In his essay On Liberty (1859), English philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote that “liberty consists in doing what one desires.” More than a century later in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the U.S. Supreme Court found that “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” 505 U.S. 833, 851 (1992). From the Enlightenment straight through present day, freedom is increasingly described in terms of an individual’s unfettered authority to do whatever he wants and define his own identity.
This view stands in contrast with Church teaching on true freedom. “Human freedom…attains its perfection when directed toward God” (CCC 1731). “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin’” (CCC 1733). Thus, true freedom does not mean doing whatever one wants but conforming one’s will to the Divine Will.
In his Confessions, Saint Augustine of Hippo explains that because God created us for himself, “our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in [him.]” We each have an infinite longing for the Divine—for the true, good, and beautiful—for God himself. Today’s materialistic culture spreads the lie that happiness is achieved through accumulating wealth, material things, sensual pleasure, power, or honor. But these are finite things that can never satisfy our infinite desire for God.
To avoid being overtaken by our desires, the Church has prescribed certain disciplines, such as fasting and abstinence, to practice detachment from material and sensual pleasures, helping to reorder our lives to God. Discipline is defined as “control gained by enforcing obedience or order, self-control.” The word discipline is derived from its Latin root discipulus, meaning pupil, which shares the same root as disciple, a follower of Jesus Christ. Thus, part of being a disciple is learning self-mastery, which, with God’s grace, frees us from slavery to sin.
Since 1983, canon law has required fasting only on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and, to the extent possible, on Holy Saturday. Although abstinence from meat is also prescribed for all Fridays of the year, except when a solemnity falls on a Friday, since 1983, the U.S. bishops’ conference has allowed substitution of pious or charitable acts for abstinence from meat on Fridays except Good Friday, and abstinence from eating meat on Lenten Fridays is typically retained.
By contrast, in the early 20th century, canon law required fasting throughout Lent, eating only one meal per day, with fasting and abstinence on Fridays. In the early Church, on fasting days, the faithful did not eat their one meal until the evening after sunset, and abstinence precluded eating meat, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, wine, and oil. By the 10th century, the one meal was allowed at 3 p.m., and by the 14th century, the one meal on fasting days could be taken after noon.
In sum, throughout the centuries, the Church’s disciplines for fasting and abstinence have become more and more relaxed, as the predominant culture has become increasingly materialistic, hedonistic, and self-indulgent. Another way for Catholic troops to build an authentic Catholic identity is to better observe aspects of the Church’s traditional disciplines. For example, when camping as a troop, on Friday evening, consider refraining from serving foods from which the faithful would traditionally abstain. During Lent, consider serving lighter meals reflecting the penitential character of the season.
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