Lenten fasting challenges us to focus on God

Intermountain Catholic

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By Timothy Johnston

Special to the Intermountain Catholic

Lent was my least favorite season when I was younger. I found it to be too long and too hard —specifically, the idea that I had to give up something that I really liked. This practice of "giving up" something was never really explained to me. All I knew was that every year starting on Ash Wednesday and going to after the Easter Vigil I could not eat chocolate. It was painful and just because I could not have the delectable treat, my mind focused on it constantly. It was even worse in my house because we had to fast from these things even on Sundays. My students in both elementary and high school have shared similar scenarios. They are told they have to give something up, but are never told why and how it helps with the conversion of heart and mind.

The practice did not start to make sense to me until my sacraments class in college. Now that I am older and have had the chance to reflect on my various religious experiences as well as study our tradition, I have grown to appreciate the length and silence of the season of Lent. I have also come to appreciate the practice of fasting or giving something up even though it is still not very easy.

In a culture that wants everything now, it is hard for us to slow down, stop and not indulge in things whenever we want to. Our Christian heritage invites us to prepare ourselves to renew our baptismal vows during the season of Lent, but also look deep within ourselves, discover our sinfulness, and offer it to God for healing. Fasting or giving up something is a discipline that helps us turn from our selfish desires and move to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Lent provides us with a 40-day retreat, a time to slow down and really examine our brokenness, our sinfulness. During these 40 days we, hopefully, renew and deepen our practice of prayer; we challenge ourselves to be more charitable, and we fast. What we must remember is that this is a communal effort. Fasting is a discipline that helps turn our focus back to God. The hunger pangs we feel or the cravings we must resist are reminders that we must completely empty ourselves and turn away from the things that keep us from loving God and knowing God more intimately. Fasting is not a punishment, but an act that reminds us of God’s love for us and hopefully our love for God, our desire to be drawn deeper into God’s life.

So this year, as you think of what to give up for Lent, think of something that is going to challenge you to become a better person. For me, giving up chocolate no longer does that. As a mature Christian adult, I must reflect on the things in my life, like the Internet, that occupy my time needlessly and keep me from focusing on God in my life.

I suggest that you take time as a family, couple, or individual and discern the things in your life that keep you (family, couple or individual) from living your baptismal vows. Lent calls us to prepare for the great feast of Easter, where we will once again renew our promises to live a life rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.