Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast."
We aren't called to simply fast as hard as we can. We are called to something more dynamic, more personal, and more relational. Jesus knows that it is not only his disciples that experience him being taken from them, but also us as we liturgically relive this part of his life during Lent and the Triduum.
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Christian fasting isn't done for the sake of self-mastery so much as it is about putting first things first.
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Experiencing these difficult and painful mysteries of the life of Jesus invites us to draw as near to him as we can. We do this by expressing our longing for him in prayer and by loving him as we love our neighbor. These are done precisely because he seems more distant right now and we long for him to be closer. This isn't about appearing spiritual or achieving anything for ourselves. It is not a season of self-improvement nearly so much as a season of self-forgetting. It is all about expressing our love for Jesus in a way uniquely appropriate to the Lent.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
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