It is precisely because of this personal experience of relationship with Jesus Christ that Paul henceforth places at the centre of his Gospel an irreducible opposition between the two alternative paths to justice: one built on the works of the Law, the other founded on the grace of faith in Christ. The alternative between justice by means of works of the Law and that by faith in Christ thus became one of the dominant themes that run through his Letters: "We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law; because by works of the law no one will be justified" (Gal 2: 15-16). And to the Christians of Rome he reasserts that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rm 3: 23-24). And he adds "we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (ibid., v. 28). At this point Luther translated: "justified by faith alone". I shall return to this point at the end of the Catechesis. First, we must explain what is this "Law" from which we are freed and what are those "works of the Law" that do not justify. The opinion that was to recur systematically in history already existed in the community at Corinth. This opinion consisted in thinking that it was a question of moral law and that the Christian freedom thus consisted in the liberation from ethics. Thus in Corinth the term "πάντα μοι έξεστιν" (I can do what I like) was widespread. It is obvious that this interpretation is wrong: Christian freedom is not libertinism; the liberation of which St Paul spoke is not liberation from good works.

So what does the Law from which we are liberated and which does not save mean? For St Paul, as for all his contemporaries, the word "Law" meant the Torah in its totality, that is, the five books of Moses. The Torah, in the Pharisaic interpretation, that which Paul had studied and made his own, was a complex set of conduct codes that ranged from the ethical nucleus to observances of rites and worship and that essentially determined the identity of the just person. In particular, these included circumcision, observances concerning pure food and ritual purity in general, the rules regarding the observance of the Sabbath, etc. codes of conduct that also appear frequently in the debates between Jesus and his contemporaries. All of these observances that express a social, cultural and religious identity had become uniquely important in the time of Hellenistic culture, starting from the third century B.C. This culture which had become the universal culture of that time and was a seemingly rational culture; a polytheistic culture, seemingly tolerant constituted a strong pressure for cultural uniformity and thus threatened the identity of Israel, which was politically constrained to enter into this common identity of the Hellenistic culture. This resulted in the loss of its own identity, hence also the loss of the precious heritage of the faith of the Fathers, of the faith in the one God and in the promises of God.

Against this cultural pressure, which not only threatened the Israelite identity but also the faith in the one God and in his promises, it was necessary to create a wall of distinction, a shield of defence to protect the precious heritage of the faith; this wall consisted precisely in the Judaic observances and prescriptions. Paul, who had learned these observances in their role of defending God's gift, of the inheritance of faith in one God alone, saw this identity threatened by the freedom of the Christians this is why he persecuted them. At the moment of his encounter with the Risen One he understood that with Christ's Resurrection the situation had changed radically. With Christ, the God of Israel, the one true God, became the God of all peoples. The wall as he says in his Letter to the Ephesians between Israel and the Gentiles, was no longer necessary: it is Christ who protects us from polytheism and all of its deviations; it is Christ who unites us with and in the one God; it is Christ who guarantees our true identity within the diversity of cultures. The wall is no longer necessary; our common identity within the diversity of cultures is Christ, and it is he who makes us just. Being just simply means being with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Further observances are no longer necessary. For this reason Luther's phrase: "faith alone" is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love. Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ, conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ, is love; hence to believe is to conform to Christ and to enter into his love. So it is that in the Letter to the Galatians in which he primarily developed his teaching on justification St Paul speaks of faith that works through love (cf. Gal 5: 14).

Paul knows that in the twofold love of God and neighbour the whole of the Law is present and carried out. Thus in communion with Christ, in a faith that creates charity, the entire Law is fulfilled. We become just by entering into communion with Christ who is Love.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 19 November 2008]

God revealed himself in Christ, in him he offered himself to man as his true destiny, as his eternal dwelling, in time and in eternity.

Destiny is "vocation", that is, a call to bind oneself and to remain united to God, who wanted to bind himself to us so that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10).

To follow Christ, one does not have to be a superman, or perform superhuman deeds. The young Christian, certainly, stands out from the crowd, but not by outward appearance, but by the way he thinks and acts. He is different inside, in his heart, and this is reflected on the outside, in his way of behaving, speaking, dealing with others, in every everyday situation.

