Pat Arensberg: Why fast?

“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”  -Mark 9:15

Why do Catholics fast?  Well, first and foremost because Jesus said we would.  In fact, if I were looking for which group of Christians were the ones that Jesus left behind, one of the things that I would look for is fasting.  But, why did Jesus fast and why does he want us to fast?

We all learned when we were little children that, “God is love.”  Now, that is easy enough to say, but not so easy to understand.  I do love, but it is something I do.  God does not love; he is love.  One could ponder that for a lifetime.  But, what is love?  Well, I don’t know exactly, but I can identify some characteristics (see 1 Corinthians 13).  I know that love does not seek its own interests, but puts the beloved first.  I know that love bears all things and endures all things.  I know that love is not just a feeling then; it is about dying to self and putting someone else above me or ahead of me.  Love involves suffering precisely because I have to die to myself.  When we fast we are practicing this virtue.  In fact, when we fast for someone else it is a powerful form of prayer (parents, fast for your children and spouses, fast for each other).  When we fast we are dying to self out of love for another.

By the way, there are lots of ways to fast.  We are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and the Church defines that fast as having one regular and two small meals, no snacks in between.  But we can fast additionally by giving up coffee, or soft drinks, or alcoholic beverages.  We can fast by giving up an hour of our time to read to our children or by giving up watching t.v.  Any act of self-denial is a form of fasting. 

About Pat ArensbergPatrick Arensberg is the Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Mobile. Previously, he taught for 17 years at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, where he served as Chairman of the Theology Department. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome and holds an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is married to Connie and they live in Mobile with their 5 children.