Friday after Ash Wednesday – Is 58:1-9; Psalm 50:3-6,18-19; Matthew 9:14-15

Fasting should be an inseparable companion of every Christian, because Jesus pointed it out: “the bridegroom will be taken away them, and then they will fast”.

Jesus is with us through all days to the end of the world, but to experience this, to live this truth, each one of us has to purify our hearts and minds, our eyes and mouths, throughout our whole lives. And the best means of purification is fasting.

When a person begins to fast, he begins to battle with what enslaves him, what prevents him following Bridegroom. Fasting shows us just how much our thinking is permeated by the world and not God. It is hard to stop wasting time watching TV, aimlessly surfing the internet, boosting self-esteem through contact with certain people. It’s hard to give up good food, sweets, cigarettes and alcohol. But the most difficult is give up sadness and despair, self-deprecation and being suspicious of others.

Without fasting I will never encounter Jesus. There will be too many issues and things that will be obstacles for me. Jesus only enters places which have been prepared to receive Him.

Lord, You have given us Yourself totally, You became poor to enrich us in Your poverty. May every fast I make be an act of love so that I become smaller, and You grow in me.