Why fasting makes sense

In a society such as the one we live in, we can have virtually anything we want as soon as we want it: the instant we're hungry - we eat; the second we feel pain - we take medication; want to know something - look it up online. Most of us need not ever feel the prolonged pains of hunger, the agony of injury, or the injustice of waiting. Some might call this progress, but at what cost? Sure there have been amazing advancements in medicine and technology but they aid us superficially while killing us spiritually. Our 'spiritual immune system' has been so reduced that often times when temptation or sin attacks us we can't muster the strength to resist. That's where fasting comes in - our 'spiritual medicine.' As Pope Benedict said in his Lenten message: "The Sacred Scriptures and the entire Christian tradition teach that fasting is a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it." Fasting allows us to build up our resistance to temptation, a resistance that our satiated society has greatly damaged. We have gotten into the mindset that not only can we eat as soon as we're hungry but that we have to eat. On a fast two years ago I realized that if I didn't eat for a couple hours, even though I felt like I was starving, I could survive! So during this Lent I urge you to go above and beyond what we are required to abstain from, I think you'll be surprised by what you find. God bless