Fasting and Fixing

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us that our lamentation over the darkness in the world is the starting point for our resolve to work with Christ to return to a path of justice and care for our world.

Resources to Restore

The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah contrasts False and True Worship.

* [58:1–5] The prophet is commanded to condemn the formalism of the people, specifically their hypocritical fasting.

* [58:6–12] Fasting is not genuine without reforming one’s way of life. A true social morality will ensure prosperity. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 58 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 51 is a prayer for Cleansing and Pardon.

* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses the Question about Fasting.

* [9:15] Fasting is a sign of mourning and would be as inappropriate at this time of joy, when Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom, as it would be at a marriage feast. Yet the saying looks forward to the time when Jesus will no longer be with the disciples visibly, the time of Matthew’s church. Then they will fast: see Didache 8:1. (Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Kent Beausoleil, S.J. comments that Lent is a time that asks us to accept the responsibilities of being an assembly of human beings, called to love ourselves and others divinely, with that same spirit of love and merciful justice that is of God.  

One of the truths of our human existence is that despite our human propensity to make mistakes, fail, sin, our God loves us no matter what.  We are loved sinners.  Too often though, our pride and hubris keeps us from being humble before God.  We can feel that God made this huge mistake and we are not loveable.  Or we think we are SO loveable, so perfect, that our ego has deemed equality with God something indeed we can grasp at.  Either position we put our will before God for they push God out of the equation.  First, being unlovable, God is wrong.  Second, being so great, there is no need for God. (Beausoleil, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “True fasting”, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD.

"All the endeavors for fasting are concerned not about the rejection of various foods as unclean, but about the subjugation of inordinate desire and the maintenance of neighborly love. Charity especially is guarded - food is subservient to charity, speech to charity, customs to charity, and facial expressions to charity. Everything works together for charity alone." (excerpt from Letter 243, 11) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 58:1-9 that our fasting is not meant to change God. He never changes anyway! Rather, it’s meant to change us. And it does that by helping us experience a small measure of Jesus’ suffering. If we undertake a fast—or any other kind of self-denial—with the intention of drawing closer to the Lord, we’ll come to a deeper appreciation of what he endured on the cross for our sake. We’ll see that, just as we can break our fast any time we want, Jesus could have ended his suffering at any point. But he didn’t. He loved us too much to throw in the towel. He was too committed to saving us from sin.

As you take up the call to fasting this Lent, fix your eyes on Jesus, the crucified Bridegroom. Tell him that you want your acts of self-denial to make you more like him.

“Jesus, help me to follow you to the cross!” (Meditation on Isaiah 58:1-9, 2025)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the questioning in trito Isaiah about the contrast between the promises in deutero Isaiah and the desolation encountered by the people returning to Jerusalem after the Exile in Babylon and the need to embrace justice, help the poor, and release the oppressed. Jesus explains about the lack of fasting of the disciples when the Bridegroom is with them. Friar Jude reminds us of several reasons for fasting and encourages our generosity with time and treasure freed by our fast.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Mirabai Starr who shares what she learned about the nonviolent direct actions of Jesuit peace activist Father Daniel Berrigan (1921–2016). Inspired by conversations with her friend and iconographer Father William (Bill) McNichols, she reflects that many of his followers may not have known was that Daniel Berrigan was inconsolable. As a champion for nonviolence, Dan did not see a lot of evidence that the culture of war would ever wane. Nevertheless, he persevered. What else can a true prophet do? “One is called to live nonviolently,” he said, “even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the United States around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better.” [1] He also said, “Peacemaking goes nowhere and yet it must be done.” [2]

A prophet cannot know that all will be well, that those in power will wake up and mend the damage they have caused, and that peace will prevail. The mystic can never be certain that union with God will be the outcome of longing for God. They must rest in unknowing. Unknowing is not always comfortable. In fact, it can feel a lot like grief.  

