I’ve been watching an online discussion about the hour-long fast before Mass. That conversation began with a seemingly innocuous question: can I have my coffee in that hour? It seems kind of logical in a way to wonder, as coffee is technically just bean water. That doesn’t deter me though because when it comes to coffee I’m a fan. I like the buzz of the caffeine, the fact that it suppresses my appetite keeping me from being hungry all the time, and well as I get older… the taste.
I spent some time meditating on that very thought as I read the readings for today. The first one from Malachi gives us a sense of urgency, the impending come of the Lord in which we must be prepared. That a man will come, a prophet, who will help his people get ready, be ready and stay ready. The great value of hindsight is that you and I have 2000 years of Church history to let us know that John the Baptist was that man. In the Gospel, we see the birth of this man whom Jesus declared was the greatest of all mortal men.
What does that have to do with coffee? I think of John when I think of the Eucharistic fast. He came not wearing fancy clothes or looking for status. He ate the most simple of foods that nature could provide, locusts and honey. He lived off what God gave him. I think the moment I ask the question “but what about this, can I have that?” I have missed the point of the Eucharistic fast altogether. It’s supposed to remind us that we are about to receive Jesus Christ. Body and blood, soul and divinity. That we should come prepared, ready for the refiner to sit down and purify us. If anything seems like it’s something you ‘have’ to have before you can head to that banquet… then it’s something you should fast from. Coffee, tea, cigarettes, computer games, television.
I found myself this morning waking up and thinking about turning on my ps4. I had quit playing for a very long time but started gaming again (much less than before). I had 3 hours before church and it would be a way to pass the time. There is nothing wrong with playing a game, assuming the game is appropriate. The thing is, I could be making a morning offering, praying the liturgy of the hours, or reading the readings for daily Mass in order to begin meditating on God’s love for me. That shows me that playing a game is something I should definitely fast from before Mass. It’s something that doesn’t draw me closer to God, it doesn’t prepare me to encounter Him in the Mass, and it is time better spent doing something to that effect.
A moment ago I mentioned the refiner sitting down. That’s an image from the reading from Malachi, that shows God as a metalsmith purifying precious ores. He melts it down so that the dross, the yucky stuff, floats to the top. He then scoops out the yucky stuff leaving just the precious parts. In closing I want to share a story with you I’ve seen many times:
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: ‘He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.’ (Malachi 3:3) She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, ‘How do you know when the silver is fully refined?’ He smiled at her and answered, ‘Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.’
That’s the point of the fast. The Church makes provision for those who are sick, those who need medicine or water. Before Mass we should only consume water, and only if we need it. Why? Because it’s Jesus we really need, and we need to remind our flesh of that. Every action, every thought, everything we consume before should be leading up to forming that image of Jesus in us… that when we encounter God at the altar when the Minister holds up the consecrated Host and says the Body of Christ, our Amen is said in a way that shows God is working in us. The refining process starts long before we ever step foot into the Church for Mass. With that in mind, our Parish offers confession 30 minutes before every Mass. Never a bad idea to do that instead of drinking coffee.
A reflection on the readings for December 23rd, 2019: Monday of the Fourth Week in Advent