Hunger and the Body of Christ

                                     Fasting Reflection

Hunger:  What is it?  An primal instinct (managed by brain chemistry) to eat.  God created us this way.  If we didn't have it, humans as a species, would cease to exist.  Same for animals, fish, even insects.  All creatures have this instinct.  But do angels?  They are pure spirit, so probably not.  It is something that only earthlings possess.

It is also a primal instinct to care for our young.  Part of caring for them is to feed them.  If we love them and do all sorts of things for them, but do not feed them, we are completely negligent and considered inflicting a sinful deprivation of primal need.  By not feeding our young at all, we would cause their death.  By not feeding them with healthy food, we cause them illness.  Both of these are severe nurturing failures which are punishable by natural and civil law.

The instinct of hunger is the most powerful instinct we possess.  As creatures, if we are deprived of food, we become desperate to eat.  Advancing hunger changes behavior, to become animalistic; we either reduce ourselves to eating something disgusting just to satisfy this intense need, or it has been known to drive some to kill one another for food.  And the strange thing about eating to satisfy the hunger is, that the satisfaction only lasts a few hours.  So, in essence - we were created "hungry".  Almost all the time we are instinctively needing food to sustain the flesh.

As a mother who has to spend a great deal of my life, resources and time to plan meals, purchase food, store it, preserve it, then prepare it...then clean up after it, over and over 3 times a day - I have often asked God:  "Lord, what were you thinking?  Why do we have to eat so danged much?"  I still ask Him this question.  

One of the answers is that it forces us to sit down and converse, share, build relationship.  God created meals to be the center of family unity.  Jesus taught us this by often using a meal as the center of an important social event or connection between people, cultures, classes of people.  He spoke of wedding feasts often in his parables.

As prayer warriors we have been taught that fasting has incredible power, and that God wants us to fast and pray often, especially now in this age of sin and evil.  Our Lady of Medjugorje has been begging us to fulfill a strict bread and water fast 2 days a week since 1981.  That is far stricter than the church requires during lent!  As Children of the Tears we see her tears which are caused by the loss of souls, and are absolutely grieved by it - so we have profound motivation to fulfill her instruction to fast.  So fasting obviously has power.  She told the visionaries that fasting and prayer can even stop wars, and suspend the laws of nature.  Those are bold words!

Now, why, Lord, would you place this intense need to eat within us, then urge us not to do it?  It's got to be all about the will.  We are being challenged to place the will of sacrifice over primal instinct.  It's all about self control.  Control of the flesh.

We all know it's difficult to fast.  I used to be good at it back before I had a family to feed.  And to be honest, I grew weary of eating.  I whispered at times, 'Lord I am sick of eating - all the time and all the time and all the time'.  In fact, I fasted so much, I developed an illness which resulted in a health fragility that I suffer to this day, which requires delicate management of.  Now that I have to prepare and cook meals and spend so much time, money resources, to feed my family, I find it nearly impossible to fast.  I have had to learn to fast from other things, but the Lord still wants us to fast with our stomachs.  So this lent we shall intensify effort to master this difficult challenge.

The other thing worth reflecting, is how much importance Christ placed on the eating of His flesh in the Holy Eucharist.  He didn't just say to eat it on occasion when we wanted to feel good, or needed to be holy.  His command was so powerful, that He lost a huge swath of his followers over this teaching.  And - He didn't seem to care that he lost them.  They were instantly disgusted with Him and accused Him of cannibalism.  Yet, He was totally okay with that.  He didn't sit around and lament that they walked off, or try to go back and get them, or try to explain it in a different way.  He remained hard core about it.  He so firmly commanded us to eat his body and blood - that He proclaimed we would not have life in us, period.  Declaring we wouldn't make it to heaven without it!  There is nothing so bold as his teaching on the Holy Eucharist in John 6.  Sadly, protestants to this day have rejected this teaching.

The other thing I find fascinating, is that God uses our fasting as a doorway to the Holy Spirit.   By prayerfully offering our fasts, we become clay for the Holy Spirit to shape, form us, infuse knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment.

So - here we are.  It's 2013.  We live in the most sinful age known to mankind.  We also live in the most technologically advanced age.  Most civilized nations have every sort of convenience.  Advanced transportation allows us almost every sort of food, flavor.  And we are pretty darned addicted to our spices, flavors, cuisines.

Why did God equate penance and sacrifice with starvation?  John the Baptist, and Jesus - both set profound examples of fasting.  John the Baptist lived in the desert, wandered around like a savage, and ate locusts and honey.  This seems so repulsive to us; even if we were dying we would probably refuse chewing on locusts.  Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.   Sheesh, the longest I ever fasted was nine days on bread and water and I thought I was going to die.  I couldn't wait to sink my teeth back into regular food again.  And for weeks after that long fast, I didn't even want to LOOK at bread.

So, here I sit, still asking God.  "What gives?"  Such a profound dichotomy.  'Lord, why did you choose hunger, as the means to save souls?  To suspend the laws of nature, and stop wars?  Why is it so spiritually powerful?'  It makes me think our bodies contain such interesting secrets of the spirit, from which we have no idea.  We are flesh and spirit.  And God gave us hunger.  In this age of overwhelming sin - He calls us to offer this incense to Him.  It has eternal consequences - of life and death.  To His people; who were so important to Him that He died for them.

