It is wonderful when people come to Jesus and ask. When they approach the priests and inquire, it’s fantastic. Thank God that people always have somewhere to go to ask. Folk wisdom says, “If you ask, you may be a fool for five minutes. If you don’t ask, you will remain one for life.” Mark Twain also said, “Wisdom is known by the ability to ask questions.” I could crown the battery of wisdom with the words of St. Catherine of Siena: “God created us imperfect so that we would need each other.” Alms-giving. There were confrontations, frictions, and discussions. What does Jesus say about this? “Can the guests at the wedding mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” The time of building the church community has not ended; it resembles a cathedral, where a sculptural workshop is still working, into which new elements, memorial plaques, and works of art are inserted.
What is the situation with fasting today? Four types of fasting are observed. The first is the so-called strict fasting. Currently, we observe it on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. During these two days, we should livesalms-givingrecognize that life encompasses more than mere celebration and acknowledge the uncertainty of the Bridegroom’s presence. Perhaps many of us have experienced that the “empty time” devoted to dining can be used for prayer and meditation. The second type of fasting is the Friday fast. It is to be a fast cause of harm. This fast involves abstaining from one thing in favor of another. Even today, we are invited to pay closer attention to the cross of Jesus Christ and to all the crosses that people in our immediate environment carry. This fasting in particular should be connected to the entire trefoil of penitential practice: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We should pray and give the money we saved for that day’s food to the needy.
The third type is Eucharistic fasting. It is not at all demanding. It is about realizing at least one hour before communion who I will meet, who will physically enter my life. We should symbolically hunger for “the bread of eternal life” (John 6:35) for at least that small moment. “But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast.” There may also be moments when we do not feel Jesus’ discreet presence. We seek him, we long, we thirst for his word, his faith, and his presence. Then fasting enters our life as if by chance. Love is certainly impatient in waiting but absolutely unquestioning in seeking. He who seeks finds. And he who finds rejoices. Fasting can sharpen the senses and the will. Fasting can be a way of searching for God.
