Thoughts on fasting

Our Lord fasted.  We his followers should too.  In fact, it is a good and noble thing for all people of good will to do, as well.  The spiritual and psychological effects of fasting are very positive, as I can attest to in my own life when I do it. (And I will be the first to admit I should do it more than I do.)  When I fast, like I did on Ash Wednesday , I am able, since I have emptied /denied myself, to be more attentive to my own limitations, and the needs of God and others. 

Church law currently requires only two days of fasting per year; Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  Compared to the regulations of years past, and the regulation still in force in other parts of the Christian world, and in some other world religions, this is pretty lax.  I think most of us could afford to do more than this minimum.   Perhaps we could start by trying to do it once a week during Lent, and maybe a few other times throughout the course of the year?  It is up to each of us, but considering Our Lord fasted for 40 days, 2 days seems a little unambitious for a devoted follower of Him.

Finally, one often hears in modern Catholic sermons this time of year, and maybe in other denominations as well, that we should, instead of fasting from food, “fast” from gossip, selfishness, etc.  Be careful and discerning when you hear things like this.  It is pretty clear throughout the Scripture (and the dictionary) that fasting meant /means abstaining from food and drink.  We should not minimize this counsel and command from the Word of God.  Fasting from food/drink, and refraining from other bad things, are not mutually exclusive.  We can and should do both.

Economic warnings from Our Lord

 “Son of man, do you see that city going bankrupt? Are you willing to see all your cities going bankrupt? Are you willing to see the bankruptcy of the whole economic system you rely on now so that all money is worthless and cannot support you?”

This quote is part of a prophecy given in 1976 (the 200th birthday of America) by Our Lord to Father Michael Scanlan T.O.R., a name many of my Catholic friends would recognize, longtime President of the Franciscan University of Steubenville.  (I will post it in its entirety under the pictures below.)

I do find this man credible, and thus I believe this prophecy warrants serious consideration.  

This week Congress will begin working on a 1.9 trillion dollar stimulus plan.  Spending money we don’t have, printing money out of thin air, deflates the value of our own currency and makes it more prone to being worthless down the road, making our entire economic system worthless, and subject to it and our whole country being taken over by foreign entities.  Crushing future generations with unpayable debt is selfish, short-sighted and immoral.  No crisis justifies this level of recklessness.  Many dollars from previous stimulus plans have not been spent yet.  We can figure a way out without resorting to measures like this. 

Thwarting the American dream, thwarting the chance of economic growth, stifles human drive, innovation, and the pursuit of excellence.  We are more likely to end up like parasites, just living to suck off the breasts of mother government.  

If we do go down this road, and our money becomes worthless, and we lose our country as a result, it will be more important than ever as Christians to heed Our Lord’s words to put our trust not in money, not in the government or any political system, but in Him alone.  Our faith and hard work may more than ever not be rewarded with earthly treasures.  We have to seek heavenly ones.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Colossians 3:2

“You cannot serve both God and wealth.” 

Luke 16:13

The entire prophecy: 

Son of man, do you see that city going bankrupt? Are you willing to see all your cities going bankrupt? Are you willing to see the bankruptcy of the whole economic system you rely on now so that all money is worthless and cannot support you?

Son of man, do you see the crime and lawlessness in your city streets, and towns, and institutions? Are you willing to see no law, no order, no protection for you except that which I myself will give you?

Son of man, do you see the country which you love and which you are now celebrating—a country’s history that you look back on with nostalgia? Are you willing to see no country—no country to call your own except those I give you as my body? Will you let me bring you life in my body and only there?

Son of man, do you see those churches which you can go to so easily now? Are you ready to see them with bars across their doors, with doors nailed shut? Are you ready to base your life only on me and not on any particular structure? Are you ready to depend only on me and not on all the institutions of schools and parishes that you are working so hard to foster?

Son of man, I call you to be ready for that. That is what I am telling you about. The structures are falling and changing—it is not for you to know the details now—but do not rely on them as you have been. I want you to make a deeper commitment to one another. I want you to trust one another, to build an interdependence that is based on my Spirit. It is an interdependence that is no luxury. It is an absolute necessity for those who will base their lives on me and not the structures from a pagan world. I have spoken and it will take place. My word will go forth to my people. They may hear and they may not—and I will respond accordingly—but this is my word.

