Oprah and Fasting

I found this article amusing. Oprah adhered to a vegan diet for the last three weeks, also avoiding alcohol, gluten, and sugar. She said, before embarking on the diet, that she hoped it would "give me a chance to think about [eating] differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods – and what I'm willing to do to change." Afterwards, she reflected that "This has been exactly what we intended: enlightening. I will forever be a more cautious and conscious eater. That's my commitment for now. To stay awakened."

Interesting. She abstained from the food she loved the most in order to assess her material attachments and achieve enlightenment. I wonder what she would say about Orthodox Christian fasting practices? After all, "we fast ... to gain mastery over ourselves and to conquer the passions of the flesh."

I'm imagining Oprah doing an episode on Orthodoxy. On her stage, I see a couple of Orthodox Bishops (I am incapable of picturing anyone other than Metropolitan Philip and Bishop Antoun), a few priests (both old FOB priests and some American-born 20-somethings, newly ordained), and a group of parishioners (old church ladies, some teens ... maybe even the people who come to Palm Sunday in their best clubbing outfits). Would she criticize our fasting practices as outdated remnants of an old-fashioned, oppressive, male-dominated society? And what of the fact that we have no women priests? I can't imagine she'd approve ...

Yet here she is, resurrecting our oldest fasting traditions not only for weight loss (hardly even mentioned in those articles) but to achieve spiritual enlightenment and to conquer her earthly desires.

Oh, Oprah ... her shows always seem to center on this theme of each of us (especially women) deserving to be happy, fulfilled, satisfied above all other things. Ironic, then, that she sees self-denial as a route to true self-discovery.