Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

ASH WEDNESDAY (February 21, 2007)

Suggested Emphasis

"When you fast, do not look glum like the hypocrites..."

Salesian Perspective

Lent is a time when each of us is challenged to recognize our need for conversion. We are invited closely to examine our relationship with God, ourselves and one another. Simply put, Lent asks us to name those sins, vices, weaknesses -- anything -- that prevent us from making real in thought, word and deeds our God-given dignity.

A popular way of ritualizing this inner journey is to “give up” something for Lent. Maybe you refrain from tobacco; others eschew alcohol; still others pass up all desserts. In short, we do without something we normally enjoy. Using traditional language, Lent is a time for fasting. Francis de Sales was no stranger to fasting or “giving up” for Lent. He endorsed the practice of fasting, provided that it meets three conditions.

First, our fasting “should be entire and universal.” Our “giving up” cannot be limited to depriving our mouths of food, drink or other treats. Francis insists that, among other things, we should deprive our eyes of things that are "frivolous" and unhealthy: we must deny our ears “vain” talk or gossip: we should deny our tongue words that slander, accuse or injure: we should give up “useless thoughts, vain memories and all the superfluous appetites and desires” of our will. Second, our fasting should not be done for the eyes of others. Rather, our "giving up" is meant to be scrutinized by God. Third, all of our actions, including our fasting, serve only "to please God alone, to whom all honor and glory belong."

Fasting, however, is only half of the story. Lent, in its fullest expression is also a season for feasting! In their book A Sense of Sexuality, (Doubleday 1989) Drs. Evelyn and James Whitehead remind us that “fasting, at its finest, is neither solely punishment nor denial. We fast not only to avoid evils but to recapture forgotten goods.” Put another way, “the ‘no’ of fasting is fruitful only if we have some deeply valued 'yes' in our life.” The arduous discipline of feasting complements our fasting; we need something for which to fast.

That's right. Feasting requires no less discipline than fasting. The discipline of feasting celebrates well and heartily the God-given blessings that we enjoy without engaging in selfishness and excess. Lent, then, is as much a matter of “doing” as it is “doing without”. St. Francis de Sales writes in his Introduction to the Devout Life: “Both fasting and working mortify and discipline us. If the work you undertake contributes to the glory of God and to your own welfare, I much prefer that you should endure the discipline of working than that of fasting.”

He continues: “One person may find it painful to fast, another to serve the sick, to visit prisoners, to hear confessions, to preach, to assist the needy, to pray, and to perform similar exercises. These latter pains have as much value as the former.” Whether through fasting or feasting, turning away from sin or embracing virtue, these forty days of Lent are about our “insides”: our heart, mind, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, hopes and fears. It is the journey of the soul and spirit. “As for myself,” says Francis de Sales, “it seems to me that we ought to begin with the interior.”

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.