We begin the season of Lent by reflecting on the importance and the purpose of fasting. There are three important practices to help us with our conversion in this time of Lent and throughout the whole year: prayer, fasting, and charity. These three practices are meant to form the basis of a way of life. But we tend to treat them as momentary events or experiences in our lives. We tend to just do the minimum. We teach children that they have to give up something nice for a short time as a form of sacrifice or fasting. “Something nice” is usually means chocolates or sweets. Once the time limit is up (40 days), we go back to eating the chocolates. Then we start to grow up and become adults, and we continue with that type of fasting. The end result is that we continue to eat chocolates. Our life does not really change; our life with God does not change; our life with others does not change. The end result is that we think we are great people who can give up chocolates for a short time. Plus, we think that God owes us something because we quit eating chocolates for a short time. This is not what fasting is meant to be.
Isaiah is very clear in today’s first reading that fasting is a process of internal renewal, a reordering of our priorities, our very selves. Fasting helps us move away from centering our lives on ourselves to centering our lives on God and others. Isaiah says our life is centered on our own pursuits and desires, forcing others to do our will, quarreling and fighting – to the point of being violent. The fasting that God wants leads us to live justly, not impose our will on others, helping the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and homeless, clothing the naked, and not turning our backs on the needy.
So, my recommendations is don’t even bother to give up chocolates this Lent. Rather start a fast that will lead you down to way of conversion and down the way to Easter. Look into your heart and soul for something that is separating you from God and others. Start fasting from yourselves. Start fasting from sin. Give up being selfish and violent with your brothers, sisters, and parents at home. Start sharing what you have with others. Give of yourself, your time, your energy, your goods to build something new. Look around you – look at your family, your classmates, your friends, your neighbors – for ways to service.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Image: CANVA 22JAN2026 AI generated.