Why should we do it? Why do those ascetical practices in Lent or any other time? Why bother with this self-discipline, this extra penance, especially if we’re already living fairly moderate lives? Isn’t it better to eat, drink, and be merry, given that we might die tomorrow?
There are many answers one could give that might have parts of the truth in them. The deepest and most true answer is this: we should fast out of love.
This claim seems counterintuitive to many. Many unbelievers, non-Catholic Christians, and even some Catholics have a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea that asceticism is done out of love. While giving alms for the poor and the Church is understood as an act of love, since it involves giving away something for the benefit of others, how can simply giving up things we enjoy be a good thing? If it doesn’t benefit someone else, what good is self-denial? Doesn’t God want us to enjoy ourselves?
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