Luke 4:1-4/Matt 4:1-3 Homily Notes
From the Catena Aurea of Thomas Aquinas
-- St. Ambrose; He was led therefore into the wilderness, to the intent that He might provoke the devil, for if the one had not contended, the other it seems had not conquered. In a mystery, it was to deliver that Adam from exile who was cast out of Paradise into the wilderness. By way of example, it was to show us that the devil envies us, whenever we strive after better things; and that then we must use caution, lest the weakness of our minds should lose us the grace of the mystery. Hence it follows: And he was tempted of the devil.
-- St. Cyril; Behold, He is among the wrestlers, who as God awards the prizes. He is among the crowned, who crowns the heads of the saints.
-- St. Basil; Or, the Lord remained for forty days untempted, for the devil knew that He fasted, yet hungered not, and dared not therefore approach Him. Hence it follows: And he eat nothing in those days. He fasted indeed, to show that He who would gird Himself for struggles against temptation must be temperate and sober.
-- St. Ambrose; There are three things which united together conduce to the salvation of man; The Sacrament, The Wilderness, Fasting. No one who has not rightly contended receives a crown, but no one is admitted to the contest of virtue, except first being washed from the stains of all his sins, he is consecrated with the gift of heavenly grace.
-- St. Gregory Nazianzen; He fasted in truth forty days, eating nothing. (For He was God.) But we regulate our fasting according to our strength, although the zeal of some persuades them to fast beyond what they are able.
-- St. Basil; But we must not however so use the flesh, that through want of food our strength should waste away, nor that by excess of mortification our understandings wax dull and heavy. Our Lord therefore once performed this work, but during this whole succeeding time He governed His body with due order, and so in like manner did Moses and Elias.
-- St. Augustine; Now that number is a sacrament of our time and labor, in which under Christ's discipline we contend against the devil, for it signifies our temporal life.
Meditation
-- The preeminence of fasting, such that it alone is mentioned as Jesus' discipline in the desert
-- We have lost the art of fasting, and the minimal fast required by the Church is almost no fast at all... yet fasting is the most constant tradition throughout the history of the Church...
-- Let's try to go above and beyond the minimal requirement... especially men/fathers in the parish... to receive some greater spiritual anointing in our Lent... what about bread and water once or twice a week... or a couple of slices of bread for breakfast for the entire Lent... or if possible one day a week only water from dinnertime to dinnertime.
-- There is need for prudence, not reckless abandon... (Greg. Naz. and Basil)... you choose something that still allows you to accomplish your duties, and perhaps there is a bit of experimentation until you figure out what works... and beware of all the tiny arguments that can come to mind to dissuade you: everything from fear of bad breath to worry that a particular food will spoil if you don't eat it quickly enough... St. Basil's words suggest that too much fasting can sap our strength (to be judged according to fulfilling our duties) and dull our understanding... so there is need for prudence and some self-analysis as we enter into fasting.
-- The need for more prayer with fasting... it cannot be taken on simply as a physical feat to accomplish... non-Christians can even do that, and then they will often do so in the name of healthy cleansing for the body... we are not talking about a mere ascetic practice to push the body further and perfect it...
-- Rather, we are talking about entering into the spiritual battle of life more deeply for a season... as we temper a bit our habitual eating, which is connected to our very drive for life (a very good thing!) we face our own mortality, and at the same time we gain some mastery over self... and ideally our hearts are turned to the Good Lord who is the reason for the discipline...
-- What can you expect from fasting? More humility as you experience some struggle in the discipline... greater purity, since tempering the appetite for food helps one to control other appetites... greater and more acute spiritual vision... more fire in your intercession for those around you... greater knowledge of the Lord himself, and joy in the dynamic/drama of salvation to which is called you. Fasting can keep you from simply living the routine as routine. The spiritual life is real. The faith is real. The Lord is real! Fasting plunges our whole being (body/soul composite) into an experience of the Real of God.
Some Saints' Quotes to Encourage Fasting
-- St. Thomas Aquinas: "Irrational feeding darkens the soul and makes it unfit for spiritual experiences."
-- St. Bernard of Clairvaux: " Take even bread with moderation, lest an overloaded stomach make you weary of prayer."
-- St. Bernard of Clairvaux: "I abstain from flesh lest I should cherish the vices of the flesh. A man becomes a beast by loving what beasts love."
-- St. Jerome: "The repletion of the stomach is the hotbed of lust."
-- St. Alphonsus Liguori: "It is almost certain that excess in the eating is the cause of almost all the diseases of the body, but its effects on the soul are even more disastrous."
-- St. Alphonsus Liguori: "The success of your morning meditation will largely depend on what you have eaten the night before."
-- St. Gregory the Great: " It is impossible to engage in spiritual conflict unless the appetite has first been subdued."
-- Fasting should help you approach more deeply the mystery of Jesus' Body and Blood on this altar.
