Triple Fast

Learning the triple entendre of the word fast

02/14/2023

Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

Do you know what a double entendre is? It is a word or phrase that has a double meaning. For example Scott Hahn recently wrote a book about death and the resurrection entitled “Hope to Die.” Can you hear the double entendre – the double meanings – in that title? Well, today I want to teach you a triple entendre, that is, a word with three meaning, namely, “fast.” What are the three meanings of the word “fast”?

First, fast can mean a speed, like fast or slow. For instance, my dog Apollo can run super fast, whereas I run super slow. By the way, I recently challenged the students in our elementary school to a race, and I beat all of them! How big does a man’s ego have to be to need to beat 5th graders in a race to feel good? So that is one meaning of the word “fast” – Fr. John is fast on his feet.

A second definition of “fast” is the way Jesus uses it in the gospel today. Our Lord teaches: “When you fast do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.” This secondary meaning of fast refers obviously to food. Let me review the rules about fasting from food for Catholics. Catholics who are 14 or older abstain from meat, which, by the way, includes alligators and frog-legs (for those of you from Louisiana). And those who are 18 to 59 should fast by eating one normal meal and two small meals today. I like to say if it didn’t hurt a little, you didn’t do it right. So, the second meaning of fast is to fast from food.

The third meaning – the triple entendre – of fast I found from Pope Francis. He recommends that this Lent we fast from feelings that are not healthy or holy. He urged: “Fast from hurting words and say kind words. Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude. Fast from anger and be filled with patience. Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope. Fast from worries and have trust in God.”

He continued: “Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity. Fast from bitterness and fill your hearts with joy. Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others. Fast from grudes and be reconciled. Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.” In other words, the third kind of fasting is from negative feelings.

On Ash Wednesday, we see people practicing all three meanings of fast. How so? Well, everyone uses their feet and comes fast to Mass. No one misses Mass on Ash Wednesday. I even saw a mother and daughter running fast to Mass this morning while I was walking Apollo. They had fast feet. Today we hear in the Bible how Jesus tells us to fast from food with a smile, that is, not to look gloomy.

And third, Pope Francis encourages us to fast from feelings of hurt, sadness, anger, pessimism, worries, complaints, pressures, bitterness, selfishness, and grudges. And even if we do not have fast feet or fast from food every day, we can still fast from negative feelings not only at Lent but even for our whole life. And that is how you can be triple fast!

Praised be Jesus Christ!