On 'Fast' Track

The lent is round the corner, and there are many who have begun their serious preparations to make the best out of this season of grace. There are some who would do the most ostentatious and outrageous penance for their sins, and some would go to the extent of mortifying themselves foregoing meals, rest, little pleasures of the world in order to feel one with the suffering Christ. It is hard to say where one should stop in these endless pieties and what would be more pleasing to the Lord than these external pieties, which sometimes may not have much congruence with the interior lives of persons.

It is possible to turn all one’s pieties and noble actions to religious intentions and orientations; for instance, skipping a meal (generally the breakfast for some, and for some others both breakfast and supper) is considered as a mark of mortifying one’s body, not yielding to the pleasures of the physical body. The Muslims are known to do the strict fast for 40 days, fasting from sunrise to sun set and I could see some of the Muslim friends and service persons, worn out by middle of the day. Are these pieties voluntary? There is greater danger if they are institutionalized and one feels obliged to practice it, even if s/he has no inclination to it.

It is understood that there are better ways of mortifying oneself, rather than depriving the body of the essential nutrients and sustenance to carry out our responsibilities. I have seen some of my friends, who would fast every day of Lent, but would not have enough strength to do some of the works which may be expected of them. I have realized that if these pieties, which are merely means, become ends in themselves, then they cease to have the meaning and significance they once had. Any piety which does not help a person to live an authentic transformative life, then it is not worth.

I was told that fasting is one of the most common religious austerities that many of the religions of the world recommend to their people. As the people mortify their bodies, their souls are expected to rise above the material world, into a world that brings them together as brothers and sisters of one Father. I have seen my mother fasting every Friday of the year, and even when there are Liturgical festivities, such as Christmas or birthday of a family member, she would still keep the fast. I had tried to explain to her the meaning and significance of fast and still she would not give it up; it is for her a serious act, and it cannot be given up under any circumstances.

We all care for our bodies more than they really deserve. There are people who are too finicky about the care for their bodies, that they would go to ridiculous extent to make sure they present their bodies as if it is a treasure they cannot touch. I remember one of my younger friends, who while undergoing training to become a Jesuit, would rush to the wash basin to wash his hands after every five minutes of the 30 minutes of manual work. He would be spending half his work time, washing his hands, because he could not tolerate dirt and mud on his hand. But if only we realize that the body is but soil, and soil is our body, then we would treat our bodies differently. Yet, there is a spirituality which places the human body as a temple of the Spirit, and that is an altogether different realm.