Coming Through Self-denial into the Presence of the Lord

(I am posting this homily by Abbot Austin Murphy, OSB, who has given me permission to reprint it here. Our "guest blogger" is the abbot of St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois. I found his words particularly helpful. Fr. Lawrence, Administrator).

Homily for Fri., 22nd Sun of ordinary time - Sept. 6, 2013 (for Aurora Serra Club, at Provena Mercy Hospital)

The scribes and Pharisees complain in the gospel (not the only time!). Apparently, Jesus' disciples did not fast much during His earthly ministry. Or at least they did not fast as much as the Pharisees and John the Baptist's followers. The scribes and Pharisees therefore object. Here's Jesus' reply: "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?" (Lk 5).

The point seems to be that while Jesus is with them, there is no reason for fasting. Notice, then, that the implicit reason for fasting is to become more present to Jesus. I think that is a reason for practicing self-denial – to be more present to Christ. Accordingly, we fast before Mass, so that we may be more focused and present to Christ, in order to receive Him more worthily when He becomes present to us in the Eucharist.

It is interesting that in His reply, Jesus identifies Himself as the bridegroom at a wedding banquet. The image of a wedding banquet is often used in the New Testament to describe heaven. Heaven is the wedding feast in which Christ and His bride, the Church, are forever joined. You do not fast at a wedding feast, nor will there be any need to fast in heaven where we will be perfectly united with our Lord.

When Christ was with His disciples on earth, it was a foretaste of that wedding banquet, for they dined with Him and enjoyed His presence. There was thus no need to fast, at least not much. The Mass too is a foretaste of the heavenly wedding banquet; although we fast before Mass, in the Mass we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ. We enjoy a special peace due to our communion with Christ through the Eucharist.

But before we get to heaven, we are not always present to the Lord. We get distracted. Our desires wonder after superficial, or at least less than crucial, things. We therefore need to call our thoughts and desires back to Christ. For this reason, we fast and deny ourselves. By self-denial, we check our thoughts and desires, in order to let them become centered once again on Christ.

Yet if you are like me, then when you renew your efforts at fasting or self-denial, such as during Lent, then you're tempted to get grouchy. That's because the results of fasting are not immediate. Again, we practice self-denial in order to let our thoughts and desires become re-centered on Christ. But the peace and joy of being centered on Christ are not felt immediately. So, on the one hand, we have denied ourselves something we enjoyed and, on the other, we do not immediately feel the joyful presence of God. So, we are tempted to become grouchy.

Contrast the refrain for the responsorial psalm today: "Come with joy into the presence of the Lord." By fasting we are coming into the Lord's presence. We should be joyful about that! So, we must be patient. When we practice self-denial, we must wait for the results, that is, wait for the peace of being more in the presence of God.

But what alternative do we have? We need God in so many ways. He is worth watching and waiting for. And now, with joy let us be present to Him, as He comes to us in this Eucharist.