Last Tuesday, I was invited by some Muslim friends to their home for an Iftar, the meal that ends the fast each day of Ramadan. It was a happy event and it is a happy coincidence that this year the month of Ramadan, the Muslim period of fasting (Feb. 17-March 23), and Lent, the Christian period of fasting (Feb. 18-April 2), overlap.
Fasting is a common practice in almost all religions. When Muslims fast for Ramadan, they do not eat anything from sunup to sundown.
Among fast days for Jews is Yom Kippur. On this day, they do not eat anything for 25 hours. Mormons fast on the first Sunday of each month for twenty-four hours, usually from the main meal on Saturday until the main meal on the following day.
Fasting is also a characteristic of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and other faiths as well. Both Catholic and Orthodox Christians are obligated to fast for Lent. Orthodox Christians do not eat any meat, or meat byproducts during the whole of Lent. Catholics do not eat any meat on the Fridays of Lent. Other Christian denominations also encourage fasting.
Religious fasting is very different from other forms of fasting such as intermittent fasting to lose weight. My Muslim friends tell me that they often gain weight during Ramadan.
The purpose of religious fasting is to allow one to focus on the spiritual rather than the material and come closer to God and one’s fellow human beings.
As such, it is a practice of solidarity—solidarity with other members of your own faith by knowing that they are also fasting (although some are exempt from fasting for reasons of health or age). Fasting in solidarity creates a feeling of belonging.
As I was growing up, I recall that Catholics were often called “mackerel snappers” because we ate fish rather than meat on these days. It is also a gesture of solidarity with those who are not eating, not because they are voluntarily fasting, but because they have no food, meaning it is time to help feed the hungry.
Mormons, for example, give the money they saved by their fast to the church which uses it for support of the poor.
One of the five pillars of Islam is Zakat, the obligation to help monetarily those who are in need. It is second in importance only to prayer. Ramadan is a special time for giving Zakat.
I think of all the people in so many countries who go hungry, including Africa, Gaza and other parts of the Middle East with the current war. I think of the people who live in tents in our community. My bedroom window faces First Street in Gilroy. In the mornings I see the long line of cars waiting for food to be distributed at St. Joseph Center.
I am grateful to God that I have food and I do my best to help those who do not, especially in this period of fasting.
Father Jose Rubio is the Retired in Residence Pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Gilroy. He is one of the original members of the Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County. Father Jose can be reached at jo********@*sj.org.