[Pope John Paul II, Address to Young People, Catania 5 November 1994]

There are "two roads". And it is Jesus himself, with his "gestures of closeness", who gives us the right indication as to which one to take. On the one hand, in fact, there is the road of the "hypocrites", who close their doors because of their attachment to the "letter of the law". On the other, however, there is "the road of charity", which passes "from love to the true justice that is within the law". Pope Francis said this at the Mass celebrated on Friday morning, 31 October, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.

In practice, the Pontiff said, "these people were so attached to the law that they had forgotten justice; so attached to the law that they had forgotten love". But 'not only to the law; they were attached to the words, to the letters of the law'.

Precisely this way "of living, attached to the law, distanced them from love and justice: they cared for the law, they neglected justice; they cared for the law, they neglected love". Yet "they were the models". But "Jesus finds only one word for these people: hypocrites!". One cannot, in fact, go "into all the world looking for proselytes" and then close "the door". For the Lord was dealing with "men of closure, men so attached to the law, to the letter of the law: not to the law", because "the law is love", but "to the letter of the law". They were men "who always closed the doors of hope, of love, of salvation, men who only knew how to close".

Only "in the flesh of Christ", in fact, does the law "have full fulfilment". Because "the flesh of Christ knows how to suffer, he gave his life for us". While "the letter is cold."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 01/11/2014]

New Wineskins and vocational Freedom

(Lk 5:33-39)

Fasting is a regenerative principle that has a unique healing power, both detoxifying and essential. It activates the energies of humanity and at the same time of diversity.

This silent practice addresses the deep layers, the internal dimension, which becomes the guide and we risk ignoring.

Fasting was a sign of profound religiosity, therefore the disciples of Jesus - who did not fast, on the contrary their life had a festive character - were more or less assimilated to sinners.

Although there were no formal prescriptions, in observant circles it was pious practices that had become customary [linked to precisely marked days].

In Semitic beliefs, fasting was in particular expressive of the embarrassment and affliction of the devout man in the expectation of the Messianic times, which were delaying.

This is why Jesus associates fasting with mourning. It no longer has meaning in life as the unhindered wedding feast that He inaugurates.

Fasting remains as a sign of waiting for fulfillment, but now sadness no longer has any decisive relevance.

In the time of the Church that makes the Risen present, the renunciation of gorging is not a form of penance but of Hope (v.35).

And it serves to keep the hearts of Bridegroom’s friends clear of vanities, with a form of identification with the poor.

In other communities, the Judaizers tried to reduce the pure Faith - foundation and enthusiastic participation - to whatever beliefs and practices [that didn’t make everyone feel free and adequate].

In fact, a large part of the Jews converted to Christ were inclined to nostalgia that resulted in impediment.

Lk encourages the converts of his fraternities, coming from mixed and unregulated beliefs - to face the opinion of the strictest religious traditions.

Even today the Lord's proposal stands out - because it doesn’t claim to prepare the Kingdom, but rather welcomes and listens to it.

It will be Christ-in-us alone to nourish us towards an uninterrupted and growing way, in the commitment to start afresh in the task of finding ourselves and emancipating the world - in a climate of austerity, balanced.

The Call of the Gospels remains respectful, concrete and strongly prophetic at the same time, because it arouses attention to people, to reality, and our joy - much more than to unsolicited standards of improvement, or other patches (v.36).

By not overwhelming or imposing artificial loads on believers, the life of Faith brings freedom into play [and thus makes it known to us] so that we become aware and assume it in order to be able to invest as Grace, charge and resource of novelty.

The renouncing and mortifying mechanisms, of individualistic perfection, are alien from the start - unless they are designed for the sharing of goods.

Jesus doesn’t come to make a small group of followers seated on the chair of austerity, but to communicate that the relationship with God is a celebration.

Fasting pleasing to the Father lies in the lucid experience of one's own unrepeatable eccentricity and Call, in freeing oneself from the selfishness that holds back, and in bringing relief to one's neighbor.

