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When people have experienced an unhealthy relationship with food, one of the questions comes out of that, and they say, okay, but I'm a Christian, and I know I've been called to fast. How do I do that? Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension Presents. Lent has begun, and the season of fasting and prayer and almsgiving has begun. Is the only way I can experience a fast because we were all also called to, you know, embrace penance throughout the whole course of Lent is the only way I can experience a fast through food. We. We know that we're surrounded by people who have negatively affected by the role of food in their lives, have been negatively affected by body image and maybe some body dysmorphia and even just that sense of, you know, we realize food is powerful, it's a powerful force. And for many people, food means more than just what fuels me. When it comes to any penance. The church will always say, okay, but if there's a person who's too young or too old, the person who's a pregnant person who's sick, then they're exempted from some of these, like fasting rules, rules of fasting. And if you're someone or you know, someone who's experienced this, again, unhealthy relationship with food and, and has become sick because of this kind of a situation, then the church extends mercy. The church extends grace. And it also extends other, other options that reality that, okay, no, if because of a sickness, whether it be a physical sickness or a mental sickness, emotional sickness, because of that, because of that wound, individuals who this is part of their story are given other options. Once again, we have these options for those who are too young or too old or too pregnant or too sick. The heart of fasting, the heart of any kind of penance, is never just about food. It's about emptying ourselves so that God can fill us. But here's another aspect of our lives. I think one huge aspect of many of our lives is they're just too full. I don't mean with food. I mean they're just too full. So what might a fast look like? Well, a fast looks like emptying where it's full. If I'm food fasting, I'm eating less food so that I am making space for God to come in. But we realize that there's so many areas in my life where I am absolutely full. My mind is full of thoughts, my ears are full of noise, my brain is full of distractions like that. My life Is full of activities and events and so many things I need to go, go, go and do, do, do and accomplish and accomplish and accomplish and achieve and achieve and all the things. And so the fast could look like what? It looks like emptying out what's full, or even just lightning what's full. I mean, my closets are full of clothes. I don't need that many clothes. My drawers are full of T shirts. I don't need any more T shirts. So what could a fast look like? Well, it could look like just no more buying shirts. It also could be like, you know what? This is a space where I'm going to kind of clear out these drawers that are full. What drawers in your life are full? It could be that drawer of noise where you just realize, I need to enter into silence. It could be that drawer of distraction. Now, here's what I'm going to say is. My guess is that drawer of distraction in your life is probably very, very full. It could be the drawer of activities. It could be the fact that the activities that are happening, you're overextended. And it could be the case that you might say, you know, one of the ways I'm going to exercise fasting, you know, fasting in so many ways is what is saying no. No, not no to bad things. Fasting is saying no to good things. It could be that you have a bunch of invitations coming your way, but you look at your life and you're like, wow, that drawer of activities is so full. My fasting is. I'm just going to say no to some of these good activities that I'm going to fast from them for a while. Why? So that I can make myself hungry for communion and take that time to talk to the Lord. It could be entertainment where my mind is so full, my screens are so full of entertainment, I'm going to say no. Remember, fasting is the exercise of that no muscle to good things so I can make room for the Lord. So I'm convinced that until we are willing to discipline ourselves, until we're willing to. Actually, when I say discipline, I simply mean exercise our no muscle. Right? The ability to say no to, not just to bad things. That's great. That's wonderful. Keep saying no to bad things, but even say no to good things for the sake of Jesus, for the sake of that. It gives us more room in our hearts, in our minds, in our lives for Jesus. Until we're willing to do that, we won't be able to say yes to him until we exercise no we won't be able to say yes to Jesus in the way that he wants us to. That's my invitation. My invitation over the course of this Lent and over the course of our lives is that look at what drawers in your life are full. You might not be someone who can fast or is willing to fast from food because of whatever your story is, no problem. But what drawers are full? What drawers need you and I to exercise our no muscle so that we can make room to say yes to Jesus. Because that's the goal. Anyways, from all this here at Ascension presents, My name's Father Mike. God bless.