The sections that we read in the handbook for spiritual reading today detail the ordinary duties of the legionary, first the attendance at the weekly meeting and then the performance of the substantial work. What is apparent from this description is the spirit of sacrifice, which accompany legionary actions at all times, along with a spirit of obedience to the Mother of God in all the circumstances of legionary life.
There is no more emblematic sacrifice in union with the Church than fasting. In just a few short days, Eastern Christians are about to begin what is often termed the Lent of the Mother of God, the yearly fast which precedes the feast of Our Lady's Assumption on 15 August. In these Churches, just as we fast before the Feast of Christ's Resurrection with a forty day fast, so we have a little fast before the feast that commemorates Our Lady's death, her anticipated resurrection and her bodily assumption into Heaven. Although the two weeks of fasting before the Feast of Our Lady's Dormition (as it's called in the East) is purely an Eastern institution, even in the Church at Rome, in previous centuries, the vigil day of the Feast of the Assumption was kept as a fast day.
There is general agreement that we fast before these great feasts, which commemorate the great mysteries of salvation, in order to prepare. There are many who venture the opinion that this preparation by fasting leads to an increase in spiritual acuity, as if the spirit thrives upon the diminution of the body. This would hardly be surprising, since repentance, even in its bodily practices and manifestations are bound to have both natural and supernatural effects.
Nevertheless, it is Our Father Among the Saints, Ephrem the Syrian that gives us an even more interesting perspective. According to St. Ephrem, as we read in his Hymn On the Fast VI (De Ieiunio VI), "In the midst of the Fast the Scriptures gathered like merchants, having in their possession a veritable treasure house of divinity. With that holy voice as the key, they are opened up before those who listen. Blessed is that King, Who opened up his treasury to His people in need." In other words, because of the increased spiritual acuity of the fast, the great insights in Scripture gush forth to all of us. In place of food, the Lord graciously nourishes us with great light on the meaning of His Word.
Ephrem goes on to explain what benefits we can expect to attain from the Scriptures in our time of sincere fasting. He says, "Here are to be found garments for those invited to the wedding feast, here too are sackcloth and tears for all kinds of penitents, here in their midst is armor too for athletes; with every kind of riches they are filled. Blessed is he who has prepared for everyone every kind of succor." What Ephrem is talking about, of course, is a union of fasting, reading and prayer. In other words, when we are fasting, our prayerful reading does not fail to give to us precisely what we need: consolation to those needing consolation, motives for repentance for those who are in the path of repentance, and protection from the attacks of the enemy for those who are committed to striving against him.
In the following stanza, Ephrem gives us an exhortation that is perhaps the most consoling words in the entire, vast body of his work. "Open up [this treasure house], my brethren, and take from it with discernment, for this treasure house is the common property of everyone, and each person, as if he were treasurer, possesses his own key; who can now fail to get rich? Blessed is He Who has removed the cause of our low estate." When we fast, God gives us a key to His expansive, in fact, infinite property. This is a recurring theme in the works of the saint. In many other places, we find the saint's contention that Adam's failure to access the largesse of God was due to his unwillingness to fast (not indeed from all food, but from the fruit of just one particular tree).
Fasting is emblematic of the entire spirit of sacrifice in the Christian life. In the life of the legionary of Mary, I think that we can expect all that Saint Ephrem has said above to hold true. Particularly, if we fast from our own will and do the will of God and His Holy Mother instead, we will find ourselves reaping the spiritual benefits of those who fast. The Divine Scriptures will open themselves to us and we will take from them precisely what is necessary not only to nourish us, but to make us rich in grace.
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