Be a source of “light” to the world - That is not our own

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah that fasting is simply a means to an end…..If our fasting does not produce “good fruit” in our life and in the lives of those around us, it is meaningless!….”Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own”……….Fasting, like all other religious practices can turn into an idol if we are not mindful of this temptation…..God is not impressed with our fasting - He is God!…..God wants us to use our fasting to temper of secular world view - To cling to heavenly pursuits - To sharpen our prayer - To bring to our attention our great need for divine assistance…..This is the purpose of fasting and this is something that will open us up to God’s grace……The devil is very shrewd, he works in our life very subtly….Radical fasting, especially when we accomplish what we set out to fast from, can easily feed our pride….When just the opposite should take place - Fasting should humble us…..Keep your “eyes on the prize”……..Use this time of fasting and keep in mind - Fasting is not something to be utilized just for Lent…But again, ask yourself the question - Why do I fast?

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you”

Lent is an opportunity for grace and fasting for 40 days helps us to obtain that grace…..Many years ago, when I was in my late twenties and single - I fasted for the grace to live a chaste life as prescribed by the Church for single men….In my struggle with my own flesh I came to release that without God’s grace - There is no way a person can live a chaste life - No way!….However, during that one Lent, after an intense period of fasting, I was given the grace to remain chaste - And that period lasted for nearly 15 years until I meant my wife, with whom I now have five children……That Lenten fast many years ago taught me many things - For one - That we can not self manufacture grace - That there are limits to our strength, to our will power and to our self discipline….But realizing our limitations is a good thing - Because when we do - We cling to God - And God never abandons us…..As Catholics, the Church asks of us many things - And everything the Church asks of us is achievable - But only with and through God’s grace…..Our world today does not value grace, nor do I think the secular world believes it is even real - But it is very real!…..Sacramental grace is the “life blood of the world”…Remember the words of Jesus noted in the Gospel of John……“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” - Did you “catch” that? - “No life within you”……Do we take the words of Jesus seriously?…….Our world desperately needs to live sacramentally…..What does that entail? - Frequent Confession (once a month as prescribed by the saints: Padre Pio & Pope John Paul II) and reception of the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…..This is the answer too so many of our problems….This is how we obtain needed grace….Our physical bodies have limits - But God is limitless - And with God’s grace we can do all things in and through Christ.

“For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn”

Today at Mass the Prophet Isaiah teaches us what a proper fast looks like….He tells us what the outcome of our fasting should produce.............”Releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own”…….Simply put - Fasting is a means to an end….Its a “tool” in our Catholic “tool box” and we should utilize this “tool”….Why? - Because we all need all the help we can get!….Isaiah ends the first reading today with this - “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!”……..Lent is a a special time in the liturgical calendar - Its a opportunity to obtain tremendous amounts of grace - A time to learn about our weaknesses and our attachments to this world - And also a time to understand how God “steps in” and assists us - Forming us to become the people we were born to be……The “light” Isaiah references is not our own - Its from God - And in order for that “light” to “break forth like the dawn” - We must do as the great John the Baptist instructed us - “I must decrease and he must increase” - Fasting helps us to do just that….So we can…… Be a source of “light” to the world - That is not our own……………..JMJ