For this reason the Church has almost completely abolished the precept of external fasting, while it intends to commit more to forms of limitation in favor of the uncertain, humble and needy.

To internalize and live the message:

Do you practice fasting? From what? And for what purpose?

[Friday 22th wk. in O.T.  September 5, 2025]

(Lk 5:33-39)

The old customs cannot always be combined with the Newness brought by the Lord; indeed, it is not infrequently necessary to know how to separate things.

Lk confronts the opinion of the few messianics in his communities, who wanted to take the Master's proposal back to the common Jewish roots from which they themselves came.

While appreciating the ancient custom, rich in attractive and even enchanting forms, he rather comforts his church members from paganism.

With his catechesis, the evangelist wants to prevent that in the small fraternities then in their infancy, the return of the seduction emanating from the old religious certainties could prevail over the full manifestation of the power of life inaugurated - in the authentic call of God.

Fasting has travelled through all religious and mystical traditions, because it is intended to bring women and men closer to their own profound essence - to listening to themselves, to the codes of the sacred, to the inner cosmos, to their own vocation, to the sacred pages - in the expectation of transformation.

One entrusts oneself to a different wisdom - less noisy - that can activate processes of metamorphosis, precisely by making a void from the intrusions of homologated thought, from external habits or conformisms that tend to overwhelm the personality.

By detaching, the torments will vanish, replaced by other interests and lucid dreams; aroused by the new breakthrough to our eternal side, and by that reliance on the core of being that is still creating us.

Psycho-physical and supernatural unity is a prodigious organism, which can clear away the fog and enhance its capacities with various forms of suspension and cleansing, even mental cleansing - which will take us where we need to go.

But in the specifics of the children of God, all this is aimed at sharpening the gaze in the sense of knowledge, discovery, surprise of unsuspected singular and missionary capacities and qualities. Those that flow from the discovery of the eminent Self, from one's own founding Relationship - to become uniqueness of exceptional relationship with others, in the Exodus that corresponds to us.

Fasting is a principle of regeneration that has a unique healing power, both detoxifying and essential. It activates the energies of one's humanity and at the same time one's diversity.

This silent practice addresses the deep layers, the inner dimension, which become the guide (and we risk ignoring).

But here, understanding dissimilarities remains indispensable. For us, it is a gesture of openness!

Other kinds of diets or athleticism are not infrequently deviant: their very nonsense brings sadness and even depression.

Fasting remains a sign of waiting for the fulfilment, but now the sadness is meaningless.

In the time of the Church that makes the Risen One present, the renunciation of gorging is not a form of penitence but of hope (v.35).

And it serves to keep the heart of the Bridegroom's friends clear of vanities, with a form of identification with the poor.

But Jesus does not come to make himself a group of followers sitting on the chair of austerity, but to communicate that the relationship with God is a feast!

In short, fasting pleasing to the Father lies in the lucid experience of one's own unique eccentricity and calling, in freeing oneself from the selfishness of grabbing for oneself, and bringing relief to one's neighbour.

It creates life, not diminishes it.

Fasting was a sign of deep religiosity, so Jesus' disciples - who did not fast, indeed their lives had a festive character - were likened more or less to sinners.

Although there were no formal prescriptions, these were pious practices that became customary in observant circles (here seriousness was everything) linked to precisely marked days.

In Semitic beliefs, fasting was in particular expressive of the devout man's embarrassment and affliction in the quivering expectation of the messianic times, which were delayed.

This is why Jesus associates fasting with mourning - which no longer has any meaning in life as the wedding feast without qualms that He inaugurates.

Where precisely there is no need for additions, no need for checks or imprints, marks or distinguishing characteristics.

Nor is the New Covenant a modernisation of moral practices or pious prescriptions that provide an external religious pass.

Everything is in relation to the real presence of the Bridegroom, who does not punish life.

Of course, he who proceeds on the path of emancipation and is not satisfied with a partial Jesus the Bridegroom, already knows in himself what awaits him...

Then (v.35) in the strident confrontation with the religious leaders - clinging to prestige - there is sadness and humiliation to no end. So much for fasting from food.

