Hi, Linda ...
First of all, let's review why we fast:
- to prepare for special liturgical feasts CCC 2043
- to acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart CCC2043
- to express conversion back towards God CCC 1434
- to obtain forgiveness of sins CCC1434
- in a nutshell: to draw closer to God.
But you probably already know all that.
So what about meat? There are some "documents that indicate that meat was singled out as being a food Christians occasionally abstained from since the first century. ... [It] was singled out because it is associated with celebrations and feasts. ... On top of all that, meat has often been a luxury in many cultures. ... Meat cost a bit more. Maintaining a spirit of simplicity, people turned to other, less expensive fare." http://bulldogcatholic.org/
Also, my heart tells me that there is more to think about with this question: Since ancient times the Hebrews offered meat up as their sacrifices in the Temple for things like forgiveness, uncleanness, thanksgiving, etc. In the New Testament the Jews continued to do so until the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. That they chose meat as THE offering to God showed an "value" in their minds of what one should use to approach God about BIG things.
Added to that, think about the things we call meat. Meat comes from animals that have blood in them. Blood was seen as the very life of a creature, and as such, it was seen as sacred. The ancients were forbidden to partake of blood. (which was why people turned from Jesus when He said, "This is my blood, take it and drink of it.") Meat then was the most nourishing element in the diet. When we give up the most nourishing thing in our diets, we stay somewhat hungry, somewhat lacking from the very life-givingness of our meal. That lacking allows us to then be a little empty, thus giving us room within us, room which we then are called to fill up with God.
Your question was definitely food for thought! (lol)
No comments:
Post a Comment