Have you ever wondered why the Church has so many feast days in the liturgical calendar? It may be harder to realize as the holy days of obligation have tended to move to the closest Sunday, but all throughout the history of the Church, Catholics have found it very important to celebrate feasts. This is not just a Catholic tradition. The Jews also had many feasts to celebrate what God was doing in their lives and to thank Him for the gifts he had bestowed on them.
When you read through the Old Testament it is clear that they took these feasts quite seriously. There were liturgical celebrations, specific rites to follow, traditions to uphold, and the best food and drink were brought out to commemorate these special days. In today’s Gospel we hear not only about the importance of fasting, but perhaps more importantly, we hear about the importance of feasting.
Think about it, a fast doesn’t mean much if you have not tasted the wonder of food. In the time of the apostles they would often feast because Jesus was with them. It is no surprise that many of the verses in the Bible that pertain to Jesus also involved food. If we are to fast we have to know the glory we are fasting from or it doesn’t tend to hurt as much.
Now that Jesus has gone to heaven we are meant to fast as a reparation for sin. The first reading makes this clear. We are all baptized as priest, prophet and king, and part of being in this priestly role is to fast and sacrifice for the sins we have committed and the sinful lives of others. But the Gospel is quick to remind us that we should also feast, that is to say, we should anticipate with joyful celebration the second coming of Christ and our final destiny of being united completely with him.
The reason we celebrate so many feasts in the Church is to remind us of this reality. This may not be our ultimate home, but we can experience in little ways the joy that is to come in our eternal reward. If we do not take time to celebrate now, we will be like the awkward kid in the corner at Prom when we get to Heaven. We won’t know how to properly partake in the joy that we have been waiting for.
So during this week, let’s pick some specific times where we can fast for our sins and ask for forgiveness and then some special moments as well where we can begin to experience, in a small way, the joys that are to come.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Daily Reading
Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Hebrews 5:1-10 Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is…
Saint of the Day
Saint Sebastian
Saint Sebastian, born in Narbonne, Gaul, was a soldier and Christian martyr, revered as the patron of athletes, soldiers, and protectors against plagues.
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