We hear Jesus tell us today that there is a time for fasting. Fasting is one of our Lenten disciplines that the Church calls us to during this holy season. Fasting is not just refraining from eating for a time, but it is also giving up other things in our lives as a sacrifice in order to grow in our faith. We are to seek God in fasting, in making a sacrifice, in giving things up. That is what our Catholic faith calls us to do. Giving up things can be a sacrifice, but it can be freeing as well. When I was a missionary in Ecuador for 3 years, we did not have a telephone or a computer or a TV or any kind of technology like that. In fact, the nuns I worked with asked the bishop if he could have computers for us to use to send email back home or other kinds of communication when we came into town, which was only maybe once a month. Most of us had to rely on mail service to communicate with our families. Since we did not even have direct mail service, it sometimes took six to eight weeks to send a letter and to get a response. The Bishop told us that the poor we served did not have access to computers or email, so we missionaries would also not have such access. That seemed like a harsh decision, but it made me appreciate what I have, to appreciate the technology that makes life easy for us, something we often take for granted. I think a lot of the faithful might dismiss the thought of fasting as a practical Lenten devotion, but may today’s Gospel help us think about how we can incorporate fasting into our Lenten disciplines this year.
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