Sacred Scripture,
Our Lord Jesus Christ
and Our Lady of Emmitsburg
through Gianna Talone
Sullivan,
St. Francis de Sales,
Pope John Paul II,
Rafael Cardinal Merry
del Val, and Fr. Stephano Gobbi:
All teach us about fasting:
As we move through Lent
this year, let us ponder Our Lord’s words to Gianna in one of the early Lessons
on December 13, 1988, even before Our Lady began appearing to her daily,
when Our Lord said:
“This is not a
game. This is true, for I am Truth, and this is serious!…I fasted for
My people….When you fast you are cleansed with My Holiness….I ask you today to fast
in order to purify and cleanse yourself, for My Mother is coming!” (JOM, Dec. 13, 1988)
In her April 13, 2008 private message, Our
Lady of Emmitsburg said to the world through Gianna:
“God has the most
opportune moment, and He knows what to do and when to do it….When people give
their free will to God, then He knows when the most opportune moment will be.” (OLOE, April 13, 2008)
This was not a public
message to the world for the internet. This was a private message at home
and to be shared with the “choir.” And are we not the “choir” by the very fact
that we are even here reading and are interested in this? What are we missing
that might delay this most opportune moment of God and Our Lady? To what are we
still so attached and from which we need to fast?
The Catholic Online
Dictionary defines “fasting” as a form of penance that imposes
limits on the kind or quantity of food or drink one consumes, a traditional
precept in the Church from the first century of Christianity.
However, throughout the
Old Testament in the Books of Nehemiah (9:1), Tobit (2:3 & 12:8), and Judith (4:9-11), fasting is mentioned as part of
the religious ritual of the chosen people, the Israelites, who so often had
broken their Covenant with Yahweh, suffered the consequences, and were then
pleading again for His Mercy.
Over 1000 years BC,
after having been falsely accused of serious crimes, King David wrote in
Psalm 35:
“But I, when they were
troublesome to me, was clothed with sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting,
and poured forth prayers within my bosom.” (Ps. 35:13), and
the Lord preserved him from danger.
Around 475 BC, there
lived Queen Esther whose Jewish ancestry had been kept hidden from her Persian husband,
King Ahasuerus. In the Book of Esther we read:
“Among all the captive
Jews in all provinces, towns, and places, to which the king’s cruel edict (of
total destruction of the Jewish race) had been revealed, there was great
mourning, with fasting, wailing and weeping, many using sackcloth and
ashes for their bed.” (Esther
4:3)
Then Queen Esther, after
covering her head with dirt and ashes and severely afflicting her body, pleaded
with the Lord to save her people; and, risking her own life, she revealed her
secret Jewish nationality to her Persian King and exposed the evil plot to have
the Jews killed. Recognizing her courage, her love for her Jewish people, and
her trust in her God, the King reversed the order, saving her Jewish people.
Some 400 years BC, the
prophet Joel foresaw the coming of the Lord after witnessing the
devastation to Israel following a terrible
invasion of locusts:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my
holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord
is coming! Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds
and somberness!...For great is the day of the Lord, and exceedingly terrible;
who can bear it? Yet, even now says the Lord: ‘Return to me with all
your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning.’”(Joel 2:1-2 & 11-12)
Around the year 170 BC,
recorded in the Second Book of Maccabees, Israel was again at risk of being invaded by Syria:
“When Judas (Maccabees)
heard this, he urged the people to call upon the Lord night and day to help
them….When they had all done this together, and had craved mercy of the Lord
with weeping and fasting, lying prostrate on the ground for three days
continually, Judas exhorted them to make themselves ready….Giving his men the
battle cry ‘God’s Victory,’ he made a (surprise) night attack on the king’s
pavilion....Finally, they withdrew in triumph, having filled the camp with
terror and confusion. Day was just breaking when this was accomplished with
the help and protection of the Lord.”
(2 Maccabees:13)
Later this month, on
June 24th, we celebrate the Feast of the Birth of John the
Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets.
“It was of him that the
prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: “A voice crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the Way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” (Is 40:3)
The Baptist wore clothing made of
camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and
wild honey” and his message was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” It was this ascetic lifestyle
of John the Baptist that prepared him to “prepare” the Way of the Lord. (Mt. 3: 1-4)
It was not long after
John’s appearance on the scene that Our Lord too began His final preparations
for his public ministry and His mission, the salvation of humanity. In Matthew’s
Gospel we read:
“Then Jesus was led by
the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted
for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” (Mt 4:2)
There He was tempted
with food and power and tested by the devil, but He resisted all temptation;
and Jesus Himself then ordered:
“‘Get away Satan. It is
written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and Him alone shall you serve.’