However, those who have decided to continue on their path of vocational freedom know that they must relive the same events of blatant conflict that pitted the Master against the mentality and authorities of his time; and finally, in such a real encounter with Him, experience the total gift of life (v.35).It will only be the Christ-in-us (even if it is centred and not definitive) that will nourish soul and body in an uninterrupted and growing way.

This with the commitment to start again in the mission of finding ourselves and giving breath to the world.

In an atmosphere of quiet austerity; without artificial brakes.

In the communities of pagan extraction addressed by Luke, there was a strong desire to free the Risen One from fetters (disciplinary fixations, timetables, calendar).

The believers perceived Him to be alive - an accomplice to the new humanising character they were experiencing day by day.

The evangelist wants to orient his assemblies in the Ephesus area [perhaps in the mid-1980s] not to cling to false securities.

They had to take a completely alternative position and not end up like the groups around them, of sectarian extraction.

But even the Judaizers were trying to reduce pure Faith - foundation and enthusiastic participation - to rigid beliefs and any number of practices.

Vicious circles that ended up transmitting old feelings of guilt instead of unusual relational insights.

Indeed, most Jewish converts tended towards nostalgias that were a hindrance and hindrance.

It was precisely such veterans who struggled to embrace the new habitus of freedom, and the full froth of the Gospel, in an enthusiastic manner.

Even today, the Lord's Proposal stands apart from all exclusivist doctrines, full of prescriptions and fulfilments.

His Presence shines through in spirit. And his intimates do not pretend to prepare the Kingdom, but welcome it and listen (with trust in life).

This is what is happening in the time of the pandemic, which is disposing to a less outward, more global fast - considerable but wise.

A fast that can lead humanity to sensitive perception, to a sense of communion, to silence and embrace; to less egocentric and dirigiste impetus. To a deepening - and wholeness.

The Tao Tê Ching (v) writes: "The space between Heaven and Earth, how it resembles a bellows!".

Master Wang Pi comments: 'If the bellows had a will of its own in blowing, it could not implement the intent of the one who makes it blow'.

And Master Ho-shang Kung adds: "Many endeavours harm the spirit".

In short, Christ treasures natural wisdom and does not reduce us to the measure of just any religion: he does not confine believers in "negotiations" through petty procedures of athleticism and individual perfection.

He does not insist on heroic mortifications, extraordinary renunciations, punctilious observance of sterile - one-sided - laws, unless they are designed in order to find each other, to humanise, to share goods.

The Call of the Gospels remains at once balanced, concrete and strongly prophetic.

A call that arouses attention to people, to reality, to our joy - far more than unsolicited (stoic) aseptic polishing standards or other patches (v.36).

By neither overwhelming nor imposing artificial burdens on believers, the life of Faith brings self-determination into play.

Thus it makes it known to us - so that we become aware of it and take it on in order to be able to invest it as Grace, charge (not diminish): a resource of newness.

The ascetical mechanisms of individualist refinement are alien from the outset: the goal is to create family, not to carve out a circle of hard and pure (all external and proud of themselves) who distance themselves from weaker brothers and sisters.

Then, self-satisfied, they become disloyal, usurpers, schemers: a history of flaws, equivocal plots and pastoral delays, behind an impeccable façade of cerebral doctrines, disciplines (in their own way) and resounding commemorations over the body of the 'poor departed'.

This is why the Church has almost completely abolished the precept of outward fasting, while it intends to make a greater commitment to forms of restraint in favour of the sick, marginalised, humble and needy.

The choice wants to remain clear: freedom is priceless.

And there is no love if someone (be it even God) cuts or overpowers the other, imposing artificial yokes, too much the same as always; unbearable, freakish, unhealthy.

So the old containers are no longer to be matched with the new ferment. The practice of patching damages both custom and the Newness of God.

Certainly, old wine and cassocks have a fascinating attraction for the senses and the vintage epidermal imagination...

That is why they continue to appeal [v.39: "The old is excellent!"]. Not a few want to combine him with the Lord (Mk 2:22; Mt 9:17; Lk 5:37-38).