Look about you, son of man. When you see it all shut down, when you see everything removed which has been taken for granted, and when you are prepared to live without these things, then you will know what I am making ready.

What did NOT happen when Our Lord suffered

Our Lord suffered, yes.  He felt pain: emotional, spiritual, and physical, to an intensity we can never imagine, certainly this side of eternity, and maybe ever. 

But, it is important to note what did NOT happen when Our Lord suffered: 

He did not lose his focus.

He did not lose control of his emotions. 

He did not lose his command of the situation. 

He did not lose his perspective. 

He did not lose his equilibrium.

He did not lose his sense of purpose. 

He did not lose his patience.

He did not lose his fortitude.

He did not lose his desire to pray.

He did not lose his desire for souls.

He did not lose his peace.

He did not lose his faith. 

He did not lose his trust.

He did not lose his hope.

He did not lose his joy.

He did not lose his love. 

Often when we suffer, we lose some or all of the above.  And it is OK if we are not at the level Our Lord is when suffering comes our way.  

But we CAN hope that as we grow in the spiritual life, we can become more and more like Him in our own sufferings, our own participation in His.  It should give us hope, especially as we grow older, that even though there is suffering throughout life, that that suffering does not have to rob us of the many gifts God gives us, and we can still experience the fruits of those gifts, even in the midst of the greatest pains life throws our way. 

As we begin Lent, let us look to Our Lord, as a model yes, but more importantly, as a source of grace for handling suffering in our own lives. 

The silent Saint Scholastica

Today is the Feast of Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order that resides at Saint Anselm Abbey and other monasteries throughout the world.  

Even though very little is known about her, and there is only quote attributed to her (more on that in a sec), her feast day today is treated with great solemnity by Benedictines around the world. Special vestments, special prayers, extra incense, gourmet feasts (by monastic standards), you name it, all of that and more comes out today in Benedictine monasteries everywhere to honor this relatively unknown, hidden woman.

She lived from 480-530 AD.  She lived her adult life as a consecrated virgin.  Once a year, she would meet up for a day with her twin brother Benedict near (but not in) his abbey to discuss spiritual things.  Legend has it on their last visit before she died, she did not want him to leave, and so she folded her hands in prayer, and asked God to send a storm so that he could not go home that night, which happened.  Benedict asked, "What have you done?", to which she replied, "I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can; leave me and return to your monastery.”  He stayed with her that night. 

That was the only quote ever attributed to her. 

It always struck me as a student to see the monks at Saint A’s celebrate her with such solemnity, even though we know so little about her.  Her life, and how she is honored can teach us a few lessons: 

1) Talk and speech are less important than prayer and witness.

2) But when we do talk, we need to make our words count!  We should not waste too much time talking about trivial stuff that important stuff gets neglected.

3) We should always honor and respect our families of origin , even if they are less famous than we are.  If we have been blessed with positive fame and notoriety, we should always remember where we came from!

Saint Scholastica, pray for us. 

The little ways of God vs the big ways of our time

“Jesus said, “Let the LITTLE children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14

 “I feel my mission is soon to begin, to make others love God as I do, to teach others my ‘LITTLE way.’ I will spend my Heaven in doing good upon earth.”

Saint Therese of Lisieux

I know these words from Our Lord and one of his most well known Saints are primarily directed at our own personal spiritual journeys, but I think they can also help shed light on the dangerous realities we face in our current political climate.  I realize some may object to me using their words, which are primarily directed to the individual, to apply to the social and political realms, but I cannot help but note that the spirit behind these holy ones’ words seem to be at odds with the spirit of our current political climate.  

Which means there is a problem with the climate. 

In this aforementioned climate, we seem to want go in the opposite of the direction Jesus and Therese propose. Instead of little, we want to go BIG.  

We want big stimulus.  

We want to do “big and bold”  things in the words of our elected representatives.  

