Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday after Ash Wednesday, March 7, 2025

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Isaiah 58: 1-9a; Rs psalm 51: 3-4.5-6a.18-19; Matthew 9: 14-15THE RIGHT TIME TO FAST Our meditation today has the theme: The Right Time toFast. There was an exciting conversation between a husband and his wife aboutthe implementation of their fast. The husband said that he regretted forforgetting his fasting promise. He should have fasted to eat certain foods thatwere his favorite, but he had violated them for some times. He shared this  to his wife about his mistake. The wife actually admitted that she also violated herfast. Actually, she has decided to fast certain foods and quit the habit ofgossip. But she has violated it several times. They both finally understood,that they were not consistent with the time to fast. They realized that theirfasting was irregular, and they have to find another time to make up for thenegligence of fast each of them made.  Violating the regularity of the time of fasting is acommon problem that many Catholics do. Actually, it is not only about regularfasting, but also about attendance at daily or weekly Mass, novena prayers,confession often become irregular. The common sin of man is that he is notconsistent with the routine or regular in his expression of faith in God. Thisalways happens in fasting and other acts of mortification, especially during theperiod of Lent. The inconsistency of the time to fast is also aproblem in Jesus' time. The Jews, who followed the mindset and spiritual pathof the scribes and Pharisees, strictly observed the rules of fasting. One ofthem is the fasting time that must be observed. The main time is the Sabbath.If that husband and his wife felt very guilty and ended up being devastatedbecause of their irregular fasting, this is the problem expressed by theprophet Isaiah about God and people who are required to see and appreciatesomeone's fasting. The same question was raised by John's disciples toJesus, about Jesus' disciples who did not fast. Jesus gave the answer, that theright and good time to fast is when we are in emptiness and sin. It means thatin these moments, God is felt to be far away or even not with us. We feelabandoned or perhaps condemned for our sins. When we make this a true fast, wetry our best to abstain from tormenting sins. So we must act to go beyond theregular habit of not eating or abstaining from doing something.Let us pray. O God, may we be able to renew ourselvescorrectly and appropriately through our fasting and abstinence. HailMary... In the name of the Father...