The Good Word

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FastingThere are three things by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting, and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy, and fasting: these 3 are 1 and they give life to each other.Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them: they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. From a sermon by St. Pteter Chrysologus, BishopTime and time again, the evangelists speak about fasting. Jesus recommended fasting to make progress in the spiritual life. What Jesus has said about fasting can be summed up in the this way: Fasting is as necessary as prayer (cf. Mt. 6:16).When Jesus explained to his disciples why they were unable to deliver a man from demonic possession, he ascribed a special power to fasting. On that occasion he stated that certain demons cannot be expelled except by prayer...and by fasting.According to Luke, Jesus did not eat for the 40 days he was int the desert. In other words, Jesus fasted before proclaiming the Gospel. Luke 4:2 says: “During this time he ate nothing, and at the end of it he was hungry.”The resolution to fast ought to be a pure intention, free from all self-righteousness or pride. Consider the case of the Pharisee who used his prayer to show off his piety and express his contempt for the publican, a truly humble man (cf. Lk. 18:9-14).So, why do we fast? From a theological point of view, fasting would no longer be necessary after the coming of Christ, for wedding guests do not have any reason to fast as long as the bridegroom is with them (Mt. 9:15). But since Jesus is still to return in his glory, fasting remains a necessary sign of our expectation. It gives us a focus on the Lord who is still to come. By prayer we attach ourselves to God and by fasting we detach our heart from good things that tie us to the affairs of this world. Fasting will lead us to a new freedom of heart and mind. For example, not having to cook will free up time that can be spent other ways.Fasting is not an end in itself, but it moves us toward greater conversion. The physical emptiness brought on by fasting helps us to realize our spiritual emptiness and need. In fasting we come out of our impurities and become pure. Fasting also prepares us for Eucharist. By being too attached to the food on our plates, we run the risk of losing sight of the Bread of Life. In order to become aware of the tiny particle of bread in our body, we must be willing to suffer physical hunger. Otherwise, we risk contempt for the crumbs. Perhaps the poor, who know the importance and the value of daily bread, have best realized the value of the Bread from Heaven. Many times, the heart of the rich has not been open to that “little” gift, which conceals a gift of infinite value. In conclusion, rich and poor are called to fast. The poor must fast in order that they do not become embittered, for fasting will help them to free their hearts and maintain their dignity. The rich should fast so that they will not withdraw themselves and help them to connect to a world where many people go to bed hungry.Fasting can only work in unison with prayer and mercy - the three are one and the one is three.Blessings,Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.

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Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time.Our reading today is taken from the holy gospel according to Matthew.Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."The gospel of the Lord.Homily“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Did Jesus really say those words ... to me? My heart cries out: “I can’t; I’m not Jesus Christ.” And my heart is right, if I expect to try to be perfect in spite of my own human weakness and limitations. But Jesus is asking me and you to open our hearts to him and allow the power and grace of his Spirit to shore up our human weakness and limitations. That is the only way we can fulfill Jesus’ great commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” What does it mean to love God with every fiber of our being? It means to orient our lives, not according to our personal needs, but according to God’s love and mercy. It means treating every person we meet with dignity and respect. Jesus explains this love of God for everyone with an image: “he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” God’s perfection is in treating everyone equally, without our human distinctions.We have a hard time doing that even with people we have just met and especially with people with whom we may have had difficulty. But Jesus does not let up on his demands and tells his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.”Here is where some people just give up. I have lost count of the number of people who have said to me: Father, I cannot forgive, I cannot love my enemies; I am not Jesus Christ. And yet, we are like Jesus Christ; he calls us children of our heavenly Father, and children learn to be like their parents. We look to God in all our needs, because God is almighty, and Jesus is our savior. We confidently ask for so many blessings for ourselves, our families and our friends. We also need to ask God for the difficult graces, to forgive, to love the unloving, to enter more deeply into the spirit and life of Jesus.There are times I manage to summon the courage to make this prayer, but always with trepidation. I know that to share in the glory of Jesus’ resurrection, I have to first share in his passion. There is a cost we must pay when we truly try follow Jesus. That cost is our very selves. Loving those who love us and being on good terms with those who agree with us is easy, Jesus tells us. Pagans and sinners can do that. But to love one’s enemies and pray for one’s persecutors, that is a special grace that Jesus freely bestows on those who truly ask to follow him. Humanly speaking, this should be impossible, but Jesus reveals God’s love for us and makes us children of God in the Spirit, so we can love God above all things and our neighbor as our self – even our enemies.May God bless you.Rev. Karl E. Esker CSsRBasilica of our Lady of Perpetual HelpBrooklyn, NY