Fasting and The Eucharist: Catholic Participation in the Sacrifice of Christ
Christ, as the ultimate sacrifice in Christianity, gave his own life for the benefit of others. His self-sacrifice continues to this day to be celebrated in the Catholic Mass. Through communion, or receiving the Eucharist, one is able to actively partake of the fruits of that sacrifice. But how does one follow Jesus’ example? One surely cannot strive for the same kind of physical death that Jesus experienced. Thus, practice of another form of self-sacrifice becomes necessary.
To eat, to nourish one’s self is an act that is essential for human life. What could cause more pain in this life than to deny one’s self sustenance? The practice of fasting, as one form of self-denial, can serve to bring one closer to identifying with the sacrifice of Christ. This is especially evident when fasting is examined in relation to the Eucharist in the Catholic tradition.
But before we continue, a distinction must be made between two different types of self-denial. To fast, and to not eat do not constitute the same act. My own personal experience while exploring the topic of fasting has deeply colored my view of the practice of fasting. Many personal interests led me to pursue the question of fasting as a form of self-sacrifice. One was my personal engagement with and interest in the Roman Catholic tradition. Another, much more personal influence is my personal relationship with food. To stop eating is one of the (unhealthy ways) in which I personally deal with stress or depression. In reading Caroline Bynum’s book on the relationship medieval women mystics had with food I was able to identify on many levels. These women, in some cases, lived for...
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...5 At the request of my friend, her name has been changed, in case her mother really does have spies everywhere.
16 Nussbaum, Melissa. “Your paper on fasting.” Email to Lorena Dremel. 03/06/2003
17 Dugan, Kathleen M. “Fasting For Life: The Place of Fasting in the Christian Tradition.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol. 63 Issue 3 (Fall 1995): 547
18 Repohl, Roger F. “Hungry Together.” Commonweal. Vol. 124 Issue 3 (02/14/1997): 9-10
19 Several articles including:
Orsy, Ladislas. “Holy Days of Obligation? Holidays of Celebration?” America. Vol. 166 Issue 2
(01/18/1992-01/25/1992): 28-29.
Rogers, Carole Garibaldi. “Why Catholics Fast: Searching for the Tradition.” America. Vol. 186 Issue 6
(02/25/2002): 6-10.
Sherry, Mary. “Fasting? But That’s So Mortifying.” America. Vol. 186 Issue 7 (03/04/2002): 21-22.
The Hungry Soul: Eating and the Perfecting of Human Nature, by Leon Kass takes a unique view of examining the body and soul by focusing on the eating habits of human beings. He uses this in order to distinguish humans from animals and the divine element (God). In this book, Kass touches on the point of sanctified eating. In Kass' final chapter, he looks at the "created order", the dietary laws in the chapter of Leviticus in the Holy Bible and the problem of eating. Not only do these sub-chapters actually give a good sense of what humans are in the design of divinity, but it also shows how far human beings have to go in order to be close to the divine power of God.
Tellechea, Idigoras, Ignatius of Loyola The Pilgrim Saint. Loyola University Press Chicago 1994 pg.72, 77
As we take a look at earlier restrictions on the Christian diet, we have to point to N...
Oxtoby, Willard G. "The Christian Tradition." World Religion: Western Traditions. Ed. Willard G. Oxtoby. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2002. 200-339.
The death of the childless Charles II, the last Hapsburg King of Spain, in 1700 caused a crisis in succession, which resulted in the War of the Spanish Succession, a matter of international concern, thus, causing major European conflict. Before his death, Charles had named Prince Philippe of Anjou, his grandnephew and the grandson of Louis XIV of France, heir to the Spanish Empire. Fearing the power of the House of Bourbons as rulers of both Spain and France, other European powers Britain, The Dutch Republic, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire (joined later by Portugal) formed The Grand Alliance in support of Archduke Charles’, son of Emperor Leopold I of the Hapsburg Empire, bid for the Spanish throne. The War lasted until 1714, and although
Grodi, M. C. (2010). St. Paul on Seasons of Devotion and Fasting. Catholic Answer, 24(2), 38.
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.
