Fasting and Feasting

Every Sunday the Orthodox Catholic Church liturgically commemorates Christ’s Resurrection and considers Sunday a “Feast Day” even during Lent. Historically, therefore, Sunday was observed as a day of celebration and of breaking the lenten fast. On the weekdays of Great Lent, however, fasting and abstinence are probably more important now than ever before, given our culture is shaped by excess.

Fasting and abstinence are spiritual practices that aim to set us free from unhealthy attachments and addictions and to help us remember the poor and to realize how truly blessed we are. Saint Benedict wrote: “nothing is so inconsistent with the life of any Christian as over-indulgence.” Isaiah 58 reminds us that the fast God desires is for us to actively pursue justice for those in need.

It is important for us to find a balance between fasting and feasting. We need to be freed from our attachments and to grow in our solidarity with the poor; but we also need to be nourished and reminded of God’s lavish grace. The goal during feasting, though, is not to excessively indulge in food, but to celebrate and savor God’s gracious provision.

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