Welcome to the second edition of our Lent Challenge newsletter post!

In this issue, we reflect on the tradition of fasting—by some may be seen as a burden, yet, in its true essence, a practice that can bring lightness and joy to the spirit. 

“Lent gives us the opportunity to lighten ourselves from the weight of the world, while lightening the world of our weight.”

The origin of Lent lies in Scripture and its model is the 40 day-fast of Christ in the desert. To defeat temptation, one must be the master of his own self, show that one is not slave to his appetites nor to the everlasting calls to consumption, because “Man shall not live on bread alone” (Mat 4,4).

Fasting has a rich history in the orthodox tradition: it is a time to rest, to restrain our appetites, a means by which we can distinguish better between what is essential and what is useless. During the forty days of Lent, which also reminds us of the forty years of Egypt’s desert crossing, this liturgical fast consists in abstaining from meat, fish, dairy and eggs. It re-establishes the faithful in the condition of Eden, where humans were given “every seed-bearing plant” and “every tree that has fruit with seed in it” for food. These rules set an ideal that everyone pursues with their own strengths and weaknesses. 

The theologian Anestis Keselopoulos teaches that:

“Abstaining from certain food aims to protect, even for a short time, animals who are cruelly devoured by humans. The spirit of fasting that we are forced today to protect in our culture demands that we change our relationship with nature, moving from a blood-thirsty predation towards this state of gratitude, which is the distinctive mark of the Eucharist.”

(« The Prophetic Charisma in Pastoral Theology : Asceticism, Fasting and the Ecological Crisis” in Toward Ecology of Transfiguration, NY, 2013 p. 361).

We do not fast to deprive ourselves from food or to hurt our bodies, but we put a brake to our appetites and lighten our table, to increase our sensitivity to every living being, and to increase our hunger and thirst towards God. Lent is not a source of sorrow: “authentic asceticism is always joyful, springful and bright. It knows no dualism or division; it does not undermine life or the world.” Said patriarch Bartholomew in his catechetical homily at the start of Lent 2020.

Through abstaining from certain food (or through total fasting), fasting allows us to feel the hunger and the want that feel the too many people across the world who cannot access even the vital minimum amount of food. Following the invite of Saint Ambrosius of Milan, we can give to the poor the money we saved through fasting. 

What about protestanism? For a long time, it was wary of Lent because it was considered a pious deed contrary to the theology of grace. But it is perfectly possible to live the Lenten period in a way that makes sense in regard of protestant theology: if Lent becomes a time during which we remember Jesus’ fight against the temptation of wealth and power, to become servant of the smallest. Protestantism has developed an ethic of sufficiency, based on gratitude, the right use of goods and the awareness that we are only stewards of riches entrusted to us by God. This ethic can be lived through a vegetarian fasting period.
This article is a compilation and translation of testimonies from this vegetarian Lent leaflet and this article on Orthodox Lent.

Juliette Maupas
Église verte 

🖼️ Lent Through the Lens of Art

Experience Lent through a visual prayer journey with Arts & Faith: Lent, featuring weekly video commentaries on sacred art inspired by Sunday Scriptures. These reflections, led by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, an expert in liturgy and religious education, offer a fresh perspective on spiritual renewal.