Eating disorders have been around for centuries. St Catherine of Siena, was one of the known sufferers. She deprived herself of food to achieve a “saints-like” state (Hunt). She suffers from anorexia believing
... of sainthood requires an excess of self-restraint that makes it impossible to attain the moral mean. The saint may tell himself that the denial of worldly pleasures will bring him true happiness, but in fact he is pursuing a kind of perverse pleasure in self-restraint. Saint Augustine is looking for happiness from beyond life; but happiness, as Aristotle says, comes from achieving the moral mean in life. If we aspire to the moral mean, we must consider moral martyrdom to be like any other excess. In this view, the denial of worldly pleasures is not a virtue; rather, it is a vice that leads us away from the balance that we seek in our lives.
The Eucharist is an important sacrament found among many denominations of Christianity. A sacrament is a religious rite; sacramental practices vary throughout Christianity. Catholicism recognizes the seven sacraments of baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, ordination, and matrimony. The Eucharist is a source of endless debate for the Christian faith; its history is complex and has evolved over the centuries. The Roman Catholic Church’s perspective on this religious ritual differs significantly from other offshoots of Christianity.
Alain de Botton, in his TED talk “Atheism 2.0”, identified various attributes from religions that he thinks atheism, the non-religious community, would do well to emulate. Of these attributes, one that stood out was how all religions, almost as a universal rule, each have a calendar by which believers adhere to. These calendars typically mark days, or even weeks, that carry some importance and meaning to followers of a given religion, and serves as a reminder for the values of which these religions stand for. For instance, the Christian calendar has a season of Lent, whereby Christians all over the world choose to give up worldly comforts and fast for a period a little longer than a month, as a time for self-reflection and penance to prepare for Easter. Members of these religions all across the world would be able to stay synchronized regardless of any geographical limitations using a unified calendar. According to Botton, having a calendar that is observed by all followers of the religion enables the religion to be “multinational, branded, and possessing an identity so they don't get lost” (de Botton). Therefore, it is unsurprising how the secular world have adapted various religious holidays and integrated it into their own culture.
On one hand, baptism is a sacrament that any human must have because it is a lifelong process of salvation and it is necessary for eternal salvation. Since Adam’s sin, all human is born spiritually death; therefore a newborn in spirit is necessary, in order for humans to have “spiritual eyes open” It will keep the person closest to God, because “open eyes” helps to discriminate good from bad during the person journey in life. Baptism present two parts, an outward and sensible sign, and an inward and spiritual grace implied, but baptism is not sanctification by itself. Furthermore, baptism is the Church’s external affirmation and proclamation of prevenient grace; it is an initiation and incorporation into Christ Holy church. During baptism church as a whole play an active role; first, by welcoming the new member, then after baptism, the church provides the nurture that makes possible a comprehensive and lifelong process of growing in grace. On the other hand Communion celebration by using bread and wine is a remembrance of Jesus death, and resurrection and the waiting until He comes again. The way in which bread and wine is converting into Jesus’s body and blood is a mystery. When during celebration Jesus says “for you” it connotes expiating and sacrifice meaning to liberates “us” sinners. Participate in communion
...express their beliefs as well as listen to the words of the Lord. As Jesus said at his last meal with his disciples before his execution, “Do this in memory of me”. This quote is reflected in the mass in the stage of ‘being fed’ when an adherent receives both the body and blood of Christ, called Transubstantiation. In this way, Christian adherents are able to unit in a diverse environment following the ways that our Lord has taught us. Therefore through this, Christian adherents are able to express their faith.
Rich, Adrienne. “Living In Sin.” Sally Brannen ENG 112 Blackboard page. University of Tennessee at
Wueri in his pastoral letter to the faithful in his diocese, he asserts, “We are not left to our own devices.” For the simple reason that the effect of Adam’s sin into the world, such as death, disharmony, confusion, disruption and struggle; Jesu through the sacraments restores harmony and gives us newness of life in grace (3). Just as we consult the doctor in illness, eat food when hungry, go to school to acquire knowledge, the priest in the sacrament of penance gives us instructions and absolution to renews our souls. If you insist on asking mercy from God directly, you are also saying that you will pray to god to nourish you physically when you are hungry. In all aspect of our life, we need others. Our relationship with God is vertical and horizontal not only horizontal. The confessional is like spiritual counseling as compared to psychological counseling for someone who is emotionally over