Year after year, in preparation for Lent, the pope explains the meaning of fasting. He says it goes beyond shaving off those extra pounds.
POPE FRANCIS
Fasting isn't just about losing weight. Fasting is going to the essential.
In fact, during one General Audience, the pope proposed other forms of daily fasting suitable for anyone living in the 21st century.
POPE FRANCIS
It's a time to turn off the television and open the Bible. It's a time to disconnect from cellphones and connect to the Gospel. When I was a child, there was no television, but we would listen to the radio. FLASH It's the time to give up useless words, gossip.
Although Pope Francis praised the benefits of the Internet, he also warned against the risks it presents. As an example, he focused on the ease with which one can use the Internet to cause damage and attack or insult others. That's why he recommended setting aside time throughout the year to step back and reflect.
POPE FRANCIS
We live in an environment polluted by too much verbal violence, by too many offensive and harmful words, which the Internet amplifies. Today, insulting is as second-nature as saying 'Have a good day.' We are submerged in empty words, advertisements, devious messages. We have grown accustomed to hearing everything about everyone, and we run the risk of slipping toward a worldliness that causes our hearts to atrophy. There is no bypass to heal this, only silence.
The pope also said fasting is not complete if it's not accompanied by complementary acts of charity.
POPE FRANCIS
Does my fast help others? If it does not, it's fake, it's inconsistent, and it takes you on the path of a double life. I pretend to be a 'just' Christian, like the Pharisees.
The pope hasn't limited himself to Lent to invite Christians to fast. He has invited them to do it on other occasions as well, for example, during the crisis in Syria in September 2013, and for the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan in February 2018.
Now he extends the invitation for May 14. It's a day of fasting and performing acts of charity for the end of the coronavirus. It's an invitation for followers of every religion.
Javier Romero
Translation: Claudia Torres
