Hey Deacon

We fast because God commanded it, Jesus practiced it, the Church fathers have preached the importance of it — fasting is a powerful and fundamental part of the Christian life.

For all Christians, fasting is most commonly associated with abstention from food, although it can also take the form of giving up other comforts and entertainment. And for many Catholics, it’s often just an afterthought; something we obediently do on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. For me, I fast to compliment my prayer life, especially if I have a particular prayer intention that weighs heavy on my heart. Call me strange, but I do wonder if my brethren Catholics might gain more out of their fasting if they had a deeper understanding on how fulfilling fasting can be.

To share my perspective, I reference a recent article posted by Catholic News Agency. In the article, the reporter interviewed a former diaconate instructor of mine, Father Hezekias Carnazzo on the theological reasons for fasting. Fr. Caranazz, a Melkite priest and founding executive director of the Institute of Catholic Culture, had this to say about fasting.

“The essence of fasting is the deprivation of the good, in order to make a decision for a greater good. The whole purpose of fasting is to put the created order and our spiritual life in a proper balance,”

Fr. Carnazzo explained that we are bodily creatures in a post-fallen state, and it’s easy to let our “lower passions” for physical goods supersede our higher intellect. He said that we tend to take good things for granted and reach for them whenever we feel like it, without thinking, without reference to the One who gives us the food. We don’t question whether or not it’s good for us.

Fr. Carnazzo said fasting can take on many forms, but it is when we abstain from food that it is especially important. For the past 2,000 years, Christians fast from food because food is like air, like water. Food and water are fundamental needs to life and when we take control over our physical needs, we take the first step toward building up our spiritual life.

The very first fast was ordered by God to Adam in the Garden of Eden when God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gn 2:16-17). This divine prohibition was not because the tree was bad. All creation is “made good” by God, but the fruit of the tree of knowledge was meant to be eaten “in the right time and the right way”. In the same way, we abstain from created goods so we may enjoy them “in the right time and the right way.

Fasting is also good because it is submission to God. By fasting from the fruit of the tree, Adam and Eve would have become partakers in the divine nature through their obedience to God. Instead, they tried to take this knowledge of good and evil for themselves and ate the fruit, disobeying God and bringing original sin, death, and illness upon mankind.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he abstained from food and water for 40 days and nights in the desert, reversing what happened in the Garden of Eden. And like Adam and Eve, Christ was tempted by the devil but instead remained obedient to God the Father, reversing the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

Fasting provides the body-soul connection that deepens our relationship with God and places us more into His presence. As Fr. Carnazzo explained, fasting helps keep our spiritual life in proper balance. It is a powerful and beautiful way of uniting ourselves to Christ, living a life of self-denial for the Glory of God.

Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn