Transcription
How does fasting stand in the light of the divine will? Can one fast in the divine will? I've even had this point raised to me in this way. Does the soul in the divine will need to fast? The real question we need to consider is this. Is it truly God's will for a soul living in the divine will to fast?
So, in order to find out, we need to look at what the church actually says about fasting. As we are all well aware, the church strongly recommends or to be more precise, they will it strictly commands us to observe a fast on at least two specific days every single year. These are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and it is set as such from the age of majority at 18 up to 59 as an obligatory law. Right?
But in reality, the church's approach, let's read it because it's much broader. This specific passage is taken directly from the code of canon law chapter well canon number 1,249. Indeed, all of the Christian faithful, each in their own particular way, are strictly obligated and bound by divine law to perform acts of penance. However, so that everyone may unite in some common practice of penance, certain penitential days have been established on which the faithful dedicate themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity and practice self-denial, fulfilling their own obligations with greater fidelity, and above all observing fasting and abstinence according to the rules already mentioned.
So here notice the church recommends first of all this spirit of penance of mortification and it is recommending it because of a divine law. In other words, Jesus said so. If you do not turn to penance, you will all perish. So this comes from God. And the church not only commands it on a personal level but also on a communal level. That is to say, as members of the church, just as our sins do not only affect us personally in our personal relationship with God and our soul, but they also affect Thank you. the mystical body of Christ or they fill it up. In other words, when someone sins, it causes the mystical body to become darker to have another wound and so on. I'm saying this symbolically so it's easier to understand, right? Likewise, when one does penance and unites oneself as part of the mystical body in this, it helps to heal the wounds of the church. Not only one's own penances, but also those of the church. So look at what a beautiful spirit this is. So that everyone may unite in some common practice of penance as the mystical body penitential days have been established.
In other words, the church requires the minimum which are those two days when the faithful dedicate themselves not just to fasting as it says here and abstinence but to something broader. They should devote themselves to prayer, perform works of piety and charity and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations with greater fidelity. So it is this whole spirit of penance which is much more complete than just the practice of fasting or abstinence. Therefore, the church recommends all of this. Therefore, for us then we see that it is God's will at least on those days. Right? This is also expressed in the fourth commandment of the church to do penance when holy mother church commands it. So in a way it obliges us. It's a way of saying that it obliges us but let's put it differently. Rather, we should see God's will expressed in what the church recommends to us.
So, can the human soul truly practice these acts both fasting and abstinence while living within the divine will? Now, how can we come to know this for certain? We have our perfect model who is Jesus himself regarding fasting. Yes, in the desert he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. And surely he practiced fasting on many other days throughout his earthly life as well. Did he need to fast? No, he didn't do it out of necessity. He had no need to fast because he had no sin and owed nothing to the divine. Well, to God, to the divinity. But even more, he didn't need to eat or sleep or walk or work or do anything at all. And yet he performed all these acts. So you see, it's not about whether the soul living in the divine will has a need or doesn't have a need, but rather whether it is God's will. Jesus did it. Why? Because he saw the wise will of God to carry out that act of fasting.
Why did our Lord fast? If he didn't fast to repair and atone for his own sins which he didn't have and didn't exist. So then why did he fast? Here we are going to discover how he did it in the divine will to give us an example that it's not only necessary to eat but also sometimes to deprive ourselves of food or to limit ourselves in eating. But it's not that he gave us an example just as a pose like now I do this so that others see me do it and do it themselves. But truly because he has that spirit as the universal repairer to make reparation for all our sins, our lack of temperance, the sins of gluttony and all that lack of self-control in eating and in other aspects of life. So Jesus truly carried out his actions with that Holy Spirit, not merely as an outward gesture or a simple pose, but truly with the profound spirit of universal reparation and to ask for us to be able to achieve true mastery over our own inner selves in all those aspects and to possess the essential virtue of temperance.