The Master was not per se an opponent of the spirit of the old man, but he fought against its rinds, which in fact prevented the manifestation of an unseen Face of God, of a more genuine idea of a successful man - the germ of an alternative, fraternal society.

Realities well separated from the intimist or self-referential ones typical of official or do-it-yourself cults. All innovations that had to manifest themselves.The taste and aftertaste of old wine cloak devotional rites and seasoned customs with artfulness, affectation and evocative charm, but they plant us there and do not scratch life; they remind us, but they do not memorialise - that is, they do not re-actualise for us.

In the practice of the many provincial cults, in its catechetical endeavours without pastoral nerve, we have noticed for decades a mechanical pre-conciliar regurgitation, which stops at the great icons.

Wonders and memories of Salvation History... that's it. It seemed easier to local leaders to go back to customs and abbreviated catechisms than to face the educational risk (which the Magisterium itself would impose).

The immediate result was deemed palatable and profitable, for the (underneath) fundamentalist and astute sector - willingly supplanting the unknown effervescence of the new wine.

In fact, on the part of those who know 'how to be in the world', one still has to suffer a whole superficiality of retreats and habitual accommodations, which redeem no one and bring no joy, because they do not enter into human affairs.

Settling for the fish menu on Fridays. Genuine superfluity.

But those who stop at the past of mortifications and papier-mâché can never understand the Reformation that the Spirit proposes to edify each soul in the (authentic) fulfilment that holds us better to one another.

Thus the old containers are no longer to be coupled with the new ferment.

The practice of patching can on the one hand damage the customs, because they have their own refined and pronounced taste (pertinent in itself) - on the other hand it distracts and attenuates life in the change, in the Newness of God.

In short, the Lord does not intend for us a practice of mending and enclosing boundaries: rather, He wants to break cages.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you fast? From what? And for what purpose? Does it break the cages? Is it or is it not in order to know each other, find each other, and listen, heal, share, embrace, hold each other better?

What inner conflicts do you experience around religious practices that you feel still bring suffering to people and are not a spousal expression or a reason for emancipation for women and men?

What image of God and believing humanity is subject to preconceptions and prohibitions? How do you demonstrate the primacy of Jesus in every area of life?

In the New Testament, Jesus brings to light the profound motive for fasting, condemning the attitude of the Pharisees, who scrupulously observed the prescriptions of the law, but whose hearts were far from God. True fasting, as the divine Master repeats elsewhere, is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who “sees in secret, and will reward you” (Mt 6,18). He Himself sets the example, answering Satan, at the end of the forty days spent in the desert that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt 4,4). The true fast is thus directed to eating the “true food,” which is to do the Father’s will (cf. Jn 4,34). If, therefore, Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,” the believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in His goodness and mercy.

The practice of fasting is very present in the first Christian community (cf. Acts 13,3; 14,22; 27,21; 2 Cor 6,5). The Church Fathers, too, speak of the force of fasting to bridle sin, especially the lusts of the “old Adam,” and open in the heart of the believer a path to God. Moreover, fasting is a practice that is encountered frequently and recommended by the saints of every age. Saint Peter Chrysologus writes: “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself” (Sermo 43: PL 52, 320. 322).

In our own day, fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one’s body. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a “therapy” to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God. In the Apostolic Constitution Pænitemini of 1966, the Servant of God Paul VI saw the need to present fasting within the call of every Christian to “no longer live for himself, but for Him who loves him and gave himself for him … he will also have to live for his brethren“ (cf. Ch. I). Lent could be a propitious time to present again the norms contained in the Apostolic Constitution, so that the authentic and perennial significance of this long held practice may be rediscovered, and thus assist us to mortify our egoism and open our heart to love of God and neighbor, the first and greatest Commandment of the new Law and compendium of the entire Gospel (cf. Mt 22, 34-40).

The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord. Saint Augustine, who knew all too well his own negative impulses, defining them as “twisted and tangled knottiness” (Confessions, II, 10.18), writes: “I will certainly impose privation, but it is so that he will forgive me, to be pleasing in his eyes, that I may enjoy his delightfulness” (Sermo 400, 3, 3: PL 40, 708). Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word. Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God.

