Positive fasting in a time of COVID-19

The first part of Lent seemed filled with ice and bad weather, leaking pipes and roofs.  We were  reminded that we are dust and will return to dust, however, I never thought that it would be by freezing in Louisiana.  I hope that many of you were as lucky as I to find a friend who hadn’t lost power and took me in.  For a while there, Lent looked like it might truly be a time of suffering beyond self-imposed penances.  

Lent is traditionally a time when we change our usual routine of life to eat differently, pray more and be more generous in our almsgiving to the poor.  We try to cut down on our excesses in food, drink, entertainment and, being Louisianans, general gregariousness.  We end that with the great big-bang of Mardi-Gras.  This year, however, COVID-19 put an end to all of that many months ago.  It truly seems like we have had a year-long Lent that began with Ash Wednesday 2020.  

No wonder many of the Catholic publications I have been reading tried to put the Lenten season into a more positive light.  One I regularly read, National Catholic Reporter, has a series about Lent during a time of pandemic.  The first commentator they featured was Father Dan Horan.  He made some good points about God accompanying us in our struggles.  God is patient with us.  We have to be patient with others and ourselves.  Our hunger may not be from seeking food, but rather to get on a list to receive a vaccine, and then once on a list to wait in long lines to actually get the shot.  God is patient, we must be too.  It helps to remember what God told the prophet Hosea “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6).

The knowledge of God in part of Hosea’s revelation could be fulfilled by setting aside some time each day to read the Bible and pray over what we read in Scripture.  The purpose of prayer, fasting and  almsgiving is to redirect our attention and priorities from worldly distractions to things that can transform us spiritually.  We have been forced during the pandemic to not socialize as much as we would like.  However, God is always present to us.  As St. Augustine said, “God is closer to us than we are to ourselves.”

Prayer is simply communicating with God, talking, not to ourselves, but to the Spirit of God within us.  By practice we learn to pray better.  The pandemic does give us time for more than binging on TV.  Lent is a time for conversion, a time for turning towards Christ and the Gospel.  

Many people in these pandemic times are hurting financially.  It is a good practice to carry a few dollars in our pockets for those who stop us in the parking lots of  supermarkets.  They seem to have multiplied these past 12 months.  As St. John wrote, “those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (1 Jn 4:20).  From the letters I have received, the Food Bank of Greater Baton Rouge has also seen a substantial increase of demand for food for the poor.  Supporting them with money is feeding the poor.  It is another form of almsgiving.  

Another good source for Lenten spiritually is Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire Institute.  You can find it on Google.  Bishop Barron is an excellent spiritual guide and teacher.  As he points out, “Compassion is key to Christian ethics, learning to suffer with and feel with the other. This is precisely why the two commandments are so tightly linked: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart … and love your neighbor as yourself.’  In loving God, you feel the feelings of God, and God is compassionate to the poor and oppressed.  That’s all the argument that a biblical person needs.”

The last good advice came to me from a religious sister with whom I work on a foundation that supports Catholic missions.  She herself is a missionary in the Dominican Republic.  Her name is Sister Bernadette Mackay.  She wrote, “I received this message today (‘Do you want to fast this Lent? Words from Pope Francis’) and for me it is such a positive way to think of Lent.  I see in this message a challenge to leave aside the gloom and doom approach to Lent, to embrace a Lent that is outward bound, that invites me to bring the others along on the journey and to celebrate goodness and positive engagement for the next several weeks.”   

 “Do you want to fast this Lent?  

  “Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

 “Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.

  “Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

  “Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.

  “Fast from worries and trust in God.

  “Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.

  “Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

  “Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.

  “Fast from selfishness and be compassionate.

  “Fast from grudges and be reconciled .

  “Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.”  

Father Carville is a retired priest in the Diocese of Baton Rouge and writes on current topics for The Catholic Commentator. He can be reached at [email protected].