Fasting and Feasting

Here in the middle of Lent, I'm reflecting on another thoughtful article from First Things. This one, written by Peter Leithart, is called "Keep the Fast, Keep the Feast." A little excerpt to whet your appetite:

Everywhere we turn, the world tells us not to keep the fast. Everywhere we turn, the world tempts us to be Adam. Our culture is devoted to stoking up our appetites and convincing us that we need to have it all, and to have it all yesterday. We are fooling ourselves if we think we don’t participate in that culture. Few things provide a better counter to that temptation than a diligent, thoughtful observance of Lent and the cultivation of Lenten way of life. Yes, the Church is a festive community, but unless we are also a fasting community, then we are simply a mirror of the world around us.

Fasting looks like an enemy to life, but the opposite is true. We live abundantly only if we know how to fast—which is to say, only if we are disciplined to wait until the feast is ready. Lent trains us to be a people of patience and restraint, a people who rejoices in a God who has time and gives us time and makes us wait for the treasures He gives. Lent trains us to follow the Master who kept the fast.

Read the rest.