Fasting helps our spiritual growth

March 2, 2003 -- 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. What role does discipline play in your life? 2. How do you continue your education in the faith? 3. How do you assess your growth in the Lord?

In 1978, Richard J. Foster, a Quaker, wrote Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: HarperCollins). In this challenging work the author reflects on inward disciplines (meditation, prayer, fasting, study), outward disciplines (simplicity, solitude, submission, service), and corporate disciplines (confession, worship, guidance, celebration). The underlying theme is that without discipline, spiritual growth is impossible.

That same message comes across in our readings for this Sunday. Jesus speaks about feasting and fasting and that there is a time for each. At weddings we celebrate and enjoy good food and wine; at other times we deny ourselves to make sure that our lives are not dominated by sensuality. What is at issue here is proper discernment -- knowing what is proper given different circumstances.

Lent
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Fasting is one of those inward disciplines (along with prayer and study). Fasting (mortification, asceticism, self-denial) is not for the sake of suffering. Rather, fasting helps us grow in freedom and compassion. So often we are addicted to substances that block our development. By fasting we achieve a liberation to be open to God's word and service of others. By fasting we foster a compassion by our voluntary participation in the suffering of others. Trees that are not pruned often become bushes.

Another inward discipline is that of prayer. Hosea the prophet tells us that God wants to speak to our hearts. This is the essence of prayer: God's speaking his word of love and forgiveness to us. More, in prayer we are called to justice and fidelity. Prayer is necessary if we are to grow in our relationship with the Lord. In this dialogue of mutuality we share our lives with a God who longs to shower his mercy upon us. Prayer is a discipline, demanding time and solitude.

The prophet says: "I will lead her into the desert . . ." God leads us into quietness and silence so that we might come to know who we are and where we are going. In prayer we deepen our sense of identity and destiny. In prayer we come to know that our God is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Through this discipline we grow in wisdom and love.

There is yet a third inward discipline: study. St. Paul speaks about a letter written not in ink but by the Holy Spirit. This letter conveys knowledge and is the result of study, a serious reflection upon the mystery of life and God. St. Paul was well educated and knew not only the written law but also the law of the human heart. Through his own conversion he came to know the essence of wisdom: the person of Jesus. His whole life was given over to a study of who Jesus was.

On-going education is necessary if we are to grow spiritually. Knowledge is the foundation of love; we cannot love what we do not know. The discipline of reading and study is a necessary condition for the development of our spirit and the enrichment of the community. Our education is never over.

The word "discipline" is not popular. Be that as it may, it remains necessary if we are to exercise our role as stewards of God's many gifts. Gifts are given in seed form; discipline is necessary for their full development.

Come March 5th, we enter the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday we hear three calls from the Lord: pray, fast, give alms. Our spiritual well being depends on our response to these invitations.

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)