Temperance — The Virtue of The Fast
The Desired Outcome of Mortification
Introduction
In my youth, I suffered from hyperthyroidism. The condition has since been alleviated through the use of radioactive iodine. Nonetheless, In my twenties I suffered from intense hunger pangs. The hunger pangs were so intense that they often required immediate attention. If I did not insert some food into my mouth when the hunger struck, I would often break down into tears or lose my temper. It made me an irritable and impatient person.
I used to attribute this phenomenon to my hyperthyroidism but these days, I have come to see it in a different light. In my younger days, what I lacked was the virtue temperance. And I lacked it because I lived far away from the presence of God.
Temperance
What is the virtue of temperance? It is the virtue that controls our consumption of things that we find pleasurable. These things may include food, drink, entertainment and other forms of comfort.
A truly temperate and God loving man is able to live with very little, sustaining himself only on the love of God. And that is precisely the role model we should follow.
Why do we fast during lent?
This is a very important question and one that I have been grappling with for some years. I used to think that fasting during lent was to save money for almsgiving. If the fast does not reap extra savings for the poor, it is worthless. My understanding of this practice has since evolved. Here are three ways in which fasting can benefit the soul:
- It breeds patience and compassion
At a very primal level, hunger is a form of suffering. And just like any form of suffering, it has the intrinsic ability to lead one to anger, impatience and self-centeredness.
And that is indeed what one experiences at the start of fasting. That is why the beginning of any mortification is always the hardest. Physiologically, your body is not used to the deprivation of food, the stomach still secretes gastric juices at the usual meal times. This creates an intense desire for food.
However, if one chooses to persevere for the right motives (i.e. God), and chooses to do so through the grace of God, one realises that in a couple of days, the hunger pangs are lessened.
All that remains is a dull and constant feeling of suffering. Not intense enough to stir the spirit, but strong enough for one to have to assert effort to conceal it.
Hence, the penitent spends extra effort appearing happy and well. This effort typically translates to increased patience, care and consideration for others.
On a deeper level, as one is always experiencing hunger, one is united with the poor and hungry of the world. As such, compassion for the poor and suffering is bred.
2. It highlights the excesses of life
This is an odd realisation, totally incongruent but somehow it true from my experience. As the fast continues, I gained a heightened awareness of the excesses of life.
Two weeks into my fast, I became conscious of the fact that I waste so much water showering twice a day.
Similarly, whenever I spent any excess money (e.g. good meal, new clothes, taxi rides), I felt immense guilt. In my mind, I considered how much I could have saved and how many meals the money could have bought.
In short, fasting breeds a sense of universal mindfulness of things that we typically consume mindlessly (i.e. food, water, electricity). Questions like the following begin to appear:
- Is it really necessary to take 2 showers a day? Is that a waste of water? How many people are dying of thirst each day?
- Is it really necessary to vacuum the house every day? Is that a waste of electricity?
- Is it really necessary to turn on the aircon whenever I am in the room? Can I not suffer a bit of discomfort for the Lord?
3. Lord, I love You more than this food!
Lastly, whenever I have my first meal of the day at 11am, the food always tastes especially sweet. This is the time when I become overwhelmed by my gratefulness to our Lord. But then, I am griped by the awareness that I have become too attached to the delicious food. Hence, I pause and consider the presence of the Lord in me and utter a quick prayer to him:
“Thank you for this food you have given me Lord. I love it so much. It is bringing me so much joy. But do you know what Lord? I love you much more than this food. So, if it is to your will, please take it away from me so I can enjoy you and you alone.”
Conclusion
Fasting is good. If I could, I would do it every day for the rest of my life. But I force myself to break this fast from time to time (e.g. Solemnity of St. Joseph) so as to not become too attached to this practice.
Fasting is good for my soul yes, but becoming too attached to the practice is bad. As with all things, temperance and prudence are needed.
Ultimately, the outcome of fasting is to draw one closer to God who dispense all virtues — and in this case, the virtue of temperance. May we seek to live out this virtue heroically.
God Bless!
