Friday February 20th: Our Human Struggle

Fasting is a deliberate spiritual discipline that confronts our impulses and exposes what truly governs our hearts.

Matthew 9: 14 – 15

The “tension between self-indulgence and fasting” speaks to our human struggle. We are constantly tempted to satisfy every desire. Comfort, pleasure, affirmation, and distraction are always within easy reach. Self-indulgence is not only accepted, it is celebrated. Yet, today’s gospel calls us to a different posture. Today Jesus reminds us that there is a time to feast and a time to fast. Fasting is not merely the opposite of indulgence; it is a deliberate spiritual discipline that confronts our impulses and exposes what truly governs our hearts.

This tension reveals we are torn between our appetites and our love for God. Self-indulgence promises happiness but often leaves us empty and restless. Fasting, on the other hand, awakens longing. It helps us feel our spiritual hunger instead of numbing it. It disciplines, restraints, and reorders priorities. Fasting acknowledges that fulfillment does not come from satisfying every craving, but from deeper communion with Christ.

This Lent, choose purposeful fasting so that our desire for God may grow clearer, stronger, and more authentic.