Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 Well, that is the pond, that great season of fat thing, absence and panics. And so as a preparation for the holy land today, we'll look at the answer to several questions. What's the point of fasting? What's the point of app tenants have Lenten requirements changed and what is required of us today? What virtue are we specially supposed to work on and land and why? And then we'll close with a few points to ponder. Okay, so first, what's the point of fasting? Where does this come from? Well, we commit a sin. Our soul will be evil, but typically our body also cooperates because of this pennants at the have two essential things we act have contrition of heart in our soul. We have to have mortification of our body crafting, eating less food than normal in reparation for sin and to appease the anger of God has been a key bodily mortification ever since the fall of Adam.
Speaker 0 01:10 And why is that? According to those great fathers and doctors, the church St Bays as a great saint, Gregory, the great St Jerome and St John Chris's dumb, they command that God gave to Adam and eve for that they were supposed to abstain for one particular kind of food. They weren't supposed to eat the fruit from one kind of tree, but in their pride they reached out and took of the fruit and a day and so the doctors point out that it's easy to see the symmetry between the first and which was not abstaining from food and making reparation for sins by fat, which is abstaining from food. Okay, so what's the relationship between me and fasting? What difference does knee make? Well, there are two important aspects of fat and spiritual writers. Point out. The first is depriving ourselves of some portion of our food and the second is app, which nowadays means depriving ourself to some degree of me.
Speaker 0 02:13 The practice of abstinence dates back to the days just after the flood when God made me irregular part of men's diet. Dom Garren, Jay then corrupt benedict, and who founded the slim congregation points out that since men's lives were weak and the short in after the flood and the providential plans of God, he permitted them to regularly Nate to give them additional strength. And so since the time that bud fasting has meant giving up me to some degree because it's gone guarantee eight points out, well this code was given to man by God out of condescension to as weakness and not as something absolutely essential for the maintenance of life. It's privation is choke of the very notion of fast, close call. Most people probably realize that for many centuries eggs and milk products were also abstained from, since they're all so animal food, even to this day, they're forbidden during that and many of the eastern Catholic churches after all, that's why we give each other Easter eggs because our ancestors couldn't eat eggs until he's true.
Speaker 0 03:23 Wait a minute. Did you say they couldn't eat eggs until Easter? I thought besides the Ash Wednesday, abstinence only pertained to Friday. In recent times, that's true. Absence has only pertained to products, but in the olden days that wasn't true. Corruptly the first thousand years of the Latin Church who liked that we belong to during lat only do it alone except on Sundays and at this one meal me, eggs, butter, cheese, milk and wine were strictly prohibited. Those foods were also banned on Sundays. In other words, no me, no eggs, no butter, no water, no cheese, none at all. We're eating at all during that Sunday or not. Then is it felt wasn't tough enough. During holy week, they upped the hand. All they would eat during the holiday week was bread, so herbs and water and finally as if that wasn't enough, it's one meal per day, wasn't allowed until after vespers.
Speaker 0 04:28 That's pretty said at sunset, so they didn't have any eggs in all plants since they had abstinence straight through until Easter. It indie, except on Sundays before sunset. Then in the 10th century, things began to get very liberal, the Neal time with youth to be after. Since that crept down to three o'clock how did this happen? What happened is the time for the office of vespers got moved. I have to make a small digression here to explain this point. See all clerics like myself on the Deacon and religious have a little book that we have to say every day. It's called the divine office and it's, it's psalms in prayer, it's broken down. We say we have eight different times a day. We say these prayers at that little book we pack on, it's called the breviary. Now for example, the hour sect is traditionally prayed at the middle of the day known as set at three o'clock that's bruises set at six o'clock or sunset.
Speaker 0 05:24 Okay? Sex is 12 known as three vespers at six. Now what happened in the 10th century, they allowed the office and known to be recited as soon as they were done saying sex, which is the middle of the day, that's where we get the word noon. Noon just is known, slid down from three o'clock until midday. That's what it means mid day now instead of three o'clock that couldn't be broken. We talked your vespers, so at a gradual process, vespers cut earlier and earlier to the in the day until finally by the 14th century, vespers could be said in the middle of the day during lent. It's in best spurs were already said around noon at Mac, at the meal time, and now crept down to mid day. Shortly after this development, the practice of taking a small bit of food in the evening called the coalition began to grain ground. Finally, about 200 years ago, the custom of taking a small piece of bread, the crust of bread and see coffee in the morning was introduced.
