This afternoon, I was offered a fresh homemade bun by one of my co-workers (in my mind, these are much better than candy!) Periodically, she likes to bake and we reap the benefits.

I had to decline, however, or postpone the enjoyment until suppertime. Today is prescribed as a fast day in our community. (We fast and abstain on the Vigils of St. Francis and the Immaculate Conception.)

This made me wonder how the tradition of “fast[ing] before the feast originated. I tried to do a bit of research, but didn’t find a whole lot.

The United States Council of Catholic Bishops’ website, however, offered a little insight: “[T]he devout will find greater Christian joy in the feasts of the liturgical calendar if they freely bind themselves, for their own motives and in their own spirit of piety, to prepare for each Church festival by a day of particular self-denial, penitential prayer and fasting.”

I had never seen this articulated so succinctly and clearly before. It dawned on my, too, that we prepare to celebrate the Easter tridium and season by Lent, a time of fasting and penance.

I guess I could conclude, then, that denying myself the joy of a still-warm homemade bun, may help me find “greater Christian joy in the feast” of the Immaculate Conception tomorrow. It is neat for me to see how our particular customs have roots in the heart of the Church’s piety.

Our society today is so prone to self-gratification, it seems. It is good to have these prescriptions as reminders to us of the importance of self-denial (throughout the year).

Our Rule declares: “They should fast and always strive to be simple and humble especially before God.” Could it be that there is a connection between the discipline of fasting and the interior disposition of simplicity and humility?

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