St. Francis fasted several times a year. He lived a very
simple and penitential life. In 1224, he took some of his Franciscan monks to Mount
Alverna for a period of fasting and prayer between the Feast of the Assumption
(Aug. 15) and Michaelmas, or Feast of St. Michael the Archangel (Sept. 29). It
is said that it was during this time he received the stigmata, three days after
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14).
Fasting for the 40 days (sans Sundays) between the
Assumption and Michaelmas became a tradition among Franciscans and some lay
people. St. Francis never suggested that lay people fast as much as he did, but
some have found the St. Michael’s Lent spiritually beneficial.
Michaelmas used to be a bigger holiday. It used to mark the
end of the agricultural year; harvests were usually concluding around that day,
and in medieval times, it also meant estates and reeves were balancing out the
accounts for the year (as people often paid with harvest). It was also near the
fall equinox and thus marked the change of season to autumn.
While I’m not jumping aboard the St. Michael’s Lent train, I
do think Catholics could do a better job at fasting, even if finding individual
times to fast. I also think this time of year is a good time, both for a
mini-Lent and for a big feast. During the long stretch of ordinary time that is
the second half of the year, it’s easy to fall out of a liturgical rhythm. And
most of us don’t have a seasonal/agricultural rhythm to our lives either. It’s
a long way from Pentecost to Advent. There are feast days in there (Assumption,
All Saints), but not liturgical seasons. The more we add novenas or lents or
octaves, the more we break up the season into smaller, devotional seasons and
the more the liturgical calendar weaves into our lives.
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