Anonymous asked:

Is fasting a heart issue? I hear all kinds of arguments, “fasting from Facebook, fasting from football”, etc.

 

We often second-guess ourselves about the “purity of our motives” and whether we can truly “follow God from the heart” or whether this is a “real” fast.

But let’s break it down this way.

1) Everything we do comes from our heart: our entire being.

2) Our hearts are always mixed up with spotty motives, because we’re human and we have that condition called sin.

3) But we follow God anyway, imperfectly, by all His available grace.

 

So hey: If someone in their less-than-perfect knowledge of Jesus decides to fast from Facebook and football and donuts and blogging and smoking, no one has a right to cut in with judgments of “heart issues” or other condemning accusations. 

I do understand what what you mean here — that we should advise people of being sincere because there’s a danger of making it a religious duty — but I have met absolutely NO ONE who says, “You know what, I want my fast to be fake this time. I’m tired of being authentic.”  

By the grace of God, we’re all struggling to be real here, and if fasting from watching the game on Mondays will help with that, then by all means let’s applaud our baby steps together.

Continue reading “Question: What’s With Fasting?” →

“Don’t let the world tell you what it means to be a religious person, but let Jesus Christ tell you what it means to be human.”

— Fr. Charles, OFM Cap