Friday after Ash Wednesday
Today’s first reading from Isaiah (58-1-9a) contains some concrete advice about how we might “fast.” This is especially important for this first Friday of Lent. How should we keep this day of penance, Isaiah asks. Not by hypocrisy or “…bowing our heads like a reed and laying in sackcloth and ashes…”, but by good works instead. His list of suggestions is familiar to every Christian, and a good reminder for everyone: “…releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”
In modern tradition, the Catholic Bishops ask us to abstain from eating meat during each of the Fridays during Lent, except on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday when we are asked also to limit our food intake to the equivalent of just one full meal for each of those special days.
According to Jessica Coblentz in U.S. Catholic “Fasting rituals are not legalistic obligations but rather collective rituals of self-denial aimed at imitating Christ.” Perhaps the most profound statement of the practice is expressed by Fr. Daniel Merz of the Conference of Catholic Bishops: “For the Christian, fasting is ultimately about fasting from sin.”
Cutting out meat and skipping a meal is pretty easy by comparison, but a good reminder of the life we are called to.
Prayer
Lord, help me to live with many forms of fasting in my daily life and for those sacrifices to help me become a better Christian in all its magnificent manifestations.
Vince Bolduc
Professor Emeritus of Sociology
First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9a
Psalm 51:3-6b, 18-19
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15
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