Speaker 0 06:22 Then gradually over time the Holy See a lot meat can be eating during land, but at first only on Sundays. Then gradually they allowed it on two week days, then three, then four, then five and the u s and the early 19 hundreds during that, the second and last Saturdays were days of abstinence. All the Wednesdays and Friday. Well, today's days abstinence and of course all the weekdays were days of fast. Keep in mind, there's other days of fasting abstinence during the year, but we're just talking about lent right now. Finally, before 1967 when the current Latin rules came into effect, lent had been reduced to abstinence on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays and then fasting and all the weekdays accepting of course the feast of the United CAC. Okay, so that's quite a change, but the whole point of land is fat and of fasting and abstinence. It's still making reparation for sin, isn't it?
Speaker 0 07:20 No, that's not the only point. That's an important point, but it's not the only point. One of the most important fruits of the good land is crow and the virtue of temperance that we've already taken a fairly detailed look at temperance, but at one hurt to have a short review of why we need Camp Burns and what it is that it does for us. Remember that before the fall, Adam had the gift of integrity, the gift, an integrity gave him complete and perfect control over his in that emotions and passions. For example, imagine that Adam looked over and saw eve doing something that wanted anger. He, we've got just exactly what it first decided to be angry. Then he would have been exactly as angry as what's reasonable for exactly as long as it was reasonable, and then he would just instantly stopped being angry, calm down instantly.
Speaker 0 08:10 Of course, that sound thing. None of us have any experience with the gift of integrity. He gave Adam perfect control over his path. Now when he committed the original sin, one of the consequences was the loss of this gift of integrity. Take the passion of anger. For example, each one of us can ask himself, have I ever been angry for no particular reason other than more angry in the situation calls for? Have I ever had a hard time calming down? You can't just decide, okay, anger that'll be enough for now. Goes Away, can you? Why not? Because thank you very much, Adam, you and I, none of us have the gift of integrity. We don't have perfect thing, complete control over our past and since we don't, unlike Adam before the fall, we can get led around by our passions and emotions if we let them.
Speaker 0 09:02 We got to be care and hopefully we all remember that $4 word that described or curtain condition. That's concupiscent. You can Coupa since names the rebellion of our sense appetites like our passions and our emotions to rebellion against the rule of right reason. Guess what? It part sense appetites like hunger or thirst for example, or passions like anger on rebellion against right reason. That means that instead of being led by reason, we can easily be led by our passion and by appetite and every single one of us here knows is which way they'll eat us. That's the whole problem with concupiscence and inclined strongly towards sin. Thanks a lot. Okay, so here we are. None of us have a gift of integrity. We're all suffering from this inclination towards sin called concupiscence. Not that isn't bad enough. The society we live in keeps us constantly bathed in appeals to her can cube sense like no culture in the history of the world.
Speaker 0 10:05 Just think of all the things that are paraded before our senses at all times. This in spite of the fact that it's been known since ancient times, but it pagans that use all the father's doctors and saints in the Catholic Church, they all teach exactly the same thing. They teach that it's a constant battle for any man to conquer his passions and to bring them under the rule of like reason and to live a life of virtue. We have to have our passions in submission, so we've only got two choices. Either our passions serve us, but we serve our passions. That's the difference. Finally, between being saved and being down, how do we control our passions with the power in our soul, a virtue called Camp Pranks. It governs a rebellious sense appetite by controlling our desires for sensitive pleasures. It's the virtue that does battle with concupiscence and presents.
