Several years ago, when I was in high school, I was invited by my aunt Mary to participate in a 30-hour fast. The event had a significant impact on me, and since then I have participated in at least one fast a year. Mary, a youth minister at The Church of Saint Paul in Ham Lake, MN, has planned and organized many similar fasts for young people throughout the years of her ministry. In addition to her work, these events also feature a great deal of leadership by the young people who organize, promote, help lead, and participate in the fasts. This month, young people from the Church of Saint Paul will join with youth and adults from nine other churches in their area to learn, fast, and pray. These Minnesotan youth are only one example of the many churches that will be participating in fasts this month. Catholics understand Lent as a time of prayer and fasting and so the weeks before Easter are often chosen for fasts.

Fasting has been a spiritual practice for thousands of years and can be found in the traditions of nearly all the major world religions. In our Catholic tradition we find examples of fasting throughout the Bible, including the fasts by Jesus himself, and throughout Christian history right up to the present day. However, despite the long tradition of fasting that we have inherited, fasting as a spiritual discipline is often misunderstood, especially in our U.S. culture that constantly tells us what we need more of, and rarely tells us what we can do without.

First, the spiritual practice of fasting is not about losing weight or skipping meals. Healthy weight loss involves healthy eating and exercise habits. Rather, by not eating, fasting allows us to better appreciate and understand not only our relationship to food, but to many other material blessings that we often take for granted. The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” summarizes one reason why fasting is useful. By fasting, we don't reject the material blessings that God has given us, but instead we become better able to appreciate and be thankful for them.

Second, fasting is a spiritual tool that we use to strengthen our relationship with God. But the practice of fasting by itself has no necessary spiritual benefit. When we fast, we can't expect that we will automatically grow closer to God. Instead, fasting allows us a unique way to examine our relationship with God. The spiritual benefits of fasting have very little to do with how strict or long our fast is and very much to do with how we use the time we spend fasting.

Third, fasting orients us towards what is important, and gives us a glimpse of other people's experiences. By fasting we learn that, although God has given us many material blessings, God has also invited us to a personal relationship with Christ. In a culture that constantly tells us what we need to buy to make ourselves happy, it is refreshing to learn how much we can do without. Fasting is a way to put aside the material and focus on the spiritual. Additionally, fasting allows us a glimpse of what it is like for those people who must go without. By giving up food, we can begin to understand just a little of what it is like for those people who do not choose, but have to go without food anyway.

Lent is a wonderful time for each of us to turn our attention towards the many blessings God has given us and to reflect on those things which are truly important in life. The Catholic Church claims a strong tradition of both embracing God's wondrous creation and understanding the importance of a healthy spiritual life. This month, perhaps we can each find ways to join the youth of Minnesota by praying for them or fasting in solidarity with them and so many among us who go without each day.

To learn more about the health benefits and risks of fasting visit here.

Catholic Connections

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has much to say on the topic of fasting, a searchable online catechism can be found here.

Reflection Questions

Have you ever had to be away from someone or something for a long period of time? How did that separation change your relationship with that person or thing?


Join us in our Forum to discuss these questions!