By Anthony MacIsaac
Austerity is a marker of most religious life in some fashion. Sometimes it is part and parcel of penance, making up for one’s faults or sins. Sometimes it simply delineates pilgrimage, a journey towards God, a turning towards God. Perhaps it is best seen in the light of commitment in faith, a sign of character. By adopting the austere, in lieu of easier expressions of faith, people may show the extent of their conviction.
Religious austerity expresses itself in various specific ways. Fasting from food and drink might be integral to it, in certain contexts. In other contexts, a period of poverty, without access to the luxuries of modern life, might be more descriptive. Celibacy – temporary or lifelong – may even become a factor. Monastic life is perhaps one of the best examples of a life dedicated to God, in the extremities of austerity. This is witnessed equally among the Buddhists of Tibet and elsewhere, and those Orthodox and Catholic Monasteries dotted across Europe. Pluscarden Abbey remains an example in our own Scotland.
We further find that the austere is marked out in certain seasons, across the world religions. In Islam we have Ramadan, which incorporates strict fasting and a renewed sense of prayer. Such commitment often wins the admiration of people the world over. In Christianity, the season of Lent provides a similar example. Fasting is likewise present, even if not always so intense as in Ramadan, and prayer is emphasised alongside good works. Penance is certainly a major aspect of the season, and as we have entered into its first week, perhaps this merits some further reflection.
Looking at the world today, we may consider the value of penance, and indeed the value of some austerity in our own lives. Materialism surely cannot have the final word. Looking at Ukraine, and also at Afghanistan, we see people thrust into poverty and hardship. Often this brings out the best in them, as tragic as the circumstances are. Looking at climate change, we are reminded by the Earth herself that we must curb our consumption. Some simplicity might be essential for the future, if we are to have a future. Pope Francis called for Ash Wednesday to be a day of special fasting and prayer concerning the situation in the Ukraine. He has also called for similar days of fasting previously, for those tragedies and problems that continue to beset the world at large. Perhaps this is one of the greatest points which we can reflect on concerning this Lenten season: how does it bring us to that life in God that leavens the world around us?