Speaker 0 11:01 It governs their sense appetite. That means it governs our desires for food and drink for procreation and revenge, and prince is a virtue that gives us control over three of the deadly sins over the Gluttony, lust and anger, gluttony and anger. Let's get practical. How can we grow on temporary Saint Andrew Abilene? He points out that if we wanted math to perfectionist way, we have to modify our appetite, saint practice to sail stairs, to go on camp rents. We do this by eating to live, but not living to eat. So we can go on Camp Brits by modifying an appetite for food and drink. And that's why we have lent our fat thing. So we're not only making reparation for our sins, we're also growing intemperate, cocky. I can Cuban, we're going in temperance so it can trap on all the temptations that surround us. Okay, so now we get some idea of importance of passing an absence for the tradition of the church.
Speaker 0 12:06 I mentioned it happening to other Indian practices of lat related temper. First is it all theaters were closed and second, the practice of forbidding the solemnization Americas during lab. The mindsets that in the old days it used to be mandatory for all. Okay, so much for history. Let's look at the current legislation of the church, which binds each one of us here under the pain of mortal sin. Although it's true at 14 ana have to abstain from me on Ash Wednesday. Good Friday and all six of the Fridays of land, all those from 18 to 60 half to fat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Again, all those who are 14 on up have to abstain from meet on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays to land. Although it's from 18 to 60 half to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and that's buying under the pain of mortal sin. I'll make some closing observations. I'm always struck when I read old books about how Catholics used to make fun of the Mohamad as being a bunch of a feminist cities and a wenthe religion, but just to compare it, one of the five pillars of their religion in Ramadan, there 29 day long fast in which between sunrise and sunset, they observed continents and abstain from eating and drinking the serious ones while even swather spit to after sunset. Just compare that to our modern land. They haven't changed the lit boy. We sure have.
Speaker 0 13:50 Number two, we have to keep the current land rule. There's no doubt about that, but let's get serious. To get into heaven, you have to do panic. You don't have to kill yourself, but you have to do pennants. Period. God said, unless you do Penance, you shall surely perish. It's not optional and the bar hasn't been lowered. Furthermore, to get into heaven, you have to have the virtue of temperance. That's not optional and the bar hasn't been lowered. Our current regime is not going to give you the virtue. You have to set the standards yourself. Let's face it, barring an absolute miracle, there's absolutely no way that anyone else can develop the virtue of temperance. If I Lenten fasting and abstinence monster two days of fasting and abstinence and six days, six Fridays of simple apps, <inaudible> going to happen. There's no way you've got to set the standards higher.
Speaker 0 14:56 Third Observation is dom Garren. Jay wrote almost 140 years ago. Quote, I'll tell you, Christian is doing neat course tricked over observers of land even, and it's prevalent. Mild corn. This isn't 140 years ago. <inaudible> Christians do. We meet who are strict observers of land, even in it's present mild farm, unless they're not results from it's ever going spirit of in mortification. A general feminist theory of character, which will lead to fight social disorders, those nations among those people in the spirit and practice the pandemic against themselves, the wrath of God and provoking his justice and destroy them by one or other of these scourges, either civil discord or conquest and it gets in touch like every thinking mind, the observance of the Lord's Day on the one hand in observance of days of pendants and fasting on the other. The word of God is unmistakable.
Speaker 0 16:03 Unless we do panels we shall pear close quote for and last, something each one of us really needs to meditate on. And in six 1341 pope benedict 14 stated quote, the observance of land is the very bad of Christian warfare bias. We prove ourselves to not be the enemies of the Cross of Christ. By it, we get very discouraged as a divine justice by it. We get strength against the princes of dark, quick shields. US would have only hill should mankind grow a myth in their observance, civil land. It will be a detriment to God's glory at this grey in the Catholic religion and a danger to Christian. So neither can it be doubted that such negligence would become the source of misery, a source of public calamity and source of private. Well close quote the victor of Christ bandaid the 14th the observance of land is the very bad of Christian warfare. By it, we prove ourselves not to be the enemies of the cross, the cry by it. We have very good security. As a divine justice. We gained strength against the princess of Dark Shit. Mankind grow or myths, and it's observance. It would be a detriment to God's glory and disgrace to a holy religion at danger torso. Neither can be doubted. It will become source of misery to the world, a source of public calamity and private. Well, by Rant, we prove ourselves not to the enemies out of the Cross and cry.
Speaker 0 18:06 If you love our Lord, you have the next seven weeks to prove that.
