Now don’t be put off. Read on. I want to suggest why we should fast for anything – ponder the value of fasting, and then suggest why it’s appropriate to fast for vocations to the priesthood; and finally, suggest just two forms our fasting might take.
The best teaching on fasting that I’ve ever heard came not from within our Church but from an evangelical ‘non-denominational’ minister called Derek Prince. He points out: the people of God have always fasted from the time of Moses; Jesus fasted; Jesus said his disciples would (and therefore should) fast; the early Church did fast. Let’s be honest, fasting is not exactly popular nowadays. What are we missing out on?
Basically, fasting intensifies prayer. It makes it more powerful, more effective. It is most certainly not ‘doing a deal with God’, a kind of muscular Christianity: ‘let me show you how much I want this thing by how much pain I’m prepared to endure’. This is what Derek Prince says: ‘fasting changes man, not God. The Holy Spirit, being God, is both omnipotent and unchanging. Fasting breaks down the barriers in man’s carnal nature that stand in the way of the Holy Spirit’s omnipotence. With these barriers removed, the Holy Spirit can work unhindered in His fullness through our prayers.’ In other words (and this is very Catholic), we’re using our free will to control our human natures, to allow God’s grace to work more freely through us, for a particular intention. Derek Prince, being based in America, proudly points out that George Washington called for fasting and prayer in 1774 just before the War of Independence with Britain. We all know how successful that was. If we stay less controversially with the early Church, the first Christians practiced fasting not only as part of their personal discipline but also collectively and directly in relation to the ordaining of priests. The Church in Antioch fasted before the ordination of Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:1-2) and they introduced the practice to Lystra and Iconium when ‘presbyters’ were ordained there (Acts 14:21-23).
So if we want to intensify prayer, we should fast: it allows the Holy Spirit to work more powerfully in us and through us. Why should we fast for vocations? Quite simply because in the battle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan, we need to employ the entirety of our spiritual armoury and not just wooden spears. The harvest remains rich and the labourers are dwindling. The Lord throws the response on us when he says ‘You, therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest’, and our prayer will be more effective if it is supported by fasting.
What sort of fasting? Traditional fasting from food, of course. But can I suggest something else: to fast for the duration of Lent from TV. The way many of us use TV each day is a little bit like the way we use food: it can be so good for us and yet we can watch too much and sometimes the wrong things. I heard a priest speak recently and he made this observation: ‘I have had more time and less temptation, I have prayed more and valued events more accurately, I have thought more and read more, I have been happier and less tired, since I got rid of the television.’ Well, we might try it just for Lent.
As I visit parishes to speak about vocations, my message is very simple: we need priests because we need Jesus Christ who wants to be present to us, to love us, through the words and actions, especially sacramental actions, of his priests. Would you try praying and fasting for vocations?
Rev William Massie, Vocations Director
