Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
…
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
— Isaiah 58:4b, 6-7, from the first reading for today
How does my fasting help me share God’s desire for justice?
Pope Benedict, in his Lenten message, urges us to reflect on the call from the Letter to the Hebrews to “be concerned for one another.”