GONE-FAST - One Bread, One Body, 2/8/2008

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Friday, February 8, 2008, St. Jerome Emiliani

Isaiah 58:1-9, Psalm 51, Matthew 9:14-15
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/nab/020808.shtml

GONE-FAST

"When the day comes that the Groom is taken away, then they will
fast." —Matthew 9:15

Jesus said His disciples would fast when He was taken away from them. This
means they would fast after His Ascension, and this the early Church did
(i.e., Acts 13:2; 14:23; 2 Cor 6:5). An extended meaning of this verse
could be that fasting is especially beneficial when we feel Jesus, the
Bridegroom, has been taken away from us. For example, some pastors
periodically go on extended fasts, usually when they notice their zeal to
preach the gospel diminishing. During these fasts, they experience a
recharging of their enthusiasm for serving the Lord.

Fasting may be especially beneficial when our prayer time is "dry."
Fasting can bring us through what seems a communication breakdown to the
communion of the wedding feast of Jesus, the Bridegroom. Fasting is
particularly appropriate in the desert, where the Spirit led Jesus to fast
for forty days (Lk 4:1-2). When the Lord calls us into the desert of
drastically simplifying our lives, we should not eat to try and compensate
for lack of diversions, but should fast and enter into the spirit of
poverty and simplicity.

When our evangelization is flagging, our prayer "dry," and our lives
"desert-ed," it's a good time to fast. When Jesus seems to have been taken
away from us on earth, then fasting takes us in Spirit to heaven with
Jesus.

Prayer: Father, may this forty-day Lenten fast make me lighter physically
and spiritually.

Promise: "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound
unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke." —Is 58:6

Praise: St. Jerome offered pure worship to God by dedicating his life to
caring for orphaned children (see Jas 1:27).

(For a related teaching, order our leaflet, "The Secret of Fasting", or on
audio tape AV 46-1 or video V-46.)

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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my
permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from
February 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008
†Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General Archdiocese of Cincinnati,
August 14, 2007

The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be
free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have
granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or
statements expressed.

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