Well done to all involved in the Youth Retreat for the Indian Community that was held in St. Flannan’s College, late February, 2026
Homily for Indian Retreat, St. Flannan’s College, Ennis, 20th of February, 2026
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
As we gather on this First Friday of Lent, far from your homeland of India but now rooted in Ireland, you carry in our hearts two homes — the land that formed you and the land that now welcomes you. Lent speaks beautifully into that experience of journey, sacrifice, and hope.
Today, the Church invites us to reflect on fasting — not merely as giving up food, but as making space for God.
- Fasting Is About Relationship, Not Just Renunciation
When Jesus Christ fasted for forty days in the desert, He was not simply proving endurance. He was deepening His communion with the Father. His hunger became prayer. His emptiness became trust.
In your Indian tradition, fasting is something we understand deeply. From childhood, many of you have seen parents and grandparents fasting with devotion — on Fridays, during Lent, in preparation for feasts. It was never just about food. It was about love, discipline, and offering.
Lent reminds us: fasting is not about losing something; it is about gaining Someone.
When we fast, we say:
- “Lord, You are more important than my comfort.”
- “Lord, I depend on You.”
- “Lord, purify my heart.”
- Fasting in a Land of Abundance
Living in Ireland, we experience comfort and opportunity. Many of you came here seeking stability, education, or work. There is gratitude in that. But Lent gently warns us: comfort can sometimes dull our spiritual hunger.
Fasting awakens that hunger again.
It teaches us:
- To control our desires instead of being controlled by them.
- To remember the poor and the lonely.
- To recognize that we are pilgrims, not permanent settlers on this earth.
When we skip a meal or give up something we enjoy, we stand in solidarity with:
- Migrant workers far from family.
- The struggling family back home.
- The lonely neighbour next door.
Fasting stretches our hearts beyond ourselves.
- The First Friday: A Call to Reparation and Love
The First Friday reminds us especially of the Sacred Heart — the heart that loves, suffers, and forgives. Fasting on this day becomes an act of love in return.
Perhaps we can ask:
- What habits need purification?
- What resentments need healing?
- What distractions keep me from prayer?
Real fasting is not only from food. It can be:
- Fasting from gossip.
- Fasting from anger.
- Fasting from excessive phone use.
- Fasting from negativity.
As St. Francis of Assisi said, preach the Gospel always — and sometimes use words. Our fasting should make us gentler, kinder, and more patient.
If our fasting makes us irritable, we are missing the point.
- Fasting Builds Interior Strength
As immigrants, many of you know what sacrifice means. You have fasted from:
- Family gatherings.
- Familiar language and culture.
- Festivals celebrated back home.
Your life itself has been a kind of Lent — a leaving behind in hope of resurrection.
This season assures us: every sacrifice offered with love bears fruit.
Nothing given to God is ever wasted.
- A Practical Invitation
This Lent, let us choose three simple fasts:
- A physical fast – perhaps one simple meal on Fridays.
- A relational fast – holding back harsh words.
- A spiritual fast – reducing distractions and increasing prayer.
And let us connect our fasting to charity. What we save, we share. That is true Lenten spirit.
As Pope Leo reminded us in his message this week for the beginning of this sacred season, fasting that does not open us to others is not fully Christian fasting.
Conclusion
Dear friends, Lent is not a season of sadness; it is a season of strengthening.
In this adopted homeland of Ireland, may our fasting:
- Deepen our faith,
- Unite our families,
- Strengthen our community,
- And prepare our hearts for Easter joy.
May our hunger remind us that only God truly satisfies.
Amen.