Lent and fasting- practicality, significance, science, and overall benefits
The Lenten period begins with Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks (40 days) later on Holy Thursday.
Among the Christians- Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Methodist, and the Lutherans are the main denominations that observe a period of fasting and abstinence during the period of lent.
Like all social norms, the practice of fasting too is taken seriously by people only when there is a religious connotation to it. All major religions of the world prescribe fasting for various durations and reasons. One thing is for sure that there are significant health benefits from fasting besides the spiritual consolation.
During the Lenten period, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as abstaining from certain luxuries in order to replicate the account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ’s journey into the desert for 40 days. Catholics also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar to draw themselves closer to God. The stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ carrying the Cross and of his crucifixion, are observed. Catholic churches also remove flowers from their altars. Also planned events such as baptisms, weddings, and other celebratory functions are deferred during this period.
Lenten penances are voluntary practices that Catholics take up as personal devotions in addition to the penances required by the Church on the Fridays of Lent. Catholics are known to give up all sorts of things for spiritual reasons ranging from smoking, drinking alcohol, eating non-vegetarian food and withdrawal from any form of entertainment. Just the other day, I was visiting with some friends at a party and, as is the routine every year, there was binge drinking and feasting with the excuse that Lent is around the corner and it is going to be 40 days of abstinence from alcohol and non-vegetarian food. Some of the friends whom I know do religiously abstain from alcohol and non-veg food during this period. Many of them even fast on Fridays. Some of them seriously go overboard somehow conveying an impression that all sacrifices and abstinence should be confined only to this window-period and the remaining 320 odd days are licensed days for excessive indulgence.
According to Dr Brant Pitre a distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute, The Lenten period is a season for private acts of repentance for all Catholics to focus on a more prayerful life, almsgiving, fasting and giving up certain vices such as excessive drinking, gambling, porn and sex addiction. The church makes it clear to remind us of one of Jesus’ exaltation “not to do righteousness”. It is definitely not the time to do righteousness in order to be seen by other people. One of the temptations in engaging in pious practices like prayer and fasting is that we can get spiritually prideful and we can want to tell other people what we are doing so that we can seem holy, pious, or venerable to others.
Click here to watch the video: The Biblical Roots of Ash Wednesday by Dr Brant Pitre
What is fasting?
In the traditional sense fasting is to either abstain from all food or all food and drinks. In the tradition of the Church fasting in the rule of St Benedict III it is abstaining from food and drink until the evening which is the ninth hour (3:00 PM). Drinking water does not amount to breaking the fast. Enough water is needed to keep the body well hydrated. An average person should drink about 2 litres of water per day.
Fasting is not recommended for women who are pregnant or nursing mothers.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is also better known as 16:8, a form of time-restricted eating. It involves consuming food during an 8-hour window and avoiding food, or fasting, for the remaining 16 hours each day. It is important that you eat wholesome healthy food during this feeding window and avoid all food that is processed in a factory. Intermittent fasting is one of the extreme movements that is driving the wellness revolution t these days the world over.
Benefits of intermittent fasting
The pattern of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a fallacy that we have grown up with. Intermittent fasting is basically skipping breakfast or dinner. It is time-restricted eating and it is not a diet. It is simply restricting the time period you eat each day. According to Dr. Satchidananda Panda a professor at The Salk Institute, “It is not what you eat but when you eat also matters. All the organs in our body need time to rest, reset, and rejuvenate every day”. He says all chronic disease conditions are reversible if you select your restricted eating period to around 8 hours and sleep well a lot of the chronic diseases that affect a billion people on this earth can be reversed or cured.
Click here to watch the Tedx Talk by Dr Satchinananda Panda
Have a blessed period of Lent. May the prayers, fasting, and abstinence heal your body, mind, and soul. It is important to fast, give alms, and abstain and this will help you shed pride, be humble, and help you live at peace with yourself, your neighbour, and the creator.