Saint Hedwig of Silesia
(c. 1174-1243)
Don't you know that
fasting can master concupiscence, lift up the soul,
confirm it in the paths of virtue, and prepare a
fine reward for the Christian?
-- St. Hedwig of Silesia
Abstinence is the mother
of health. A few ounces of going without is an
excellent recipe for any ailment.
-- St. Anthony Grassi
As long as he who fasts,
fasts for God, and he who fasts not, also fasts not
for God, devotion is as well satisfied with one as
with the ohter.
-- St. Francis de Sales
The immoderate long
fasts of many displease me, for I have learned by
experience that the donkey worn out with fatigue on
the road seeks rest at any cost. In a long journey,
strength must be supported.
-- St. Jerome
Jesus in the Desert
(artist unknown)
"Repent and believe the Good News!"
Penance means conversion. The Confraternity of
Penitents is a world wide private Catholic
association of the faithful, completely loyal to our
Pope and the Magisterium.
Our Rule of Life has been reviewed by our bishop and
recognized in these words: "this Rule does not
contain anything contrary to our faith; therefore it
may be safely practiced privately by you or by
anyone inclined to do so. . . . His Excellency
is appreciative of your efforts to live and promote
Franciscan spirituality and especially promote the
neglected practice of penance and he wishes you
success" (January 30, 1998).
Members of the Confraternity of Penitents live this
Rule in their own homes, devoted to prayer, penance,
fasting, conversion, and works of mercy modeled on
Jesus Christ and inspired by the lives and teachings
of
St. Francis,
St. Dominic,
St. Therese,
St. Benedict,
St. Augustine,
St. Ignatius,
and all the saints, most especially Mary, the Mother
of God, who lived a life of true penance
(conversion) in perfect union with our Lord.
May Our Lady and all the saints intercede for all
who wish to embrace a life of penance, anywhere in
the world, so that the grace of God will assist them
to obtain every virtue necessary for a life of
holiness and surrender to the Will of God! Amen.
PRAYER OF PENITENTS
"Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness
of my mind, give me right faith, a firm hope and
perfect charity, so that I may always and in all
things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen."
(Saint Francis's prayer before the San Damiano
Crucifix)
MISSION OF PENITENTS
"Go and repair My House
which, as you can see, is falling into ruin." (The
message given to St. Francis in a voice from the San
Damiano Crucifix.)
ACTION OF PENITENTS
To pray for God's
specific direction in one's life so that, through
humbly living our Rule of Life, each penitent may
help to rebuild the house of God by bringing love of
God and neighbor to his or her own corner of the
world.
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THE
TRUE SENSE OF FASTING
Why do your disciples not fast?
"Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were
fasting; and people came and said to him, 'Why
do John's disciples and the disciples of the
Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?'
And Jesus said to them, 'Can the wedding guests
fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long
as they have the bridegroom with them, they
cannot fast. The days will come, when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then
they will fast in that day.'"
Thus, Jesus does not deny the practice of
fasting, but renews it in its forms, times and
contents. Fasting has become an ambiguous
practice. In antiquity, only religious fasting
was known; today, political and social fasting
exists (hunger strikes!), health and ideological
fasting (vegetarians), pathological fasting
(anorexia), aesthetic fasting (to be thin).
There is, above all, a fast imposed by
necessity: that of millions of human beings who
lack the indispensable minimum and die of
hunger.
In themselves, these fasts have nothing to do
with religious or aesthetic reasons. In
aesthetic fasting at times (not always) one even
"mortifies" the vice of gluttony only to obey
another capital vice, that of pride or vanity.
It is important, therefore, to discover the
genuine biblical teaching on fasting. In regard
to fasting, we find in the Bible the attitude of
"yes, but," of approval and of critical
reservation.
Fasting, in itself, is something good and
recommendable; it translates some fundamental
religious attitudes: reverence before God,
acknowledgment of one's sins, resistance to the
desires of the flesh, concern for and solidarity
with the poor. … As with all human things,
however, it can fall into "presumption of the
flesh." Suffice it to think of the words of the
Pharisee in the temple: "I fast twice a week"
(Luke 18:12).
If Jesus was to speak to us his disciples of
today, what would he stress most, the "yes" or
the "but"? At present we are very sensitive to
the reasons of the "but" and of critical
reservation. We regard as more important the
need to "share bread with the hungry and clothe
the naked"; we are in fact ashamed to call ours
a "fast," when what would be for us the height
of austerity -- to be on bread and water -- for
millions of people would already be an
extraordinary luxury, especially if it is fresh
bread and clean water.
What we should discover instead are the reasons
for the "yes." The Gospel's question might be
stated in our days in another way: "Why do the
disciples of Buddha and Mohammed fast and your
disciples do not fast?" (It is well known with
what seriousness Muslims observe Ramadan.)
We live in a culture dominated by materialism
and unbridled consumerism. Fasting helps us not
to be reduced to pure "consumers"; it helps us
to acquire the precious "fruit of the Spirit,"
which is "self-control," it predisposes us to
the encounter with God who is spirit, and it
makes us more attentive to the needs of the
poor.
But we must not forget that there are
alternative forms of fasting and abstinence from
food. We can practice fasting from tobacco,
alcohol and drinks of high alcoholic content
(which not only benefits the soul but also the
body), fasting from violent and sexual pictures
that television, shows, magazines and Internet
bombard us with daily.
Likewise, this kind of modern "demons" are not
defeated except "with fasting and prayer."
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap.
[Translation by ZENIT]
ZE06022401
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
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