And yet that emptiness, that waiting, that liminal space is sacred. It’s what distinguishes a prophet-mystic from a self-righteous activist or a spiritual narcissist. It is in the interior desert, where the landscape appears barren, that patience reveals the miracle of life teeming just below the surface. The more we mindfully observe what is, the more beauty comes into focus. There is nothing broken here, nothing to fix. Rather, the prophet-mystic practices sitting with reality as it is. From that space of quiet listening, we may perceive what is ours to do and tap into the vitality we need to do it. We take up our birthright of belonging and, in the spirit of the mystical Jewish teaching of tikkun olam, we mend the broken world and restore wholeness to the web of interbeing. (Rohr, n.d.)

We pause and ponder the brokenness that is threatening peace, order, and good government today and let the act of fasting increase our pursuit of love in the Spirit to be agents of consolation and change.

References

Beausoleil, K. (2025, March 7). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030725.html 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 58 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/58?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9?14 

Meditation on Isaiah 58:1-9. (2025, March 7). The Word Among Us. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/03/07/1222616/ 

Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Sitting with Reality. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/sitting-with-reality/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Fasting for the Kingdom of God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=mar7 

Prayer Fasting and Alms

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to enter the season of Lent with openness to the Spirit of transformation through our practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Pray and Fast

The reading from the Book of Joel proclaims a solemn assembly.

* [2:14] Blessing: the rain that makes possible the grapes and grain (v. 19) that workers will process into Temple offerings.

* [2:16] Elderly…infants…bridegroom…bride: Jerusalem is in such great danger that even those normally excused from fasting or working are called upon to participate in activities to ward off the imminent catastrophe.

* [2:17] Between the porch and the altar: the priests stood in the open space between the outdoor altar for burnt offerings and the Temple building.

* [2:18] Jealous: the Hebrew word describes the passionate empathetic bond the Lord has with Israel. The people’s wholehearted participation in Joel’s call for fasting and prayer sparks the Lord’s longing to protect and love his people Israel. This desire moves him to withhold punishment and to send the blessing of v. 14 instead. (Joel, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 51 is a Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon.

* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. The first part (Ps 51:3–10) asks deliverance from sin, not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (Ps 51:11–19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (Ps 51:12–13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer 31:33–34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (Ps 51:15–16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (Ps 51:17–19). The last two verses express the hope that God’s good will toward those who are cleansed and contrite will prompt him to look favorably on the acts of worship offered in the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 51:19 [20–21]). (Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians exhorts us to be ambassadors for Christ.

* [5:18–21] Paul attempts to explain the meaning of God’s action by a variety of different categories; his attention keeps moving rapidly back and forth from God’s act to his own ministry as well. Who has reconciled us to himself: i.e., he has brought all into oneness. Not counting their trespasses: the reconciliation is described as an act of justification (cf. “righteousness,” 2 Cor 5:21); this contrasts with the covenant that condemned (2 Cor 3:8). The ministry of reconciliation: Paul’s role in the wider picture is described: entrusted with the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19), he is Christ’s ambassador, through whom God appeals (2 Cor 5:20a). In v. 20b Paul acts in the capacity just described.

* [5:21] This is a statement of God’s purpose, expressed paradoxically in terms of sharing and exchange of attributes. As Christ became our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30), we become God’s righteousness (cf. 2 Cor 5:14–15). (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

* [6:1] Not to receive…in vain: i.e., conform to the gift of justification and new creation. The context indicates how this can be done concretely: become God’s righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), not live for oneself (2 Cor 5:15) be reconciled with Paul (2 Cor 6:11–13; 7:2–3).

* [6:2] In an acceptable time: Paul cites the Septuagint text of Is 49:8; the Hebrew reads “in a time of favor”; it is parallel to “on the day of salvation.” Now: God is bestowing favor and salvation at this very moment, as Paul is addressing his letter to them. (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches concerning Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting.

