18 September 2020
Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The extent of St. Paul’s commitment to our gospel is clear from his line: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all” (1 Cor 15:19). In other words, if this life is the only life there is, then Christianity is a pitiful delusion, because Christianity asks people to give up lesser goods here and now in the hope of being repaid later with the greatest good, namely, God himself. But, if this life is all there is, and there is no afterlife, then how can we ever be repaid with experiences of the greatest good? All our sacrifices of lesser goods would be made in vain. How pitiful we would be!
Can we honestly say that we are with St. Paul in his commitment, or are we, maybe, hedging our bets a little? For example, when a craving comes along, do we judge it in the light of the gospel, or do we, without hesitation, look for a way to satisfy the craving? The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola suggest occasional self-denial, including dietary restrictions. “If we do away with what is superfluous, it is not penance, but temperance. We do penance when we deny ourselves something of what is suitable for us. The more we do this, the better the penance, provided only we do no harm to ourselves and do not cause any serious illness” (SpEx 83).
Occasional self-sacrifice when it comes to foodstuffs may seem a trivial matter, but it can be a way of investing ourselves in the Gospel, just as St. Paul invested himself. Furthermore, regular fasting can serve as a type of training in self-denial, so that when the need arises for a substantial sacrifice of self, we may be ready, like St. Paul, with the grace of God, to say yes to the greatest good.