One of the pillars of Lent is fasting; the spiritual discipline of giving up food and drink to make space in our lives for that encounter with Christ. Fasting these days often means avoiding other activities or things we have made part of our lives. Many people during this time of Lent choose to limit their exposure to and engagement with social media or other pleasures.
Before Lent, I thought about the foods and drinks I wanted to abstain from. The reason for sticking to the traditional fast from food and drink rather than an activity or a habit is that I believe that, at this point in my faith journey, more impact will be felt by staying away from certain foods.
As teenagers in Catechism class, we would be asked to identify in front of the class
what we were giving up for Lent, and we would each take turns saying what we had given up. Thinking back to that experience, I am certain that, as kids, we were not really aware of what was happening; we just wanted to impress our Catechism teachers, and it became a competition over who could give up the better food. This brings us to another reflection question: Why are you fasting this Lent?
Giving up food, especially the delicious,
unhealthy comfort foods we enjoy, is not easy. We will get tired and tempted to return to the foods and activities we have put aside this Lent. Jesus reminds us to return to the Word of God to sustain us on the journey.
Are you fasting from food or drink this Lent?
What have you given up this Lent?
What led you to decide to give up this specific
food/drink?
