What is the social and apostolic dimension of your practice of fasting? - Daily Reflections March 7,2014

SOUL FOOD

 

A priest went into a restaurant to have a late dinner. He chanced upon a group of rowdy teens shouting, making fun of the food, and heckling the waitress. When the food was set before him, he bowed his head in prayer, said grace and made the sign of the cross. One of the smart alecks in the group thought of making fun of the priest and spoke in a way audible to the whole diner, “So, we have a saint in the house.” Turning to the priest he asked, “Does everyone do that where you came from, padre?” The priest turned to the boy and responded quickly, “No, son, the pigs don’t.”

       Does it really make a difference if you bless the food or not? Does the prayer make the food more palatable? Does the blessing banish all the unwanted calories and cholesterol? I concede it probably won’t.

       So do I bless my food every time I sit before the dining table? Yes, I do, always. I bow my head in prayer and utter a prayer of thanksgiving because when I do so, the food ceases to be just a bodily and gastronomic treat. When I bless God for the food I take, it becomes food for the soul as well. When I bless God for the food I take, I open my heart in gratitude and my soul is nourished as well. When I bless God for the food I take, I dispose myself to the consciousness that “man does not live by bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Food not prayed over surely nourishes the body, but food blessed and prayed over nourishes the body and soul.

       This is why fasting is an essential part of Christian spirituality. Both the First Reading and the Gospel speak of the practice of fasting. Why do we fast? Not because food is bad. We fast in order to tame our physical appetite, which aims only for self-satisfaction, so as to rouse our spiritual appetite to “free the oppressed, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked,” as Isaiah the Prophet enjoins us in the First Reading. Fr. Joel Jason

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you engage in fasting as a conscious practice to rouse your spirit or is fasting simply for you a dietary requirement? What is the social and apostolic dimension of your practice of fasting?

 

Purify my intentions, Lord, as I fast this Lenten season.