Of FarmVille, Onions, and Fasting

Father Michael Foppiano changed my life. That’s right! Changed. My. Life. We used to live together at another parish – and folks referred to the rectory with us in it as “the frat house.” We had the youngest median age of any rectory in the diocese – of course, it was just he and I.

But back to him changing my life. It was a Saturday in December, just ahead of Christmas. God had seen fit to dump about 10 inches of snow on us, and we were socked in to the rectory all weekend. We watched movies, baked cakes and updated our Facebook statuses. Then I asked the question that changed my life. Fr. Michael was on his laptop playing a familiar game. So I asked, “What the heck is that FarmVille thing about?” 

My life would never be the same. Soon, I had my own online farm, complete with cows, chickens, pigs, horses, barns, houses, orchards, carrots, peas, raspberries, watermelon, beehives, duck ponds and stray cats. I was planting and harvesting several times a day and even checking on friends’ farms in order to pick up a “lonely cow” or a lost cat. I was consumed by FarmVille. 

By the time Lent rolled around that year, and I looked at my life and possibilities for a Lenten sacrifice, FarmVille was a no-brainer. I closed the farm for the season – but I itched to see what was going on there every Sunday. When Easter came, I jubilantly proclaimed “Christ is risen!” by planting fields of rice and sunflowers and collected my chickens’ eggs and horsehair.

I went right back to my FarmVille mania.

The following year, I recognized that giving up FarmVille would be a good idea again. The novelty had died a little, and I did waste so much time with it. However, this time, at the end of Lent, I never went back. Was that supposed to happen? I asked. Now, I had all sorts of time, so I found something else to fill it – like talking with real people – and, get this, praying!

During Lent, when we “fast,” the object is not to deny ourselves for the sake of denial. That’s repression, and psychologists can tell you that it’s not healthy. Rather, the purpose of fasting is self-mastery – giving up some good for the sake of a higher good. And that higher good should not be self-centered. That’s the difference between fasting and a diet, for example. We diet for ourselves; we fast for others.

Fasting is the second of the pillars of Lent. As with prayer, a good understanding of why we fast is key to allowing this practice to be spiritually fruitful for us during this season. Strictly speaking, fasting means forgoing something that we normally do as an exercise in self-control, usually in preparation for something. When I need to have a blood test, I have to fast for twelve hours before they draw the blood.

In the spiritual realm, fasting is an interior disposition of self-denial that is meant to focus the person on ones need. Fasting from food reminds us that “one does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). Fasting from other things is also a way to remind ourselves that there are necessities and luxuries, and that many of the “necessities” that we often rely upon are actually not so necessary. So, this Lent, what can we give up? What can our fast be? There are many things in our lives that we could offer as our fast, and as such, many ways to enter into the gift of this spiritual practice.

The most common item for fasting is food. As part of our Lenten practice, folks give up all sorts of edible delights. Maybe it’s meat; perhaps it’s dessert; it could be soda, or alcoholic beverages; a girl at the college campus where I used to serve gave up cheese; it could be caffeine.

Another area for fasting can be technology. So much of what we do, and so much of where we waste our time – like me and FarmVille – is tied to the technology that is supposed to make our lives “simpler.” As a way of mastering the technology that seems to have mastered us, fasting from these things can be of immense spiritual benefit. We could fast from television – either altogether or after a certain time; we might opt to leave Facebook for forty days (a very popular one today); maybe we can stay away from Twitter, and spare people the moment-to-moment information about the soccer game we’re watching; perhaps – just perhaps – we can stop or limit our text messaging.

Finally, another way to fast is to refrain from certain activities. Some might stop going out to restaurants or the movies; maybe give up complaining or gossip; or we can refrain from using the elevator at work. Whatever our manner of fasting, the point of it is to draw our attention to what we do, where we spend our time, attention and effort, and to become more aware of our needs and the needs of others.

Fasting as a spiritual exercise should be aimed at sharpening our spiritual senses and focusing us on God’s care for us. In the end, when we cut one thing out of our life, the goal of fasting is to see that hole filled by God. In this regard, it is not in the true spirit of Lent to be gritting our teeth until Easter, when we can simply go back to the thing we gave up in the first place. If we are not somehow changed by fasting, then we have wasted our time. Self-denial provides the opportunity for us to become aware of other – and especially of “The Other” – God. We’ve heard the phrase that “our possessions can possess us.” When we cling to certain things for security or a sense of validation and self worth, the real risk is that we could actually lose ourselves in the process.

