A Letter to the Woman Who Wants to Fast Joyfully This Lent // Kristen Van Uden
There are three Lenten practices that Christ and the Church invite us to really lean into - prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I don’t know about you, but I usually fall into two traps when it comes to fasting. Either I decide that this Lent is going to be the most challenging Lent for me ever - like the Lent where Joseph had to talk me out of fasting on just bread and water for the full forty days. OR I go into the other ditch and think that I actually don’t need to fast at all since my life as a mom is already sacrificial enough (hello, kids waking up at 3am). There is a virtuous middle when it comes to fasting and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.
Today, I’m sitting down with Kristen Van Uden. Kristin works at Sophia Institute Press and in this episode, we’re talking about a new book that Sophia just released called “The Lenten Cookbook.” But we’re not just talking recipes (and don’t worry, we are talking recipes). We’re also talking about fasting joyfully (yes, that’s possible), the history of fasting and Lent in the Catholic Church, and how to approach fasting if you’ve struggled with an unhealthy relationship with food.
Before you listen to this episode, I just want to mention that according to the guidelines from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or suffering from physical or mental illness, you’re excused from fasting. I’ve found this line from those guidelines particularly helpful: “In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.” So if you fall into any of those categories, and I’ve fallen into all of them in different seasons in my own story, I want to call out the lie that I’ve believed and maybe you’re wrestling with, too - you’re not less of a Catholic woman if you’re not fasting from food this Lent. That doesn’t make you weak or selfish or less than.Those exemptions exist for a reason and the Church, because she’s a good mother, cares about your health. If you have questions about your specific situation, I’d recommend taking those questions to a spiritual director, confessor, or priest.
All that being said - Whether you’re listening in on this episode because fasting is something that comes easily for you or maybe it’s one of the most challenging aspects of Lent and you want to grow in joy surrounding your fasting, sister, this letter is for you.
Topics we talked about in this episode:
The inspiration behind "The Lenten Cookbook," a collaboration between Vatican chef David Geisser and Catholic author Scott Hahn
The history of Lent within the Catholic tradition and how has Lent evolved to what we have today as Catholics
All of the “letter of the law” questions around fasting, but also how to fruitfully go deeper and enter into a spirit of self-denial in a healthy was as Catholic women today
The difference between fasting and dieting
How fasting can be joyful (in Lent and year-round)
Ways to approach fasting if you’ve struggled with a healthy relationship with food in your story
The recipes Kristen is looking forward to making from “The Lenten Cookbook”
The beauty of creativity in our lives as Catholic women living out the feminine genius
Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:
If you struggle with understanding food and receiving it as a gift, I highly recommend “The Catholic Table” by Emily Stimpson Chapman. Follow her on Instagram, too!
Pre-order my newest book, Sisterhood: Giving and Receiving the Gift of Friendship
Check out The Little Catholic Box and access the exclusive bonuses for LTW listeners - this month’s surprise is perfect for my fellow coffee lovers!
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