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.