May 1 Fast

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JMJ

"It is tender, that is, full of confidence in her, like a child's confidence in his loving mother. This confidence makes the soul have recourse to her in all its bodily and mental necessities, with much simplicity, trust and tenderness. . . 

This devotion to Our Lady is holy: that is to say, it leads the soul to avoid sin and imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, particularly her profound humility, her lively faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin." 

(True Devotion, St. Louis de Montfort)

Separation from a loved one either deepens or dulls desire.  The oft-quoted cliche that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is not a steadfast rule; rather it is absence that reveals either sincere fidelity or hidden apathy.  When separation is unavoidable, one's true devotion is shown by how he fills the void during the indefinite wait for the return of the Beloved.  An interminable interval can invite anxiety and idleness, but unlike the foolish virgins in the parable, one must prepare himself for the return of the bridegroom since He will come at an unexpected hour.  Rather than fill the void with empty diversions, one can increase his prayer and fasting to sharpen his hunger to once again receive His Beloved.

It is here that one can look to Our Lady's example as she waited with eager expectation for the coming of the Messiah.  Mary did not wait in sloth and indolence, but in fervent prayer and industry; for even had she known that she would be asked to be the Mother of the Messiah, she would have still performed the same mundane daily tasks with diligence and patience. As Our Lord sanctified work by laboring himself; so too, Our Lady ennobled the role of a handmaid by her ardent desire to serve, even those who were not graced as she was. 

Let us turn to Our Lady during this, her month, asking her help to imitate her so that like Venerable Teresita Quevado, we may say to Mary: "Let all who look at me, see you."

April 3rd Fast

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JMJ

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,

Will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;

My God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the deadly pestilence;

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you will find refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

Nor the arrow that flies by day,

Nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

Nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

Ten thousand at your right hand;

But it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes

And see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your refuge,

The Most High your habitation,

No evil shall befall you,

No scourge come near your tent.

For He will give His angels charge over you

To guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,

Less you dash your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder

The young lion and the serpent

You will trample under foot.

Because He cleaves to me in love,

I will deliver him;

I will protect Him, because He knows my name.

When He calls to me, I will answer Him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

And show him my salvation.

(Psalm 91) 

There are intense periods that exist in the course of one's lifetime that have definitive beginnings and endings: a stressful project for work, pregnancy and subsequent labor, a grueling training, an arduous school term, etc. Despite the toil and difficulties that arise from these situations, their characteristic finiteness enable the sufferer to endure any hardships with persevearance, encouraged by the knowledge that their labors will soon produce tangible fruit.  

However, there are other intervals that may confront a person-i.e. long illness, a job loss, or perhaps the discernment of one's vocation- whose very indeterminate nature severely tests his patience, generating anxiety and frustration as he fumbles his way through the unknown darkness before him. After Our Lord died on Good Friday, the Apostles similarly faced an uncertain future, bereft of the Light that illuminated the World, plunged into the darkness that blanketed the earth.  

But Christians have the blessed knowledge that the Apostles did not; that the time of suffering did end, and Our Lord gloriously did rise on Easter Sunday.  So too, the duration of any trial, despite its indefiniteness, will reach its conclusion    eventually.  And often, when one looks back at his trial, he will see that it was the preparatory climb to the summit he has finally gained.  To endure this present cross, then, he must recognize it as a merciful opportunity, one to be seized for fruitful growth and not wasted with useless worry.  Trust and have confidence in the Saving Sacrifice of the Cross! 

"O Blood and Water  

which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus 

as a Fountain of Mercy, I Trust in You." 

March 6 Fast

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JMJ

" We find some people who think that to fast well during the holy season of Lent it is enough to abstain from eating some prohibited food. But this thought is too gross to enter into the hearts of religious, for it is to you I speak, as well as persons dedicated to Our Lord. We know very well that it is not enough to fast exteriorly if we do not also fast interiorly and if we do not accompany the fast of the body with that of the spirit. . . Since sin entered the world through the mouth, the mouth must do penance by being deprived of foods prohibited and forbidden by the Church, abstaining from them for the space of forty days. But this glorious saint [Bernard] adds that, as it is not our mouth alone which has sinned, but also our other senses, our fast must be general and entire, that is, all the members of our body must fast. For if we have offended God through the eyes, through the ears, through the tongue, and through our other senses, why should we not make them fast as well?" 

(St. Francis de Sales)

One of the unfortunate consequences of modern technology is the absence of natural pauses in communication, whether spoken (as in a conversation) or written (as in the wait of a letter).  Silence has become awkward rather than welcome, and rapidity of response valued rather than eschewed. Lent offers an opportunity to reclaim a silent space by exhorting the faithful to perform penance for the ravenous senses that constantly yearn for attention and satisfaction.  

Silencing the senses not only acts as a penance for past offenses, but can hopefully serve as a natural bridle to curb the appetites that so often assuage one's passionate nature. Impulsiveness can be transformed into patience but only if one willfully commits to quelling the corrosive cravings of his heart: serving silently rather than complaining loudly; abasing (rather than defending) himself in the face of criticism; welcoming an interruption, rather than exploding at one; mortifying his curiosity rather than indulging it. A selfish soul destroys peace for the sake of self-preservation, but a thoughtful heart humiliates itself for the sake of peace.  

"To treat of fasting and of what is required to fast well, we must, at the start, understand that of itself fasting is not a virtue. The good and the bad, as well as Christians and pagans, observe it. The ancient philosophers observed it and recommended it. They were not virtuous for that reason, nor did they practice virtue in fasting. Oh, no, fasting is a virtue only when it is accompanied by conditions which render it pleasing to God."

(St. Francis de Sales) 

February 7th Fast

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JMJ

"If I wait for an opportune moment to do something truly great, how many times will such occasions actually present themselves?  No, I will seize the occasions that present themselves every day. I must accomplish ordinary actions, in an extraordinary way."

(Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận)

What differentiates the Christian from the secularist? It is this: a Christian's life must be determined by his desire for holiness, his hope in heaven.  One makes his actions extraordinary, not be neglecting his responsibilities, but by realizing the potential for sanctity through them.  A faithful follower of Jesus Christ allows his daily activities to be transformed through the willing acceptance of God's grace, using it to elevate his day from the secular to the sacred.  

And so, an invitation for gossip in conversation becomes an opportunity for silence and restraint.  An unbearable wait does not correspond to a frivolous phone search, but instead allows for some time for mental prayer.  An occasion of vexatious inconvenience is now seen as an occasion of charity.  And the barrage of daily demands leads not to a begrudging meting out but to a patient self-giving.

"Jesus, I will not wait, I will live in the present moment, filling it to the brim with love." 

January 3rd Fast

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JMJ

"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.  Whoever loses his life, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves Me." (Jn 12:24-26)

The beginning of a New Year is a special period of grace that God mercifully allows once again shed the old self and take on the new.  It is imperative to prayerfully examine one's conscience, and not simply allow the first few days of the year to come and go like the lazy tide.  Hopes may be high for annual resolutions, but if they are not accompanied by decisive action and an earnest desire for conversion, they continue to remain unattainable.  A resolution must not be wistful but willful.  It is realistic, rooted to the ground by the humble acknowledgment of a fault, and the eager desire to correct it.  The Church wisely dedicates the first of the year to the Blessed Mother, and who better than a mother can gently advise her children as to how they must improve.  She knows a contrite heart, and looks kindly on a willing spirit; ask her help, and through her hands, beg for His grace.