more space for God in our lives.”
3. It is the First Step to have Control over Yourself
The deacon points out that during the last 2,000 years of Christianity, the preference for fasting with food is because food is essential to life, as are air and water. “Stopping at this fundamental level and gaining control there is the first step in spiritual life,” he explains.
4. It is Biblical
Deacon Carnazzo highlights that the first fast was ordered by God to Adam in the Garden of Eden, when he instructed them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). He adds that this prohibition was not because the tree was bad, but because its fruit was meant to be consumed at the right time and in the proper way.
Likewise, it mentions that Jesus, at the beginning of his ministry, fasted for 40 days in the desert, thus reversing what happened in the Garden of Eden. “Like Adam and Eve, Christ was tempted by the devil but instead remained obedient to the Father, reversing the disobedience of Adam and Eve and restoring our humanity,” he concludes.
5. It is powerful
“Our Guardian Angels truly stay with those who have cleansed their souls through fasting.”
According to Deacon Carnazzo, fasting is powerful because it allows us to “put aside this (created) kingdom where the devil works” and we put ourselves in “communion with another kingdom where the devil does not work and cannot touch us.”
Bishop Pope, for his part, highlights that this penitential practice “reminds us of our fragility and helps us to be more humble.” “Without humility and prayer our experience of God cannot really be unlocked,” he points out.
6. The Church Asks for It
The current fasting obligations were established in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
According to Deacon Carnazzo, “the Church establishes clear limits, outside of which someone cannot be considered to be practicing the Christian life. That is why intentionally violating the obligations of Lent is a mortal sin.”