Page:Ninety-nine homilies of S. Thomas Aquinas upon the epistles and gospels for forty-nine Sundays of the Christian year (IA ninetyninehomili00thom).pdf/69



S. Augustine says that it is the highest religion to imitate what we worship, so that, when Our Lord fasted, we ought to imitate Him in fasting. There are four reasons which ought to move us to fasting—firstly, the command of God; secondly, the example of Christ; thirdly, the manifold harm which befals those who do not fast; fourthly, the manifold benefits which come to them from fasting. I. On the first head it is to be noted, that the Lord commanded us to fast in a fourfold manner—(1) By Himself, to Adam and Eve in Paradise, when He commanded that they should fast—i.e., abstain from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and eat it not. (2) He commanded it by the Law of Moses: Lev. xvi. 31, “It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute for ever.” (3) God commanded it by the Prophets: Joel ii. 15, “ Sanctify a fast.” (4) God commanded it by the Apostles : 2 Cor. xi. 27, “ In hunger and thirst, in fastings often”— whence he is a manifest transgressor of the precepts of grace who is unwilling to fast. II. On the second head it is to be noted, that Our Lord taught us that there were four things necessary in fasting— (1) That we should be cleansed from all sin. (2) That we should conceal our fasting from the applause of men. (3) That we should fast with long-suffering and perseverance. (4) That we should overcome the temptations of the Devil. The first He taught in this, that He fasted when He was baptized; so also he who wishes to fast well ought first to be cleansed by penitence and confession: S. Matt. vi. 17, “ But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face.” The second He taught because He sought the desert when about to fast; whence He showed to us that when we fast and do good works we must hide ourselves from the praises of men : S. Matt. vi. 16, “When ye fast,