1430 Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, “sackcloth and ashes,” fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion.
Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.23 — Catechism of the Catholic Church
We often see ‘fasting’ and ‘mortification’, as ways to make us feel as badly as possible because we look at it wrongly. Instead of turning to God and asking Him what would He like us to hand over to Him, we start thinking of some grand scheme that we ourselves can put into place.
The truth is that it does cause ‘suffering’ but only to the extent of our attachment to the thing that we are relinquishing. The motive should be to be free of all idols, to love God and His will for us above all.
In Uniformity of God’s Will, St. Alphonsus Ligouri says. “The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God’s will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love.“
So when looking for some penance to do, I’d suggest first turning to God in prayer and then look at all the ways that little disobediences have crept it…attack those. You’ll know them by their addictive qualities or strongholds…those things that are either at the point of causing outright pain already or are simply at the beginning stages and making you feel like you can’t live without them. Look at all that you consume… whether through diet or are letting in to your life through entertainment or so forth.
The end result, this union with God is SO worth it all, and not just for ourselves. In these dark times we are in now, where so much disobedience, if not outright evil is palpable… the only to combat it is with radical obedience. God can use each one of us, even if in the smallest ways. We just need to be completely open to receiving directions from Him without any interference. Our attachments and sins, cause interference.
Please take some time and watch this video on fasting…very powerful.