* [6:1–18] The sermon continues with a warning against doing good in order to be seen and gives three examples, almsgiving (Mt 6:2–4), prayer (Mt 6:5–15), and fasting (Mt 6:16–18). In each, the conduct of the hypocrites (Mt 6:2) is contrasted with that demanded of the disciples. The sayings about reward found here and elsewhere (Mt 5:12, 46; 10:41–42) show that this is a genuine element of Christian moral exhortation. Possibly to underline the difference between the Christian idea of reward and that of the hypocrites, the evangelist uses two different Greek verbs to express the rewarding of the disciples and that of the hypocrites; in the latter case it is the verb apechō, a commercial term for giving a receipt for what has been paid in full (Mt 6:2, 5, 16).

* [6:2] The hypocrites: the scribes and Pharisees, see Mt 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29. The designation reflects an attitude resulting not only from the controversies at the time of Jesus’ ministry but from the opposition between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew. They have received their reward: they desire praise and have received what they were looking for.

* [6:16] The only fast prescribed in the Mosaic law was that of the Day of Atonement (Lv 16:31), but the practice of regular fasting was common in later Judaism; cf. Didache 9:1. (Matthew, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Steve Scholer comments that as we start our 40-day Lenten journey, maybe we should begin a new tradition.

In addition to “giving something up for Lent” we should also pledge to look for moments in which we can demonstrate kindness and concern for those around us. Maybe listening a little longer to a co-worker telling us again about a problem in their life? Maybe a meaningful compliment to your spouse, friend or even a total stranger? Maybe helping someone without having to be asked? Maybe volunteering for an extra shift or two at the shelter?

And who knows. When the 40 days of Lent are over, if we truly follow the Ignatian tradition of serving others and as Christ served us, maybe the happiness we find in serving others becomes a lifestyle we won’t want to give up, and a resolution we can finally keep. (Scholer, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Lent - the epitome of our whole life,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 AD.

"Christians must always live in this way, without any wish to come down from their cross - otherwise they will sink beneath the world's mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make an even greater effort during the days of Lent. It is not a simple matter of living through forty days. Lent is the epitome of our whole life." (excerpt from Sermon 205, 1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 comments that Jesus warns his listeners not to pray, fast, or perform righteous deeds in a showy way, just to impress other people (Matthew 6:1). Instead, he tells us to do them “in secret”—out of love for our heavenly Father (6:4, 6). And what is the fruit of such practices? We grow closer to the Lord; that’s our “reward” (6:5).

So yes, go ahead and make those Lenten resolutions, and try your best to keep them. But remember why you are doing these things. It’s so that God can soften your heart and fill you with all the love, mercy, and grace he wants to give you. That’s how he will “repay” you (Matthew 6:4, 6)!

“Lord, help me to draw closer to you through my Lenten practices!” (Meditation on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, 2025)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts for Ash Wednesday.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, highlights lamentation as an essential aspect of our faith. 

As an example of this “slipping away,” my mind recalls the Roman church’s change in its official stance toward suicide, shifting from an emphasis on punishment to empathy for the person and family. I also think of Alcoholics Anonymous’ recognition that addiction isn’t a malicious moral failing but “a sickness to be cured.” Anger can’t make such switches. Tears can.  

Has God changed, or have we just grown up enough to hear a grown-up God? Old Scripture passages of mercy and pity that once seemed sentimental or impossible begin to finally make sense—and we suddenly notice their frequency, although they were always there. “You had left in tears, but I brought you back. I guided you to springs of water by a smooth path” (Jeremiah 31:9, Jerusalem Bible). This process of transformation by way of tears is largely hidden and unconscious, characteristic of the work of the Spirit. (Rohr, n.d.)

We are grateful for the season of Prayer, Fasting, and Alms Giving as an opportunity to deepen our mercy and compassion towards the people we may have neglected to “see” on our journey.

References

Joel, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/joel/2?12 

Matthew, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/6?1 

Meditation on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18. (2025, March 5). The Word Among Us. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/03/05/1219411/ 

Psalms, PSALM 51 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?3 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Universal Sadness. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/universal-sadness/ 

Scholer, S. (2025, March 5). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030525.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). When You Pray, Fast, and Give Alms. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=mar5 

2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/5 

2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/6