Another reason why Jesus fasted was also to give value to fasting. to sanctify it so that it would be a means for us to unite with him and obtain beneficial things. In reality, it's not that fasting by itself already produces all the beneficial spiritual effects it can give us, but rather why did Jesus do it and sanctify it? So, if we do it united with Jesus, it will produce those effects. But if we do it for other reasons, it won't produce the spiritual effects. It might produce other effects. Now we know there are many people who choose to fast for example for various health reasons. While it is true that such practices may indeed help their health, the sacred spirit of penance and sacrifice for which the church does it is something else entirely. Right? So let us also remember that it is a means that helps us to to master ourselves and to come closer to Jesus or already in the divine will with the light of the divine will to perform that act as Jesus did to unite ourselves to that act of Jesus and to have that act of Jesus within us in our life in the divine will so that there is no emptiness no lack of union with that act of Jesus of fasting of sacrifice So it's not an end in itself because sometimes it also seems like well now I'm going to fast even with a spirit of penance. But people seem to focus much more on how much they fast, how many days, which days, how much. In other words, fasting itself is not the goal. Rather, let's see it more broadly. It's a means to mortify yourself but to open the doors to the entire spiritual realm to take steps in the spiritual life.
And why else did our Lord fast? Actually remember that the most important point for him in all his actions was the divine will. So even in fasting, Jesus did it with the intention that we might reach the true fasting of our human will so that we may always be nourished by the divine will. That is what he obtained for us with his fasting. So we can unite ourselves to this way of fasting of our Lord. A way in the divine will universal and meant to give life to the divine will in fasting. Jesus already teaches this to Louisa from the very first volume. This is what he tells her. The first thing I want you to mortify is your will. It's not just about the pleasure of food or overeing, but ultimately through that to reach the central point which is to mortify one's own will. Remember that our will is what gives life to all our actions. So sometimes we are giving it a lot of life in the act of eating and in many other actions also. For example, this includes the church already teaches that fasting is not just about food or limiting oneself to bread and water but also about fasting understood in a broader sense. Abstaining from many things that even if they are permissible, we can deprive ourselves of and be much more measured with. For example, with words, not just dirty words or words that are sinful, but even words that are not sinful. But we can fast in order to to mortify our will.
In volume one, when Jesus says this, he tells her that the first thing he wants her to mortify is her will. He teaches her this in practical matters specifically, not just in my will and that's it. in some very abstract way. No, the will is exercised in the actions of daily life. So he teaches her in most in all the acts of daily life. Louisa makes a list of which acts right including eating as well. So let's keep this in mind. It's not just about fasting but going deeper which is really about mortifying our own will in such a way that even people who are not required to fast for example those over 60 years old can still practice mortification even through fasting. Not because they are obliged to, but they could do it voluntarily. Or they could moderate themselves a bit with food or with some pleasure related to food or with any other kind of mortification. The spirit of penance is for everyone. The obligation to fast as an obligation is measured very moderately by the church, isn't it? Likewise, children, young people, and adolescents are not strictly required to fast as an ecclesiastical law. But in the same place, the church recommends that the spirit specifically of sacrifice be instilled in them. A little further on it says pastors of souls and parents should ensure that those who have not yet reached the required age and are not obliged to fast or abstain are also formed in an authentic spirit of penance but that they are still taught to make voluntary sacrifices.