In his book The Brothers Karamozov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky tells a parable of an old woman who dies. She is sent to hell, and Satan is there, and she is pleading her case with him, saying that she must be there by mistake.

“You haven’t done one good thing in life,” Satan tells her. “Certainly, this is where you belong.”

After thinking long and hard, she remembers a good thing she did: she gave an onion to a poor beggar woman once. At that point, the hand of God descends into hell, holding the onion that the woman had given. She grabbed onto the onion, and she began to be lifted up to heaven. As she went, dozens of souls began to grab onto her and were lifted up with her. As they went, more and more damned souls were being carried upward toward eternal glory. Fearful that the weight was too much, and angry that they would be allowed into heaven too, the woman began kicking and beating people so that they would fall. As she did so, the onion began to shed, and she grasped at it to keep a grip, but the more she struggled to keep the onion and reject the others, the more she slipped, until she finally lost hold altogether. She feel back into hell – a victim of her our greed and anger.

What are those things in our lives that we grasp at? What are those possessions that possess us? These are probably the things which God is asking us to hand over so that He can fill us more completely. Self-denial is the key to self-mastery. Thomas Merton once wrote that in order to give ourselves completely we must first possess ourselves completely – not in a selfish way, but in a way by which we know who we are. Then, and only then, can we truly and freely give ourselves to God. Through fasting, we can establish who is in control of our desires.  Self-denial leads to self-mastery; and self-mastery enables a self-gift.

As the complete gift of Himself, the Eucharist shows us the model of this gift. Jesus, knowing fully who he was and what God had given him, showed the depth of his love and gave us the Eucharist. Our sharing in this blessed Gift is a reminder of the sort of lives we must live – lives of gift of self, where we hold nothing back.

In fasting, we come to realize our deep needs – hunger, loneliness, spiritual “noise,” despair. The spiritual aspect of this is that we also realize that our God fills these needs for us – and He does it with Himself. Therefore, our celebration and reception of the Blessed Sacrament should be a moment of profound gratitude for that love and care that He shows. This is part of the value of the Eucharistic fast – of preparation for reception by self-denial – of recognizing that Jesus is all we need. By taking that time between when we last eat and when we receive the food that is Jesus Christ himself, we come to the celebration as not just some other encounter among many in our week or day, but a truly transformative moment of grace. As a priest once told me, “What good is it that the bread and wine change if you don’t?”

So fasting brings us into a keener awareness of what God is doing in our life. We find the strength and grace to break with those things that can possess us and discover true freedom in Christ.

I am reminded of a scene at the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, when Frodo must destroy the Ring of Power and Gollum tries to get it back (his “Preciousss”). Even as he falls into the molten depths of Mount Doom and his body is destroyed by the lava, he still strives to grasp the one thing that drove him in life. He is like that Russian woman with the onion – selfishness and possessiveness ultimately lead to destruction, when selflessness and generosity would have saved them.

We are here, hopefully, because we want to be near to God and be possessed by Him forever. In our Lenten fasting, then, how do we let go of those unnecessary things so as to focus more completely on His love for us?

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Products that Captivate

I am a fan of many of the Apple products.  I like their simplicity in design and elegance in appearance.  Maybe I am too attached to the "cult of Apple," but I do count it as a victory that I have yet to obtain an iPhone!  With every Apple purchase I have made, I have received in the packaging, several white Apple decals.  You've probably seen these on the rear windows of Hondas or bumpers of your friend's Camry.  In this practice, Apple is not very different from most companies.  It's good business to get others to advertise for you.

Kids will pay extra to have a t-shirt that says "Hollister" or a purse with the Coach symbol all over it, and these companies love it.  Think about it: you are paying them to advertise their product!  In many cases, even the product itself is the advertisement, and the mere fact that it is seen generates interest in it.

I have been wondering how that can apply to our faith and what we do as a Church.  Now, I am always wary of comparisons of the Church to business models; however, as a vocations director, much of my job is publicity and "marketing." Perhaps my youth minister and evangelization friends feel the same way at times.  The question is: "How can we attract more people to this thing we love so much?"  "This thing" is our faith and the Church that teaches it.

Sure, cute stickers, gimmicky advertisement and engaging videos certainly draw attention; but once we have that attention, why should people stay or come back?  What captivates them?

The product is the advertisement.

We are talking about the credibility of what we do as a Church - what we do as ministers.  Where does that come from?  Why would an interested young man decide to follow his perceived call to priesthood?  Why would a group of kids take their Sunday nights to hang out with others and share their faith?  Why would a family new to an area regularly attend the local Catholic Church?  What is our "product?"

