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n the last census, e fastest growing gro p · A stralia were those who profes e no eligion wha ever, Bis o Ro ert Healy old 4CXX) pilgr" s a ew orcia ast Su ay. "Tha means t ere are many Australia s ou here w o is ho ·1y. iqnore God complete y," Bisho 'We have a mission o these p of those overseas iss ions."
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Bisho Healy said that as a roac Australia, e should eep hese ello Austalians in mi d, " our elp, our prayers a d our e a pie".
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The only advice not being given to hurtling investor last ee as not to invest ere moths de troy or rust consumes and still less to risk being a go pel fool for storing too much in barns hen clearly they can't ta e it ith them at death' call. Thus, ith fortunes fluttering Ii e confetti from the boards of major orld e chan e . it a not been a good month in hich to study clo ely the rather equally dram tic happening on th atic n oard. As indi at d else here (p. ) in thi i ue a difficulty ari e in reading the late t quotations because a lot of the toe a not been Ii t d.
i-.:=�-:---------. . .����±;i���'---------------------J VATICA CITY ( C): Basic Christian communities are a growing staple of Church ife in Latin America, Africa and Asia, accordinq to speakers the Synod.
n priest-p or Third World countries, hey are seen as the principal way of eeping faith alive and providing rel'gious ormation in
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a mes o groups vary from country o country. They are also own as small- a 'th comm ities, ivinq ecclesial communities and small ecclesial communities. I
In general, they are small groups of neig bors, organized around Bible rea ings and reflec-
tions on the meaning of Scripture in their daily lives. They have a lay eader an are considered part of a parish str cture. In Latin America, they are a major component of the church's social consciousness. African and Asian bishops say they are a prirnarv means of encouraging and maintaining lay involvement in c urch · e.
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Fasting became ritual for candidate
Laura was a tertiary student when she decided to become a Catholic. She asked another student, Susan, to be her sponsor in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program. They began attending the Monday evening sessions together. Soon the two women decided to fast all day Monday in preparation for the evening gathering. After the session, they regularly made a ritual of "breaking the fast" and discussed the week's topic. Although I usually didn't fast with them. I often joined in the late night minifea t.
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The week before Easter when Laura was to enter the church, she joined usan and me in breaking the Monday fast for a final time. They began to discuss what fasting had come to mean to them. Laura confided that during some family tru le, over her dee islon, she now med to have an inner strength. iusan added that the fasting kept her hung ring for more of the Lord's word. Both indicated that fasting together gave thorn a .ense of solidthat went arity beyond words. found m} If wishing I had been part of their pact to fast.
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by Father HERBERT WEBER dents learned that th rr eating disorders were associated with per· sonal and fa mf lv · problems, Eating is n human activity that connects one' external life with internal happenings Maybe that rs why abstaining from food i an ac lion that touch one's inn r faith foregoing food .,. a phy. ical reminder that some· thing el i, of greater importance.
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In the pastoral letter "The Challenge ol Peace", the US bishops followed their tatement on the need for prayer and penanr e in face of tho nude r rm, ra b\ pledging to fast on hid \ a "tangible ign of our need and d ire to do pena nee." Th mall pam of withholdmg food indicates that humanity u If IS hung ring for a better \\-'BY to hve and everyone
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requires an inner con· version: fa ting help us to make that change of heart. can al o Fa!tt1ng become a bridge that connect people Often inner conversion does not take place independenrly of other ' influence. A tremendous ·trength come, from working wrt h someone else for a vimilar goal. In one pari h, a small group of staff people dee ided to choose one day a week for r.ommunal fa.,ting. They knew that the parish, which had gone through turmoll the previous ear, would need much prayer for a new bcgtnmng. llcfore long. other m th parish joined the talf In the Wedn da} fa t The sense of unity created became a foundation for real piritual growth.
David in his fast ... The baby bom as the result of David's dallianc,, with Bathsheba was crttically 11/ and the kmg was extremely upset •.David IHlsought God for the c/11/d He kept a fast, retmng for the mght to lte on the ground clothed ,n saclcctoth" (2 S•muel 12.10). For • who,. week his attendants IH1gged h,m to get up and eat but he refused On the seventh day the baby died and David resumed normal activi-
The e xpertence of usan and Laura is a remind r that fasting can be a language of fa uh - a way to expre faith that goes beyond words and touche people in a tangible way. Fasting is a way to open oneself up to receive the Spirit. P irhaps because eating i so much part of life, controlling what IS consum d has to have an impart on a person. This impact " both spiritual and ph} leaf lore and more people ties His servants were are learning that their astonished. "'What is eating behaviour is this you are domg7 intricately conner ted While the child was livwith their inner health ing. you fasted and wept and nse of emotional and kept v,g,I: now that equihbrium. the child IS CHIMf. you man "hose wife had rise and take tood" (2 JU t left him told me h SMT1uel 12 21 ). had no de are to eat. The or,g,ns offast,ng as A woman faced with • reltgl()US r,te are lost in lots of famil strife and antiqu,ty. But th,s trag,c work p u , added mcident illustrates its pounds quickly because Old TestMrHltlt s,gmfishe ate so much Junk csnc«. F•st,ng w•s • food. sort of ,ntenstf#ld prayer And a number of stu- in times of grNt 1N1108
suffers until peace i brought ahout. Becom-