Well, then how does God want us to fast? Precisely not out of obligation. Jesus did not do things out of obligation. Not even the things that in his time were commanded by the law, the Mosaic law, the law given by God and kept by the Jewish people. for example, circumcision, presentation at the temple, and other things as well like Passover, the observance of Passover every year, the pilgrimage to the temple, attending the temple every so often and so on. Jesus did not do all those things just to fulfill the law, but because he saw in them the will of God. The blessed virgin did the same. This is mentioned in the book about the virgin in the 31 meditations on day 25. I'm going to read that little passage where it talks about the circumcision. Dearest daughter, you should know that the eighth day arrived for the heavenly child who had been born into the light of day. And the divine fiat sounded the hour of pain, ordering us to circumcise the precious little boy. It was an extremely painful wound to which little Jesus had to submit because it was the law in those times that all firstborns had to undergo this painful wound. It could be called the law of sin. But my son was innocent and his law was the law of love. However, since he came not to find man as king, but man degraded and fallen to become his brother and lift him up, he wished to humble himself and submitted to the law voluntarily. Then as it says here that the divine fiat commanded them that is it's not that the fiat appeared to them in some way and made them know with a divine voice that this was the will of God. No, they saw it expressed in the law legitimately given which existed at that time. So it is the spirit with which we view this law of fasting and abstinence seeing there the will of God and embracing it voluntarily and that of course is lived in the divine will and bears its fruits.
Well, how does God want us to fast? Jesus also told us with what intentions and dispositions. Remember that he said when you fast do not put on a sad face like the hypocrites do for they like people to know they are fasting right and there they would have their reward no when you fast wash your face in other words don't put on an outward show don't want others to see you but only your father who is in secret in heaven will see and will reward you that is to say here Jesus is emphasizing the importance of purity of intention So what is the only right intention? To do it for God, for God out of love for him, for reparation, and for our neighbors, but not so that others see and recognize us, but spiritually for all our neighbors. And here I want to read a short reflection from volume 5 so that we may have an intention much more like that of Jesus. Once Jesus said to her on October 27th, 1903, "Acepting mortifications and sufferings or undertaking them as penance and as punishment for one's own sins is praiseworthy and good. It is something good, but it has no connection with the divine way of acting. Because I did much, I suffered much. But the way I did it was not for that reason, but solely out of love for the father and for human beings. So the soul, the creature can easily and quickly discern whether it has the way of acting and suffering in the divine manner. And that is if only love moves it to act and to suffer. That is not out of necessity, not as punishment, not for other reasons, but is it God's will? Okay, I do it willingly out of love for Jesus, out of love for souls, to fulfill his will, to give him glory and so on. All that loving intention directed rightly toward God. He says if it has other motives, even if they are good, they are still creaturely ways and therefore it will have only the merit that a creature can acquire. That is, he is not saying it's bad or that it shouldn't be done. No. Yes, it's good. It's praiseworthy. But we can rise even higher in likeness to Jesus in union with him. So on the other hand, if it is done in the other way, it will acquire the merit that God himself can acquire by uniting his ways to those of the creature. Whereas if it has my way, the fire of love will destroy all disparity and inequality and will form a single thing between my work and that of the creature. Let us apply this to his fasting and that of the creature to his sacrifice and that of the creature. So look how beautiful this is. What a great light he is giving us on how to do the fast we need to do by uniting ourselves to Jesus in the divine will with the same ways that he fasted.
Well, sometimes it is said that in the divine will there is no need to fast. Well, that's what some people say. Well, yes, the divine will is not about doing fast. Living in the divine will is not about that. However, it does mean living your whole life and all your actions in the divine will. So, it also includes some fasting. In fact, Jesus also tells her, for example, in volume 11, there is something that talks about this. One time Louisa wrote this having read in a book about a saint who at first almost had no need for food and later had to eat frequently and her need was so great that she would cry if she was given nothing. I says Louisa became worried thinking about my current state because before I used to eat very little and was even forced to throw it up. In other words, Louisa lived like this for many years. We know from volume 1 that she already recounts that this happened that she mortified herself so much and God gave her this gift because this truly is a gift of not needing food. She didn't feel like eating and didn't need it. It's not that she became weak, but rather that God, communion, and fulfilling God's will were truly enough for her. And what also gave her a lot of strength was seeing Jesus or going to Jesus and living in that union with him. And then it says here that now I eat more food and I don't throw it up. So at some point in her life, God allowed her to live this way. And so she thought, "Blessed Jesus, how is this possible? As for me, I consider it a lack of mortification. And it is my own wickedness that leads me to these miseries of once again needing to eat. She was referring to herself. So look, she starts from a completely different point than we do. That is Louisa was already coming from a totally different and opposite place compared to us. In other words, Louisa had already spent years living in continuous fasting. We haven't and it's not that we have to imitate her in this either. No, that was already a gift, a characteristic that God, a grace that God gave specifically to her. Something God especially wanted for her. What is inia? It is an extraordinary mystical phenomenon. We don't have to imitate her in that. I mean to those extremes that is we should fast as the church prescribes. Yes. But not to those extremes.
