Seven Founders of the Order of Servites
Ash Wednesday
(Fast and Abstinence)
VIOLET
Jl 2:12-18 • Ps 51
2 Cor 5:20—6:2
Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
Almsgiving, Prayer, Fasting
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 1“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
5“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
16“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
FASTING
To fast is to abstain from eating or drinking. Sometimes, it means to refrain from engaging in sexual relations. In the cultural world of Jesus, one fasted in the presence of one’s fellow citizens, and before God.
People fasted for various reasons: to signify repentance for sins, to prepare for encountering the Lord or receiving his message, to accompany prayer in times of need or great crises. Some, like the Pharisees, fasted (on Mondays and Thursdays) as a sign of devotion and asceticism—and were esteemed for it. The cultic law of Israel prescribed a day of fasting intended to move God to forgive the sins of his people. It was called Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. People referred to it simply as “the fast day.”
Jesus fasts like an ordinary religious Jew, and he fasts for forty days and forty nights before starting his public ministry. But he does not emphasize fasting among his followers. He compares himself to a bridegroom and his followers to the wedding guests (Mt 9:15). With his presence, God’s salvation, often symbolized as a wedding feast, is at work. But when he will be taken away from them, they will fast. Jesus refers to his passion and death during Holy Week which is prepared for at Lenten season. The believers fast in solidarity with the suffering Lord.