The Record, October 29, 1987
By Father John Castelot tional distress, an apparent attempt to elicit God's and mercy healmg This aspect of fasting motivated David's bel,avl()Ur He suffered from guilt because of h,s doub,. crkn« of adultery and murder He also had genuine concern for the baby His emotion sought some kind of expression and David found it in '"afflicting himself"", the most common synonym for fast· mg tn the Old Testament The surprise shown by David's attendants reflects another mean· ,ng the word 'fasc,ng·· had tt was • conventional s,gn of moum,ng Davtd explalMd '"While the child was IN,ng, f fasted and wept. thmkmg, "Pemaps the Lord will grant me the
Cont page 10
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Comedian Dick Gregory, homeless actrvist Mitch Snyder, Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi (played by Ben Kmgsley in a scene from the movie "Gandhi") all espoused causes by means of fasting The small pa,n of withholdmq food mdicates that humanity itself rs hungering for a better way
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One cloy he - ond found Ill"' .. NOi • blode of V""" ,..-,,d ,o t ... ""'-'""- The-dlyh ... 10 find hia ct,ld,.., whom ho loWli<nd onylhmg. -- n.,holil-. body cove'9d with - Job , .... nO!hlng - could ffloct ""' Ho. ><cl
out. '"Curse God ond doo But Jobllod_ ""The lo,d • Ill thot I hM rd I he IO ellloct mo. yo1 I wll - hm • E1'j by M&Mn H....,. from •Golfs I-
The early Christians. like the Jews and the lsraehtes before them, took it for gramed that they would ma1ntam regular fast days. For them, the question to ask was not whether or not to fast. but m what spirit. Matthew's Gospel speaks of those who wanted everyone to know that they were fasting. They made sure the,r faces looked drawn nd ashen so all would notice. They were more interested
in
ppearanoes. Jesus. on the other hand. called atteotloo to how people should fast What really matters does not show. Their Father sees what is hidden inside and will repay them (Matthew 6: 16181. For centuMS. Catholics and many other Chnsnans fasted dunng the entire season of Lent. If questions were raised about this practice. they did not concern the value of the fasting rtself but the rules of fasting. In the past few decades. however, somethmg happened. FastJog rtself was called .,to�. Did th,s happen becau. the tMI spmt of fasting was lost? Had rt become a mere matter
they retu.d to be his subjects and ate the fruit.
Tradition is shared in many faiths By Father Eu1ene LaVenliere, SSS NC News Service for schoolyard boasting when children gave up candy ,n lent? Did adults take to fasting mainly in hopes of losing a few pounds and improving their appearance? Or did sacnfice itself lose mearung? Whatever the reason. for most people today it no longer is obvK>us why anyone should fast. Yet there is the tradrtion of fasting. one with solid roots in the New Testa· ment and the hfe of Jesus. to nag us Suppose we were to re-
examine the value of fasting from the pomt of
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v,ew of sacrifice. What would rt mean?
In the Bible, sacrifices. whatever form they take. are expressions of three things worship. gratitude and communion. Of cou1'98, au this
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presupposes deep personal faith in God. 1 . Those who offer a sacrifice present themselves before God to prai,e Him, to profess that He is lord and that they are His subjects. 2. They also thank God for all He gives them, for life, sustenance, guidance and well-b81ng. 3. Finally, they reaffirm and celebrate thar fellowship as brothers and sisters 1n one family of a God who is lord of all. Today sacrifice can take the form of fasting and fasting can be done in the spirit of sacrifice. Recall the story of Adam and Eve. What God required of them was abstinence from a particular fruit - not but close fasting, enough. Keeping away from the fruit would mean that Adam and Eve reognised God's sovereignty. Instead
TllOM who never feel real hunger may forget their dependence on God and that they are called to worship him as lord. So. in the first place, fasting can deepen awareMSS that God is the source of all nourishment. Fasting then becomes a sacrifice of praise.
Each his own way
"We have prayed, each In his own way, we have fasted, we have marched to&ether. In this way we have tried to open our hearts to the divine reality beyond us and to our fellow But those who do not men and women. know hunger also may "Yes, while we have forget to express grati- fasted we have kept tude to God. For people in mind the sufferin&s of faith. the hunger that which senseless wars accompanies fasting and have brou&ht about the lesser amount of and are still brin&in& food taken each day nor- about on humanity. mally should flow into a Thereby we have prayer of thanksgiving. tried to be spiritually Thus their fasting close to the millions becomes a sacrifice of who are the victims of thanksgiving. hun&er throu&hout the world." (Pope Finally. fasting is not John Paul II, October just a private religious enterpnse. If we who 27, 1986, durin& the day of prayer for benefit from rich harvpeace In Assisi, Italy.) ests and good food never Fas tin& Is no know hunger. how will stran&er to modem we appreciate the lot of those who go without times. News reports from food 81/eryday? the past two years U.e the table of Jesus, show that Individuals the Chnstian table will and &roups deprived then be open to all Our themselves of some fasting will be a com- portion of their dally mUfllOO sacrifice. bread for the sake of
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obtalnln& an end to youth violence; for the passa&e of antiabortion le&islatlon; for the cessation of aid to the Nlcara&uan contras and for Soviet Jews seekln& to eml&rate. But despite Its falriy common use, many people wonder about the practice of fast· In&, They may re&ard fastln& as self· Inflicted sufferin& In a world that already yields sufficient sufferln& • They may re&ard fastin& as a mere test of wlll power or a ne&ative practice that places attention on what is not done - what Is not eaten. Or It sometimes Is said that fastln& focuses one's attention so much on oneself - on the activity of fastin& Itself that God's presence and others' needs are for&otten.
Cont page 10
The Record, October 29, 1987
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