In my view, “big” entities are gaining control of our lives, empowered by our new Administration, and it is not a good thing.  Big Tech, big national government, Wall Street, big cities, Big Military, Big Retail (i.e. Wal-Mart, Amazon) and Big Education (i.e. public schools and teachers unions) are the prime examples that come to my mind.  The interests of these groups seem to be determine the direction we go in. 

Who is getting hurt in our current climate that wants to go big in everything?  

Small, Main Street business.

Private schools.  

Rural states.  

The little guy. 

If we keep going this way, we will be totally under the control of big entities, and it will feel like living in a Communist state.  We will be at their beck and call in terms of our livelihoods and our ability to speak. 

Going big is not the answer to our current problems in my opinion.  We should rather look to the example of Our Lord and His Saint who encourage us to “go small.”   

How do we do that?  Make government smaller.  Empower the individual.  Empower the family.  Focus on the smaller, yet most important, units of our society and build up from there.  Do not run society top down, rather go from the down up. 

This way, the “little” way, is the way to go to make a prosperous, virtuous society.   I hope we can turn things around and go in that direction instead of the one we are going in before it is too late. 

Saint Therese of Lisieux, pray for us. 

The isolation and solitude of Holy Week

This year, Holy Week will be a very different experience.  Due to the Coronavirus, lay people will for the most part have to watch Holy Week services from their homes, while priests lead them by themselves, with perhaps a handful of people assisting at most.  It will be very different experience not to be going to church for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and especially, Easter Sunday.  (Technically, Easter Sunday is not a part of Holy Week, but we will still consider it part of the Holy Week experience for our discussion here.)

Many of us will experience isolation and solitude this Holy Week.  But perhaps to a certain degree this reality might be able to help us draw closer to the mysteries we celebrate during this special week every year.  Those themes are very much a part of the whole experience.  Let us consider some selections from this week’s readings: 

Palm Sunday procession Gospel (Matthew 21:1-11) 

Say to daughter Zion,  “Behold, your king comes to you,  meek and riding on an ass,  and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” 

Our Lord road into Jerusalem, alone, on an ass.  No one was on it with him.  Yes, there were a lot of people laying down cloaks and palms and praising Him, but he was alone on it.  He also knew that the cheers would not last long.  In that sense, despite all the praise, he likely felt alone, too.

Palm Sunday 1st Reading (Isaiah 50: 4-7) 

I gave my back to those who beat me,  my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;  my face I did not shield  from buffets and spitting.  

Our Lord fulfills the prophecy of the Suffering Servant, who as we see here, turns the other cheek when he is being tortured by the crowds.   This to me implies no one is around to help him, a lonely experience.

Palm Sunday Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 22) 

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? 

When one feels abandoned, one feels very much alone.    

Palm Sunday 2nd Reading (Philippians 2:6-11) 

Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, 

Social relationships fill us.  When one is in solitude or isolation, without those fulfilling relationships, one can certainly feel empty.  

Palm Sunday Gospel (Matthew 26:14-27:66) 

So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? 

His disciples cannot stay awake with him in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He also asks God that if it is possible, the Cup be taken away from Him.   When people cannot stay awake with us, or we feel our prayers are not answered, we can feel very alone. 

After they had crucified him,  they divided his garments by casting lots;  then they sat down and kept watch over him there.  And they placed over his head the written charge against him:  This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.  Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,  one on his right and the other on his left.  Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,  “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,  save yourself, if you are the Son of God,  and come down from the cross!” Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,  “He saved others; he cannot save himself. So he is the king of Israel!  Let him come down from the cross now,  and we will believe in him.  He trusted in God;  let him deliver him now if he wants him.  For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”  The revolutionaries who were crucified with him  also kept abusing him in the same way. 

Our Lord was crucified with two others on the same hill.   But he was alone in the sense that he was the only innocent one among the three, and they too, were taunting him like many in the crowd were. 

Monday of Holy Week 1st Reading (Isaiah 42:1-7) 

Here is my servant whom I uphold,  my chosen one with whom I am pleased,  Upon whom I have put my Spirit;  he shall bring forth justice to the nations,  Not crying out, not shouting,  not making his voice heard in the street. 