A kind letter to new people in an area; a short, fun video by your youth peer ministers; a witness talk by a sincere seminarian: all of these can grab attention.  But what keeps people in - what captivates them - is not the exterior bells and whistles (or even "smells and bells").  What captivates them is our credibility as a place where God is encountered and where He reveals meaning in my life.  Credibility does not come from a well-ordered argument; credibility comes from a well-ordered life.

The world needs witnesses - examples of a way of life that is better, that brings meaning, that brings life.  That is the power of the saints - that is the value of witness.  In a world where we must be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves," our lives speak.

Madison Avenue has their tricks.  Advertising can transform people's entire worldview.  I can't put the letter "i" in front of anything now without conjuring an image of a balding man in a black turtleneck holding the latest cool gadget.  Evangelization is like that too.  Certainly, we are not selling anything - but the "product" is worth it.  What does out witness advertise?  What sort of message does our way of life convey?

What will we do today to captivate others - for God?

Back to Our Roots

I wanted to learn something new this year.  This was one of my resolutions, so I did what any modern man would do in seeking out a new experience: I asked my Facebook friends.

After several suggestions that I learn a new language (I got everything from Arabic to Klingon), someone simply wrote "Genealogy."  It was immediately intrigued.  One of my cousins several years back tried to do a family tree on one of the branches of my mother's side, but that was a pretty limited project.  I thought I could do more, and I had the curiosity.  So, off to Ancestry.com I went and signed up for their trial.

I've learned a lot, and while the farther back one goes the dicier it gets, it's been a fascinating experience so far.  Many on my mother's side can be traced back to the founding of Maryland.  In fact, one of our great-grandfathers was William Stone, Third Proprietary Governor of Maryland.  His greatest claim to fame is probably the fact that he signed into law the Religious Toleration Act of 1649, which guaranteed freedom of worship and practice to all Christians in the Maryland colony.  It was unique for its day.  Soon afterward, however, Stone was deposed by a Puritan governor and those rights were revoked.  It wasn't until the First Amendment that the freedom of religion was enshrined again in our nation.

I think about that, and how religious freedom has been such a part of my life here in America that we all seem to take it for granted - like the air we breath or the truths of mathematics.  However, a quick scan around the globe and a short trip through history shows how rare it is and what a privilege we have now.  Even as short as fifty or sixty years ago, the Catholic Church did not espouse the freedom for all to embrace whatever religion their conscience led them to, asserting that "error has no rights." All that changed with Vatican II, and thank God it did.

The blessing of free exercise of religion, at least in our nation, has been that men and women have been free to follow their faith and develop their virtues as their consciences dictate.  This was the hope of the founding fathers: that people of faith make people of virtue, and people of virtue make a virtuous society.  That's why Congress shall not interfere.

Today, however, we see this freedom of conscience and religion being tossed aside, as religious institutions are being forced to provide coverage for services that go against their personal and institutional conscience.  Mind you, no one is telling the Church we have to provide the actual instruments of birth control, sterilization and abortion; however, what the Church is being told is that we must pay for it - essentially participating in a material way in the very evils we have condemned.

I have enough of a problem with my tax dollars going to fund unjust wars, the execution of criminals and "services" like Planned Parenthood.  I do not need to be told that now my collection support must also fund these things.  The Church cannot comply with this mandate - She just can't.

The US bishops have been pretty forceful in denouncing this move, as have other Catholic media forums.  As a Catholic blogger and a priest, I feel it necessary to also urge others to voice their concerns about this assault on religious freedom.  The USCCB has a link to assist us in contacting our representatives in this regard and ask them to do the right thing and uphold the Constitution with a rejection of any such mandate.  This is not about contraception or abortion as much as it is about our right to exercise freely the faith we hold so dear.

George Washington, at the beginning of his presidency, wrote to American Catholics and said this:

I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality. And I presume that your fellow-citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of their Revolution, and the establishment of their government; or the important assistance which they received from a nation in which the Roman Catholic faith is professed. 

I thank you, gentlemen, for your kind concern for me. While my life and my health shall continue, in whatever situation I may be, it shall be my constant endeavour to justify the favourable sentiments which you are pleased to express of my conduct. And may the members of your society in America, animated alone by the pure spirit of Christianity, and still conducting themselves as the faithful subjects of our free government, enjoy every temporal and spiritual felicity.

The father of our nation knew the proper relationship between Church and State.  Let's pray that we always hold true to the spirit of those words.