But what kind of penance and fasting does the Lord want from man? The risk, in fact, is of 'rigging' a virtuous practice, of being 'inconsistent'. And it is not just a question of "food choices", but of lifestyles for which one must have the "humility" and "consistency" to recognise and correct one's sins.

This is in short the reflection that, at the beginning of the Lenten journey, the Pontiff proposed to the faithful during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on the morning of Friday 16 February.

Key word of the meditation, suggested by the liturgy of the day, was "fasting": "Fasting before God, fasting that is adoration, fasting in earnest", because "fasting is one of the tasks to be done in Lent". But not in the sense of those who say: 'I only eat the Lenten dishes'. In fact, Francis commented, 'those dishes make a banquet! It is not changing dishes or making fish one way, the other, tastier'. Otherwise, one does nothing but 'continue the carnival'.

It is the word of God, he emphasised, that admonishes that 'our fasting be true. True in earnest'. And, he added, 'if you cannot do total fasting, the kind that makes one feel hungry to the bone', at least 'do a humble fast, but a true fast'.

In the first reading (Isaiah 58:1-9), in this regard, "the prophet points out many inconsistencies in the practice of virtue". And precisely "this is one of the inconsistencies". Isaiah's list is detailed: 'You say that you seek me, you speak to me. But it is not true', and 'on the day of your fasting you mind your own business': that is, while 'fasting is a little stripping', you are concerned with 'making money'. And again: 'Angariate all your workers': in other words, the Pope explained, while one says: 'I thank you Lord that I can fast', one despises the workers who 'must fast because they have no food'. The prophet's accusation is direct: "Behold, you fast amid quarrels and altercations and striking with unjust fists.

This is an inadmissible double face. The Pontiff explained: "If you want to do penance, do it in peace. But you cannot on the one hand speak to God and on the other speak to the devil, invite both to fast; this is an inconsistency". And, always following the indications of Scripture - "Do not fast any longer as you do today, so that your noise may be heard on high" - Francis warned against incoherent exhibitionism. It is the attitude of those who, for example, always remind us: 'we are Catholics, we practise; I belong to that association, we always fast, we do penance'. He ideally asked them: "But, do you fast consistently or do you do penance inconsistently as the Lord says, with noise, so that everyone sees it, and says, 'What a righteous person, what a righteous man, what a righteous woman'?" This, indeed, "is a trick; it is rigging virtue. It is rigging the commandment'. And it is, he added, a "temptation" that we have all felt at times, "to make up instead of being serious about virtue, about what the Lord asks of us".

On the contrary, the Lord "advises penitents, those who fast, to put on make-up, but seriously: 'Fast, but put on make-up so that people do not see that you are doing penance. Smile, be happy". Faced with so many who "are hungry and cannot smile", this is the suggestion to the believer: "You seek hunger to help others, but always with a smile, because you are a child of God and the Lord loves you so much and has revealed these things to you. But without inconsistency'.

At this point, the Pontiff's reflection went even deeper, prompted by the question: "what fast does the Lord want?". The answer comes again from Scripture, where first of all we read: 'Fold your head like a reed'. That is: to humble oneself. And to those who ask: "How do I humble myself?", the Pope replied: "But think of your sins. Each one of us has many. And 'be ashamed', because even if the world does not know them, God knows them well. This, then, 'is the fast the Lord wants: truth, consistency'.

There is then an addition: "Loose the unrighteous chains" and "remove the bond of the yoke". The examination of conscience, in this case, focuses on the relationship with others. To make himself better understood, the Pope gave a very practical example: "I think of so many maids who earn their bread with their work" and who are often "humiliated, despised". Here his reflection gave way to personal recollection: "Never have I been able to forget a time when I went to a friend's house as a child. I saw my mother slap the maid. Eighty-one years old... I have not forgotten that'. Hence a series of questions ideally addressed to those who have servants: 'How do you treat them? As people or as slaves? Do you pay them fairly, do you give them holidays? Is it a person or is it an animal that helps you in your home?". A request for consistency that also applies to religious, "in our homes, in our institutions: how do I behave with the maid I have at home, with the maids I have at home?". Here the Pontiff added another personal experience, recalling a "very cultured" gentleman who, however, "exploited the maids". and who, when confronted with the consideration that this was "a grave sin" against people who are "the image of God", objected: "No, Father, we must distinguish: these are inferior people".

We must therefore 'remove the bond of the yoke, loosen the iniquitous chains, set the oppressed free, break every yoke'. And, commenting on the prophet who admonishes: "share your bread with the hungry, bring in the wretched, the homeless", the Pope contextualised: "Today we discuss whether or not we give shelter to those who come to ask for it..."

And the indications continue: "Clothe one you see naked", but "without neglecting your relatives". This is real fasting, the kind that involves everyday life. "We need to do penance, we need to feel a little hungry, we need to pray more," Francis said; but if "we do a lot of penance" and do not live fasting in this way, "the sprout that will be born from there" will be "pride", that of someone who says: "I thank you, Lord, because I can fast like a saint". And this, he added, "is the ugly trick", not what Jesus himself suggests "so that others do not see that I fast" (cf. Matthew, 6:16-18).

The question to ask, the Pontiff concluded, is: "How do I behave with others? Does my fasting come to help others?". Because if this does not happen, that fast "is fake, it is incoherent and leads you down the path of a double life". One must, therefore, "humbly ask for the grace of consistency."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 17.02.2018]