- Apr 11, 2005
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Fasting Means Conquering Yourself
Man’s sensual appetites should be subject to reason. That means they need to be brought under our willpower. And that means fasting.
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Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three traditional disciplines associated with Lent. Catholics often associate fasting with penance, but it is also a spiritual discipline: Jesus, “he who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21), inaugurated his public ministry after fasting in the desert. So, although there is a rich theological foundation for fasting, let me instead draw attention to some insights from philosophical anthropology that might also enrich how we think of fasting this Lent.