I guess we are not meant to understand.  Instead, just.... mind our Mother.

The Year of Faith

We, the Children of Mary, have an ingrained knowledge when Our Mother cries, we must act.  It is a sign this world is in serious trouble, and that God is very much offended.  She gave us a gift to share in that sorrow; to be deeply disturbed by witnessing her tears.  We sadly marvel that she can bear such pain.  Our little sliver of bearing it drives us to pray as oft as we are able.  We pray any chance we can;  at odd intervals throughout the day.  We try to be connected to praying as we are to breathing.  Most of us swim in daily duty, and long to have deep, contemplative prayer, but as goes with this cross, we are usually stripped of it, so have to make our daily duty, our incense to God.

This identity, this knowledge of "who we are" before heaven and earth, equally leaves us dumbfounded by our own ineptitude.  To look at what we have been shown through Our Lady's tears; what we know interiorly, that silent, invisible sword that peirces our hearts in a miniscule way - and how poorly we respond to God's call!  We sadly realize how feeble, how wretched we are, and how lacking our response to it has been.

We recognize the age in which we live; but it's time to place in the big picture, the perspective of our individual lives, and the importance of our prayer life.  This image speaks volumes to the Native peoples who were given a prescription to pray and remain pure for the coming of the White Buffalo Woman who was to prepare and guide humanity thru tribulations and change.  It is the sign of great promise and hope.  It was prophesied generationally that this sign would begin the unfolding of events and great change, as do the prophesies in the Holy Bible.  We live in an age of prophecy and in the age of great spiritual battle.

We now face the greatest battle since the beginning of time - right now.  Right this minute.  Right this Year of Faith, 2013.  We are not dealing with humans.  We are dealing with powers, principalities and cosmic powers that we cannot see; we can't possibly know how they have altered the realms on all the levels of creation, but they have and we see it manifest.  Because we wear flesh, there's a great deal to our existence which leaves us oblivious.  This battle is so far beyond our capability it's laughable.  So as we enter lent, this Year of Faith; we must recognize this is the most pivotal Lent known in the history of mankind.  What we do now, will impact millions of people.  Eternally, for generations to come.

Childen, we have been shown, told, repeatedly - that prayer and fasting will stop wars and suspend the laws of nature.  Do we act like it?  We must ask ourselves. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the destruction and the exponential spreading of evil everywhere.  The degree of tension in the air is so thick we can cut it with a knife.  Time is speeding up.  There are so many things happening to attack any scrap of honor and grace at such lightning speed, we can hardly keep up with it.  Yet, we also must recognize that God and heaven does not operate "in time", and heaven is by our side, fighting far harder than we are.  God placed a veil between us and them, but there are times, especially at holy moments such as holy communion, that we can touch beyond that veil, and connect to powers and entities which equip us to do things far beyond ourselves and our capability.  Heaven makes itself known to us when the veil is thinned, and we all know when those times are.  The most blaring truth is that God shall be victorious, and He has a plan which we are part of.

Our Lady has been asking us to pray for our sheperds, Her beloved priests.  Now we see the fruits, as we are shown the prescription of our holy bishops, to implement the plan of God:

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/index.cfm

Specific prayer guidance is provided here:

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/life-marriage-liberty.cfm

We are called to fast all year long on Fridays, and we are called to monthly parish holy hours, to pray for marriage, the Gospel of Life and religious liberty.  This is a very serious call.  We are not to stay in a little comfort zone and do this within our own living rooms silently - no.  We are called to go visit our pastors, and implore them to implement these prayer guidelines in each of our parishes!  If they don't seem open to it, we are to continue to try, in whatever way we can, these guidelines, to repair our nation, our families, our world.

It doesn't matter if this is an area we are not talented in.  Go boldly.  The Holy Spirit will show the way.  Things will fall into place.  Trust.

Next.  Get people to confession.  Family members, friends, fellow prayer warriors, anyone and everyone.  If it takes doing spiritual reading to understand this sacrament better..do it. Go to confession at LEAST monthly yourself.  Every week or 2 weeks is even better!  We must remain in a state of purity.  This is the Master's command.

Do penance.  Offer sacrifices that are beyond what you have done before.  Do different things.  Fast from unusual things that strip your flesh of a comfort, consolation, a pleasure or entertainment habit that you could instead spend praying for the lost or the suffering.  Place your nose in the scriptures.  Download that "Laudate" app on your i-phone (it's yellow with a pax on it), so in a spare minute you could be reading the day's liturgies, or doing an examination of conscience.

Involve your family in this journey of Faith.  Pray every night with your family.  Pray for family members; have a mass said for generational healing. Begin a habit of faith that will pour grace into your home and into family relationships.

And most importantly, we are to be joyful.  All these signs of tribulation only mean the King is coming!:  "...for today is Holy to Our Lord.  Do not be saddened on this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!" - Nehemiah 8:10.

You have your orders, soldiers.  Bravely onward.  In faith, in this Year of Faith.  You are bridled with the supernatural grace of God.

Emmanuel.  God is with us!