(Dt 6:13) Then the devil left him
and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” (Mt: 4: 1-2, 10-11)
In Mark’s Gospel
we read about the time when the disciples’ failure to effect a cure in a boy
possessed by a demon seemed to reflect unfavorably on Jesus. Jesus, however,
did then cast the demon out, took the boy by the hand, and raised him up.
“When He entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could
we not drive it out?’ Jesus answered:
“This kind can only come
out through prayer and fasting.” (Mk 9: 28-29)
In the early 17th
century, Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, author of the classic “Introduction
to the Devout Life,” wrote this about fasting:
“Understand that of
itself fasting is not a virtue….Thus, it happens that it
profits some and not others, because it is not undertaken by all in the
same manner…. Now among the conditions required for fasting well, I will
select 3 principal ones:
First: We must fast with our
whole heart….Second, We must never fast through vanity, but always
through humility…. Third: Fasting well is to look to God and to
do everything to please Him.”
In Matthew’s Gospel
Our Lord warns:
“When you fast, do
not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show
men they are fasting. I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not
be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, Who is unseen;
and your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Mt. 6:16-18)
Throughout the apparitions to the six
visionaries in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, which began on June 24, 1981, on the feast of St. John the Baptist,
fasting has been a frequent theme. Our Lady told them early on
that:
“Through fasting and
prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature.” (July 21, 1982) “Today I ask you to start fasting from your
heart. There are many people who fast, but only because everyone else is
fasting….I ask this parish to fast out of gratitude to God for allowing me to
remain so long in this parish.”
(Our
Lady of Medj.,
Sept. 20, 1984)
Throughout his papacy, John Paul II also
spoke about the value of fasting:
“Fasting helps to understand
better the difficulties and sufferings of so many of our brothers and sisters who
are oppressed by hunger, severe poverty and war.” (Angelus, JPII, March 2, 2003) “Joined to the practice
should be a sincere desire for inner purification, readiness to obey the Divine
Will and thoughtful solidarity….with the poor.”
(Gen. Audience, JPII, Mar. 5, 2003)
In that same Lesson to
Gianna back in Dec. 1988, Our Lord went on to say:
“Blessed are those who
fast because of their love for Me and for the salvation of others! I
am not calling you to fast for long periods of time—simply once or twice a
week. Is this asking too much of you? The purest form of fasting is on bread
and water, but as you are aware, there are other ways of fasting for those who
cannot do the former.” (JOM, Vol 1, #16, Dec 13, 1988)
What are some of those other ways? There are
obvious physical forms of fasting from other food and drink, from
convenience and pleasures, and from entertainment and luxury; but there are also
many more subtle desires for which fasting could be quite
valuable. Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val in the early 20th
century wrote the Litany of Humility. In this litany we pray to be
delivered from the desire of being esteemed, of being loved, of being honored
and praised, from the desire of being preferred to others and of being
consulted and approved—all powerful forms of fasting.
Through Fr. Stefano Gobbi, founder
of the Marian Movement of Priests, Our Lady has spoken
about fasting on several occasions between 1973-1997:
“I am asking of you a bodily
fast as a means of mortifying your senses,…a spiritual fast from
every form of evil,…a fast of the heart, closing it to inordinate
attachments,…and a fast of the soul, by keeping it far from sin,
even the least of sin.” (MMP,
#306, March 16, 1985)
Over a period of almost 20 years, Our Lady of
Emmitsburg has been sharing that same message of prayer, fasting,
conversion of heart and peace. She has said to the world through Gianna:
“Peace can exist through
prayer and love, but it is necessary that you respond in action….Respond to my
call of Love and Mercy through unity, prayer, penance and fasting, all
of which are important factors which can ward off wars and soften
chastisements.”
(OLOE, 8-04-94) “Unless prayer,
penance and fasting are done in reparation for the many outrages against
my Son’s Most Sacred Heart, this world will suffer tremendously from its lack
of gratitude, its pompous righteousness and its lack of mercy.” (OLOE, June 12, 1997)
It would seem to many that our world has lost all
sense of sin. We are bombarded 24 hours a day with all sorts of
distractions and temptations to take us away from the Truth and to disrupt our
relationship with God. Our Lady of Emmitsburg goes on to say:
“Inclinations of the
flesh and human nature will attempt to fight the inspirations of the Spirit.