The Suffering Servant is quiet, as many who live in isolation and solitude are.   We feel like we have no voice. 

Monday of Holy Week Gospel (John 12:1-11) 

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. 

The ones we love are not always with us, as we have all been experiencing painfully these days. 

Tuesday of Holy Week 1st Reading( Isaiah 49:1-6 )

The LORD called me from birth,  from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.  He made of me a sharp-edged sword  and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.  He made me a polished arrow,  in his quiver he hid me. 

We may often now feel concealed and hidden due to the circumstances of our times. 

Tuesday of Holy Week Gospel (John 13:21-38) 

My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.  You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,  ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”  

Where we are, others cannot come.  How true that is for many of us nowadays! 

Wednesday of Holy Week (Isaiah 50:4-9) 

(Same reading as Palm Sunday 1st Reading) 

I gave my back to those who beat me,  my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;  My face I did not shield  from buffets and spitting. 

When no one is around to support us, to defend us, we feel alone. 

Wednesday of Holy Week Responsorial Psalm (Isaiah 69:21-22) 

I looked for sympathy, but there was none;  for consolers, not one could I find. 

How alone one must feel who looks for love and compassion and cannot find it. 

Wednesday of Holy Week Gospel (Matthew 26:14-25) 

When it was evening,  he reclined at table with the Twelve.  And while they were eating, he said,  “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 

One of Our Lord’s closest companions betrayed Him.   Being hurt badly by someone we are close to and dearly love is a terribly isolating feeling. 

Holy Thursday 1st Reading (Exodus 12:1-14) 

For on this same night I will go through Egypt,  striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast,  and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!  But the blood will mark the houses where you are.  Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;  thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,  no destructive blow will come upon you.  

During the Passover, Israelites huddled in their homes, as we are now.  Like them, we should be seeking God’s protection. 

Holy Thursday Gospel (John 13: 1-15) 

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come  to pass from this world to the Father.  He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.  The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.  So, during supper,  fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power  and that he had come from God and was returning to God,  he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. 

During the Last Supper, Jesus knew he was going to be cut off from his close friends, at least physically.  They would desert him, and then he would die.   This feeling of impending isolation must have given him sorrow. 

Good Friday 1st Reading (Isaiah 52:15-53:12) 

He was spurned and avoided by people,  a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,  one of those from whom people hide their faces,  spurned, and we held him in no esteem. 

The Suffering Servant was avoided by people. He loved us so much, but we hid from him.  He was an outcast, alone. 

Good Friday Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 31) 

For all my foes I am an object of reproach,  a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;  they who see me abroad flee from me.  I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;  I am like a dish that is broken. 

People run from the Suffering Servant; they do not wish to associate with him. 

Good Friday Gospel (John 18:1-19:42) 

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out  and seated him on the judge’s bench  in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.  It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.  And he said to the Jews,  “Behold, your king!”  They cried out,  “Take him away, take him away!  Crucify him!”  Pilate said to them,  “Shall I crucify your king?”  The chief priests answered,  “We have no king but Caesar.”  Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. 

Imagine being the rightful King and your people do not acknowledge you.  How lonely that must feel. 

Easter Sunday Gospel (John 20:1-9)  

On the first day of the week,  Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,  while it was still dark,  and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter  and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,  “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,  and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.  They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter  and arrived at the tomb first;  he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.  When Simon Peter arrived after him,  he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,  and the cloth that had covered his head,  not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.  Then the other disciple also went in,  the one who had arrived at the tomb first,  and he saw and believed.  For they did not yet understand the Scripture  that he had to rise from the dead. 

By the time the first witnesses arrived, the tomb was already empty.   Therefore, nobody was an eye witness to the actual Resurrection.   Our Lord rose from the dead alone.   Often in our life, even when we are joyful, or an incredible event happens, we are, or at least feel, still alone, and have nobody to share it with.   

In these days of the Coronavirus, when we have to celebrate and practice our faith more in solitude than usual, it may be comforting to hear that the themes of isolation and solitude are prevalent in Holy Week.  We can use these circumstances to unite ourselves more fully to the Lord if we choose.   May we do just that.