If I deliver my body to be burned, yet have not charity, it profits me nothing.
There are three unavoidable things: death, taxes, and... Lent.   LENT.  At the mere word our flesh recoils, knees wobble.  “Oh flesh! how weak you are; but you are a beast and must be tamed.  As the sick man visits the doctor by necessity for a cure although it be given painfully, so flesh I must take you through Lent to curb your disorders.” 

But Lent must not simply be to curb disorders... for the Church reminds us: the goal and essence of the Christian life and warfare is charity... not penance.

If we are to profit from our coming Lenten austerities we must know: no matter how much alms we give, fasting we do, sacrifices we make, all shall be without profit unless charity is present.

We will speak on fasting and the care to take to service charity in its fulfillment.

But first, fasting is difficult.  We need motivations.  Here are a few:
Fasting repairs for sin.  Every sin is a crime and every crime is worthy of punishment.  While a criminal who repents obtains forgiveness, yet he still merits punishment for his crime to satisfy the  demands of justice. This punishment may be made here and now, if not it must be made in the hereafter.  My fast will lessen the punishment owed for my past sins as well as for those of others.

Fasting draws down grace from heaven.  The more we replicate Christ in our life, the more He will favor us with His blessings.  By my fast, in imitation of His, and done for love of Him, I may merit grace either for myself or another... spouse, children, friends... as well as to assist the conversion of sinners or provide some relief to a poor soul in purgatory.

Fasting curbs intemperance.  Every man born into this world suffers a concupiscence of the flesh.  Said again, every man is inclined to love his hamburger too much. Unchecked, this disordered love will make a god of the belly... and, thereby, untamed appetites become an obstacle to my salvation and perfection.  My fasting will advance me in temperance so that my spiritual life is not hindered from those troublesome movements in my flesh regarding desires for food and procreation.

Fasting places the mind on God.  Too often we think only of what pleases the senses.  Because we eat every day, so every day we think about food.  Fasting withdraws the mind from these earthly considerations and raises it to the presence of God.  And this in two ways: first, by diminishing the hold our appetites have over our reason; second, by revealing how weak we really are.  Recognizing our weakness for food services growth in humility and increased gratitude towards God.  Humility, because we come to know more our frailty and thus petition God more often for help; gratitude, because we become much more thankful for our food. 

Finally, fasting is a way to fulfill the divine commandment to do penance.  “Do penance for the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 4:17); “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all perish.” (Lk 13:3)

 These motivations should strengthen our courage.  Now what are the Church’s requirements for us during Lent?  Lent is a liturgical season of the Christian warfare when the Church encourages us towards heaven by obliging us to certain days of fast and abstinence.  While every Friday of the whole year is a day for some form of penance, each Friday of Lent is a day for abstaining from the flesh meat of mammals i.e., the fish Friday.  On only two days of the year does the Church require her members to fast (eating one full meal and two other meals not to equal one full meal)... both of these in Lent: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  

Nor are all her members bound to fast and abstinence.  Only when we turn 14 are we bound to rules of abstinence; only when we are between the ages of 18 and 60 are we bound to the fast.  The sick or pregnant are excused altogether.

I have given some motivations to fast and presented the Church’s requirements.  This Lent, we could do the minimum penance the Church requires or follow the traditional custom and fast all 40 days of Lent... and, thereby, obtain a greater share of grace for eternal life.

If we decide to endure the optional 40 day fast of Lent or some image of it, here are some helps...
Do not cook with spices... they will only increase our appetites.  Reduce use of sugar as well.  Do not eat too fast... but learn to enjoy each bite.  In grocery shopping, do not bring any food into the home which will tempt us against the fast.  These may seem silly ideas, but they will service a more bearable and productive fast. 

In enduring the fast, we must be careful to service charity.  Here are some points to consider:
Children are not adults.  They need their food.  Do not require of them something the Church does not.  Those 14 and older abstain; those between 18 and 60 fast.

Do not compare yourself with another.  Eating is an individual thing.  That my portion looks more than yours is no reason to think, “He’s pigging out.”  Do not measure your portion with that of another nor point fingers. 

And should it happen that some circumstance takes me to the home of a non-catholic, or even a catholic one but one which does not hold my fast, and I am offered a cookie... I should eat it.  Fasting is meant to service charity... not the other way around.  “Charity seeks not her own”... because I would rather not eat the cookie but do to please my neighbor I shall better please God in my  fast... in as much as I do not embrace my own will in this particular case.  

Now someone might think, “I’m glad father said that, now I can go to Fred’s BBQ this Friday.”  But this would be wrong... as such is an act of self-seeking of the worse kind... manufacturing a reason for seeking what I want rather than simply accepting those which come my way.  Likewise, if we are surprised and offered a cookie we may eat it... but not the whole bag of them.

And, if in my fast, I become so wearied that I overly irritate my spouse, hate my neighbor, yell at my children... I should stop my fast, eat what I want, and, after being calmed, resume my fast on some following day.     

Finally, as a last help to make a good fast, we should be encouraged to keep a pure motive. Our fasting is to make reparation for sin, to draw grace down from heaven for self and others, to curb our vices and advance our virtues, to increase our presence of God... in a word, when we fast we want to further our charity: our love for God and love for neighbor in God.  Recall this thought often.  This must remain our primary motive, nothing else.  On this note, it may help us if we put the bathroom scale in the attic.