You can control and temper all the sentiments of your flesh through silence,
love, prayer and fasting.” (OLOE, Apr. 30, 1998)
Perhaps many of us did pay much more
attention to this call to fasting in the early and mid-1990’s; but with time, many
of us may have also drifted away from this practice. What seems so amazing is to
reread that which many of us had previously read many years ago but
forgotten, that being when Our Lord in His Lessons to the world through
Gianna said “…Fast in order to purify and cleanse yourself, for My Mother is
coming!” The Son of God, the Son of Mary, was asking a group of young
adults in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the very beginning
of their spiritual journey, to fast as He promised His
Mother was coming to them!
If that promise warranted fasting,
now recall what Our Lady of Emmitsburg has promised
here at the Center of her Immaculate Heart over the last 14 years:
1. “This place (the
Emmitsburg area) is the haven of life because it is the Center of my Immaculate
Heart where all children seek refuge. It will withstand the attacks from evil
because I am here with my Child Jesus.” (OLOE, Mar. 9, 1995). “This refuge of my
Immaculate Heart is for all people, but the Center of My Immaculate
Heart can only be a place where the community reflects the purity, joy, love
and mercy of Jesus.” (OLOE,
Apr. 6, 2000)
2. “This is the
place….where my Son’s Divine Mercy will be unveiled. In the Name of the Child
Jesus, I place the seal of protection against evil upon your soul, sanctified
by grace for my Son’s glorious reign.” (OLOE, Oct 21, 1999) “It is the unveiling
of God’s Mercy which will lift this world out of its misery.” (OLOE, Mar. 2, 2000)
3. “Jesus will come a
second time and reign…His Kingdom shall be an Era of Peace and Hope, and it
will be a spiritual quenching for your parched souls….He will not walk
on the world as you know it. He will be your heavenly delight as you walk in
harmony and unity and peace toward the Way of His Truth.…It will not be
His final judgment and coming, for this next era will be the Covenant of our
Two Hearts, a spiritual Eucharistic Reign where the Child Jesus will
usher in a kingdom of Peace….for it is the Child Jesus who represents
hope and life for all children of the world.” (OLOE, March 2, 2000)
In May, 2000, Our Lady of Emmitsburg made
even a profound link to the message and mission she had began in Fatima:
4. “I have been waiting for
2000 years to fulfill the plan God the Father has commissioned to me to bear
the fruits of my Son’s redemption….What commenced in Fatima with my three
little children will continue now and come to fruition here at the Center of my
Immaculate Heart.”
(OLOE, May 11, 2000)
5. And finally, Our Lady
of Emmitsburg has promised here so many times: “I am not
leaving!” (OLOE,
Feb. 1,
2006)
It would seem to many
that now in our world we have already seen many and sit on the brink of
numerous other disasters, both natural and human, with great suffering, much
confusion and even chaos—all of which threaten a major change in
the way we live our lives, both here in America and throughout the world. So if King David,
the prophets Ezra, Tobit and Judith; if Queen Esther,
Judas Maccabees, and the prophet Joel; and if John the Baptist
(just to name a few) can all call on
the chosen people, the Israelites, to pray and to fast in
repentance, asking the Lord’s Mercy for their obstinacy and sinfulness; and if Our
Lord Himself, Our Lady both here and in Medjugorje and many
other places throughout the world as well as through Fr. Stefano Gobbi;
if St. Frances de Sales in his writings, Cardinal Merry del Val
in his Litany for Humility, and Pope John Paul II in his words (as well as many others); yes, if all these
point to the value and importance of fasting, should we not also,
at this critical time in salvation history, give fasting the
paramount place it deserves both for our own spiritual growth and for the
salvation of the world?
So let us again invite
the entire Heavenly
Court,
all the celestial choirs of Angels and all the Saints, to join us and Our Lady
during this Lenten Season. Let us ask the Holy Spirit for the grace of fasting—to
reinforce in our spiritual armamentarium the power of fasting—not just
on the 7 mandated days each Lent, but as a lifestyle or at least as a regular
part of our weekly prayer life. For do not these promises from
Our Lady: the unveiling of God’s Divine Mercy here at the Center of her
Immaculate Heart, the Eucharistic Reign of the Child Jesus, the Era of Peace, and
the fruition of what has been promised at Fatima; yes, do not they deserve not
only our prayer, but especially our fasting?
(Modified from Opening
Remarks by Michael T. Sullivan, MD
Marian Prayer Group—June 1, 2008)