Mt 6:7-15 FASTING: Prayer Does A Body Good

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
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By FR ALFONSE NAZZARO

Jesus said to his disciples:  "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them.  Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

We often think of prayer as the healer for broken hearts.  We rarely ever consider it as a first aid for cuts and bruises. 

This week has been a very quiet week so far.  Due to bad weather, school was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, and the parish offices were closed for business.  Also, our Lenten mission was first postponed due to the bad weather and then permanently cancelled due to scheduling issues.  With all these things not happening, I wasn't shocked when I saw smaller than average crowds for morning Mass. 

And yet, I was still surprised that there were people arriving for morning Mass.

They got themselves out of bed and braved the cold weather and horrible driving conditions and made it to Mass.  Those few brave souls that maneuvered through ice, cold and rain, did so because they have an iron will. 

I'll be perfectly honest with you, if I had been a layperson and had made a Lenten resolution to attend Mass every morning and woke up to what I saw Monday and Tuesday, I think (I'm sure) I would have justified staying in bed and saying to myself, "God knows it is not safe to travel in this bad weather!"  But where there is a will there is a way.  Actually, I believe another ancient proverb sums it up best:  "Mind over matter."  And maybe in our particular case of Lent, it would be best to say "Mind over body." 

Prayer does a body good.  It's very important to exercise and eat well if you want to take care of your body.  But if you think you will solve all your physical problems by just concentrating on your physical needs, then please think again, for many of the scrapes and bruises we have received on our body are due to the decisions we made.  And I'm convinced that some of those decisions we made determined what we ate or drank...and to our detriment.

Fasting isn't about weight loss and looking - even feeling - good.  It's about mind over body.  It's about taming our instincts and taking back the controls in our physical cravings and desires.  It's about handing the reigns over.  This is a start. But it is only a start. The ultimate goal of our lives is to allow our Lord - through the virtues of faith, hope and love - to be at the helm of our lives.

Eating is important, but praying is even more important since the soul is more important than the body.  The soul lasts forever!

...And let's not forget that without prayer, we end up being not what we eat, but what we ate.  Ugh!