The critic. (Washington, D.C.) 1890-1891, 1891-02-13
WHAT FASTING REALLY is.
Plain Words on the Subject of Lenten
Observances.


From he Ncto York Times.
The Ash Wednesday services in Trinity
Church yesterday were peculiarly solemn
was occupied and many persons were
compelled to stand. The preacher was
the Rev. j. Nevett Steele. ID. d.. assistant
Fasting as Duty" He spoke in sub
stance as follows:
ut will not be amiss on this day to
speak few words concerning one of the
most important Of Christian duties. There
are so many strange notions afloat in these
times about fasting that with great num-
Der of people the word simply represents
not infrequently find fasting put down as
one of those new.fangled ideas of ritual
ism, not to be tolerated by any good Prot
estant but to be left rather to those igno-
rant and weak people who can't think for
themselves, but who must have their
thinking done for them by the priests.
Obedience to rule becomes in the minds of
such men synonymous with Ignorance:
1--WE ought to know whether fasting is a
duty or not. If 1t is a duty, then surely it
is for us to say whether we will be
obedient and perform our duty, or
whether we will decline TO do 1t. Let us
see what we have in our own Church to-
day In relation to the duty of fasting. In
the Prayer Book we find table of fast,
on which the. Church requires a certain
measure of abstinence. What Is fasting?
TO what does it refer? There can be but
one answer to this.
"When we are told to fast we are told
to abstain from food. We must not eat
or drink. Men and women have taken
advantage of the rhetorical figure of me.
tonomy and have substituted for fasting
many fanciful ideas. Now. all these
things are not fasting at all. Fasting has
no reference to abstaining from wrong
things. Fasting has reference to food and
nothing else; SO that fasting is in relation
to something that is right In itself for us
to have. Eating is necessity as well as a
pleasure. So, when we fast we abstain
from that which is lawful and right.
"Why should we fast? Because fasting
Is remedial agency, an exercise by which
the spiritual growth Is developed: 1t
strengthens the will and ennob1es IL to
resist the seductions Of the world. It
helps a man to get control over himself.
II is intended as a means to bring us near
unto God. It is not an end, but only a
means TO an end. True fasting embodies
the principle of voluntary self-sacrilice,
and that principle is always an ennobling
one.
Now, when men tell us that they
see no virtue in fasting from such an hour
in the morning until such an hour in the
evening, and then to break our fast with
o hearty meal, We know very well that
they have missed the whole idea of fast
ing.
1--WE reply that fasting is not for the
purpose Of starvation, but that 1t is an act
of voluntary self.discipline, undertaken as
a duty commanded by God and author
lied by our Church, and our motive is to
bring our wills into subjection TO the will
| of God.
Earnest and devout people are continu-
| ally asking for rule for Lent. What
better can we have than that which our
Church indicates and requires in her
Book of Common Prayer. Let us try a
| little honest unostentatious, regular and
systematic fasting, coupled with prayer
| and acts of devotion"