by Fr Raymond Raj
Isaiah 58:1-9
Psalm 50:3-6,18-19
Matthew 9:14-15
Brothers and sisters in the Lord,
When a person has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing to do. When a person has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing to do in the world. According to the medical science and research, the best vitamin, the best supplement for human body is fasting.
Today’s Gospel is very interesting because Jesus is being questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist as if Jesus has done something illegal. Jesus has done a sin therefore the disciples of John the Baptist came to question Jesus.
Dear friends, in the Old Testament, fasting appears to be a Godly spiritual activity. In the Old Testament. Therefore, the Pharisees and the Scribes, very often they impose fasting orders in order to impress this God. They fast in order to impress God.
Beyond the shadow of doubt, my dear friends, fasting is indeed a noble activity. All the religions in the world, apart from Christianity, all the religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Muslim, they also encourage their followers to fast.
That said however my dear friends, this is the point that I want to make today. If our fasting is not grounded, a very powerful word, if your fasting is not grounded, is not accompanied with prayer and repentance, then all your fasting is just another ritual. Ritual. And some of us here are experts of ritual.
Brothers and sisters, the Season of Lent calls us to practice fasting, praying and also giving. Therefore, let us seize this opportunity today as we grow to become a better disciple of Jesus Christ.
And in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, speaking about fasting, Gandhi once said this (maybe you can go and reflect about this):
Fasting is not a hunger strike.
Fasting is not a hunger strike to impress God.
Fasting is an abiding faith with the Living God.
Amen.
Click below to listen to homily and watch video
Click to live-stream Mass on 07 March 2025