So Jesus explains to her why he worked with her in that way. My daughter, Jesus said to her, do you want to know why? Here I am to please you first for the soul that is for her. Here it is specifically for her to make her entirely mine to empty her of all that is sensory and fill her with all that is heavenly with what is divine. In other words, so that she would not live only by the senses. Sensory means what comes in through the senses and to fill her with the heavenly and divine making her much more alive in that spiritual part. I detach her even from the need for food so that she almost has no need for it. So finding herself in these conditions, she realizes firsthand that only Jesus is enough. That is she vividly experiences that only Jesus is enough, that she needs nothing else. And the soul that is Louisa rises up, despises everything, is concerned with nothing else, and her life becomes heavenly. In other words, in spirit, it is only of heaven. After having firmly established her in this way for years and years, strengthening her in this, I no longer fear that what is sensible, that is, what enters through the senses, will cast even the shadow of an impression on her, because after having tasted what is heavenly, it is almost impossible for the soul to enjoy, that is, to take pleasure in the dregs and filth, in other words, the things of this earth that have no importance. and which will come to an end. Then I restore her to ordinary life because I want my children to partake of the things created by me out of love for them according to my will, not according to theirs. And it is only out of love for these children that I am obliged to provide for the others. Well, then this was the work of Jesus in Louisa in a way that was let's say much more complete he does not ask as much of us but he does ask for that spirit precisely that spirit of detachment of greater indifference toward the things of this earth including food. Let's apply it to fasting and to other little pleasures so that we may be more detached that we do not depend on these things that they do not affect us so much. Right? and that we pay much more attention to the spiritual matters of the soul to the divine will and to developing this whole interior life.
So well I am going to finish the chapter. Moreover, when I see these heavenly children take what is necessary with sacrifice with detachment and according to my will. In other words, we have to reach this point here. It really says when I see these heavenly children take what is necessary. In other words, when we take only what is necessary, the food needed to preserve life for as long as God wills with a spirit of sacrifice and detachment and according to God's will, not according to our own preferences. Then that attitude, that way of taking food or the things of creation for me is the most beautiful reparation for all those who use natural things not according to my will. So he says, "What harm is there in taking a little more or a little less of this dross in my will?" Referring to Louisa, but it could also apply to us once we have gained more control over all these desires. So fasting is not just about abstaining from food. And with food, it means planning the meal, preparing it, going out to buy it. In other words, fasting frees up a bit of your time and inner attention. But it's not just about taking it away, but rather what are you going to fill that space with? It's about putting in its place, as the church says, prayer and good works. That is instead of that you'll have a bit more time to read more about this about the knowledge of the divine will to practice a bit more to pray a little more maybe I don't know about the chapter you read or the hours of the passion and so on and in this way the divine will will be transformed in other words not only will we fast from our own will but we will also partake of the most precious and nourishing food of the divine will which is the food of Jesus of Louisa and of the souls who wish to live in the divine will. So that is truly the purpose of fasting as seen from the perspective of the divine will and united with Jesus and the blessed virgin when they practiced it. Well, I hope that all of this helps us to live out this aspect as well in the divine will. Let us ask God to help us do it with this entire spirit. All right then. I'll be seeing you again very soon.