I still remember my tin candy can of Cabury’s Roses.
It was an essential part of my childhood Lenten journey. I would “give up” candy for Lent but not give it away! Instead of devouring my usual supply, I would put it in that empty can and save it for an Easter feast.
This practice provided a great source of motivation for me, while also providing an occasion for sin for my siblings who often raided my tin and stole from my precious supply.
I look back on those days with happiness but sometimes wonder if and how my practice of fasting has evolved. I think many of us continue our adult faith journey with our childhood practices in our backpack.
Even the Church has failed to evolve in its practice! We are considered to be in adherence of Lenten Fridays when we abstain from our beef burger and switch to salmon or lobster instead – not exactly a sacrifice for those of us who enjoy eating fish.
So how do I think of fasting today? I view fasting as a pilgrimage! A pilgrimage is essentially a process of dislocation where the destination, the shrine, the holy place, is actually secondary. What is important is the journey.
No pilgrimage captures this as well as the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. The richness is found in the reflection and the conversations with fellow travelers. And these pilgrimages are not marathons. We can pause for a break, stop for a day, even take a small detour.
It is the physical leaving of ones’ regular places of work and living that allows for the experience of new ideas, people, and experiences which in turn allow for the Spirit to touch our hearts.
Fasting is simply another way of giving the Spirit access to our hearts.
I have cast off the childish notion of fasting as a task to accomplish. My question now is – what activity or thing can I abstain from that is important enough to me so that when I am drawn to it and consciously abstain from it, my thoughts are redirected to God. This is vitally important! When we consciously satiate ourselves with the physical, there is a diminished space for the Divine presence in our lives.
So, I now fast from fasting! I no longer allow myself to become preoccupied with the “what” or the fidelity to the discipline – even a breaking of the fast can become a positive choice if it shifts my focus back to God and to the presence of the Spirit’s work in my life.
So I invite you to choose an activity or a commodity that you usually enjoy and for these forty days, set it aside. Allow yourself to experience a healthy level of displacement and allow the Spirit to fill that space instead.
This is a great way to think about fasting! It puts into words what I believe but articulates it in a more understandable and sharable way. Thank you!
Great Reflection Anthony! I think back to the origins of some of those deeply rooted Catholic traditions which started in time of history where the majority of people were illiterate. Over time, we forget the origins; the tradition becomes normative. And in our educated world we ask, “How do we make sense of this?”
Talib