Discovering the Joy of Fasting

Absence not only makes the heart grow fonder, but it makes room for greater joy.

By Emily Malloy

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said of Catholics that “first we fast, then we feast.” The preparatory period of fasting during Lent creates a unique space for the feasting of Easter. It is a priming of the canvas before the layering of paints that will form a masterpiece. But most of all, it is choosing the greater good, namely God, and experiencing the reality that only he satiates. This recognition comes only after a stripping of those things which we incorrectly use to fill the God-shaped space within us.