We are called to fast on certain days. During this season of Lent, the church invites us to abstain from meat on all Fridays and to perform other practices of fasting and penance. However, if you fast only because the church tells you to or because you are afraid of committing a sin and breaking a law, then that act of fasting is meaningless. There needs to be a deeper meaning to the giving up of meat on Friday or for any other sacrifice we do. Jesus wants you to fast in order to strengthen yourself in fights with temptation. He wants you to fast so you can show that you are stronger than your desires and other pleasures. And finally, He wants you to fast and to make this small sacrifice so as to be united with Christ’s suffering and death. This is the real meaning of our fasting and sacrifices. In the gospel for today, Jesus was asked why His disciples don’t fast, and so Jesus answered with a question: “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.” When we fast, or make any other sacrifices, we need to look for a deeper spiritual reason for it, not only because we have to, or just because this is the tradition in our church.
