This past week I had the privileged opportunity to attend Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Love's Labor's Lost, by William Shakespeare.  The production was very well done, as all productions are at CST, and it led to some great discussion after the performance with my cousins who I saw the play with.  After our discussions on the show and its themes, I realized it was the perfect show to see at the start of Lent.  It even inspired my homily the next morning at my weekday Mass.  Allow me to explain…

    [SPOILER ALERT] The show is about four men who are studying at a royal academe. To help them focus on their studies they have decided to fast from all pleasures of the flesh (food, sex, alcohol, etc.) while they are studying the next three years.  Well, in comes four beautiful women, one of whom in the princess of France, and their beauty tempts the men to break their oath.  Forgive my necessity to shorten the plot of this beautiful play; but, eventually the four men begin their plan to court the young women in hopes to marry them.  Once the women find out that these men are breaking an oath they swore, the women are hesitant to trust these men in fear that they will break any oath, especially the oath in marriage.  So, the play ends with the women needing to travel back to France and they tell the men if they are serious in their desire to marry them (the women), then they will have to complete the fast they originally swore to AND do something extra.  For example, one of the men likes to talk a lot so his extra penance is to visit the mute and make them laugh.  

    The reason this play is perfect for Lent is that it gives an excellent example as to why we fast.  Fasting is not meant to be purgative alone, it’s not meant to make us suffer for the sake of suffering.  Fasting is meant to prepare us for a relationship.  These four men had to fast in preparation for their hopeful marriage of the women they fell in love with.  Their fast not only showed how much they love their intended bride, but also shows their commitment to sacrifice on their account.  This is why we practice fasting in the Church.  We fast to prepare for the day when we meet the bridegroom, Jesus Christ.  We fast to prepare our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies for the great day when we meet the Lord Jesus.  We fast to show our heavenly Father how much we love him and are willing to sacrifice for him and hopefully we do the same for others we love such as our spouse, significant others, family, and friends.  

    As we all continue our Lenten fasts, lets do so knowing that the fast is meant to prepare us for a deeper relationship with God and not to lose weight or suffer for the sake of suffering. We are called to be people of relationships who work together as the Body of Christ.  May our fasts help us in this movement to deeper relationships with each other and with our Blessed Lord.