Do not fast as you have today, so that your voice may be heard on high › Is 58, 4

Thinking about fasting during the first Friday of Lent is entirely appropriate. You may have given up your favorite treats or drinks, unnecessary words, or social networks. Maybe you’re trying to limit the amount of overtime that deprives you of family time. But today’s first reading invites you to look deeper into God’s intentions with fasting. Fasting is not only about self-control and strengthening the will. Fasting should also open us to God’s love. In other words, when you are almost from something, you allow God to free you for something else: a more generous reception and giving of love. 

If you fast from sweets, you probably feel how much you want dessert. If you fast from unnecessary or sharp words, you are probably starting to perceive how easy it is to say hurtful words. And if you are almost from social networks, you probably realize how often you reach for your phone. 

All this shows you that you cannot almost independently; you need God’s help. And that’s when your heart can soften the Holy Spirit – both about the Lord and to the people around you. So when you fast, let the Lord help you harden your will. And ask the Holy Spirit that your fasting will help you do some concrete good. 

If you fast from eating in restaurants, consider in prayer how you could use the money you save like this. Maybe you could bring a lunch menu to a lonely or sick neighbor. If you fast from sharp words, ask the Spirit to give you words that will not hurt people but encourage them. Or, if you are exhausted from activities that compete for your time with your family, let the Holy Spirit show you how you could build faith in God or love for the poor together. Allow the Holy Spirit to use your fast, whatever it may be, to transform your heart. And then ask him to pour out God’s love through you and on the people you live with.