At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live. In his First Letter, Saint John admonishes: “If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him – how does the love of God abide in him?” (3,17). Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother (cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, 15). By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger. It is precisely to keep alive this welcoming and attentive attitude towards our brothers and sisters that I encourage the parishes and every other community to intensify in Lent the custom of private and communal fasts, joined to the reading of the Word of God, prayer and almsgiving. From the beginning, this has been the hallmark of the Christian community, in which special collections were taken up (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27), the faithful being invited to give to the poor what had been set aside from their fast (Didascalia Ap., V, 20,18). This practice needs to be rediscovered and encouraged again in our day, especially during the liturgical season of Lent.

From what I have said thus far, it seems abundantly clear that fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person. Quite opportunely, an ancient hymn of the Lenten liturgy exhorts: “Utamur ergo parcius, / verbis cibis et potibus, / somno, iocis et arctius / perstemus in custodia – Let us use sparingly words, food and drink, sleep and amusements. May we be more alert in the custody of our senses.”

Dear brothers and sisters, it is good to see how the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each one of us, as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote, to make the complete gift of self to God (cf. Encyclical Veritatis splendor, 21).

[Pope Benedict, Message for Lent 2009]

1. "Sanctify a fast!" (Joel 1:14). They are the words that we listened to in the first reading on Ash Wednesday. They were written by the Prophet Joel, and the Church establishes the practice of Lent in conformity with them, ordering fasting. Today the practice of Lent, defined by Paul VI in the Constitution "Poenitemini ", is considerably reduced as compared with practices of the past. In this matter the Pope left a great deal to the decision of the Episcopal Conferences of the individual countries. They, therefore, have the task of adapting the requirements of fasting according to the circumstances that prevail in their respective societies. He also recalled that the essence of Lenten repentance consists not only of fasting, but also of prayer and almsdeeds (works of mercy). So it is necessary to decide according to circumstances, since fasting itself can be "replaced" by works of mercy and prayer. The aim of this particular period in the life of the Church is always and everywhere repentance, that is, conversion to God. Repentance, in fact, understood as conversion, that is "metanoia", forms a whole, which the tradition of the People of God already in the old Covenant and then Christ himself linked, in a certain way, with prayer, almsdeeds and fasting.

Why fasting?

At this moment there perhaps come into our minds the words with which Jesus answered the disciples of John the Baptist when they asked him: "Why do your disciples not fast?" Jesus answered: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Mt 9:15). In fact the time of Lent reminds us that the bridegroom has been taken away from us. Taken away, arrested, imprisoned, slapped, scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified... Fasting in the time of Lent is the expression of our solidarity with Christ. Such was the meaning of Lent throughout the centuries and such it remains today.

"My love has been crucified and there is no longer in me the flame that desires material things", as the Bishop of Antioch, Ignatius, writes in the letter to the Romans (Ign. Antioch,. Ad Romanos VII, 2).

2. Why fasting?

It is necessary to give this question a wider and deeper answer, in order to clarify the relationship between fasting and "metanoia", that is, that spiritual change which brings man closer to God. We will try therefore to concentrate not only on the practice of abstention from food or from drink

— that, in fact, is the meaning of "fasting" in the common sense — but on the deeper meaning of this practice which, moreover, can and must sometimes be "replaced" by another one. Food and drink are indispensable for man to live, he uses them and must use them, but he may not abuse them in any way. The traditional abstention from food and drink has as its purpose to introduce into man's existence not only the necessary balance, but also detachment from what might be defined a "consumer attitude". In our times this attitude has become one of the characteristics of civilization and in particular of Western civilization. The consumer attitude!

Man geared to material goods, multiple material goods, very often abuses them. It is not a question here lust of food and drink. When man is geared exclusively to possession and use of material goods

— that is, of things — then also the whole civilization is measured according to the quantity and the quality of the things with which it is in a position to supply man, and is not measured with the yardstick suitable for man. This civilization, in fact, supplies material goods not just in order that they may serve man to carry out creative and useful activities, but more and more... to satisfy the senses, the excitement he derives from them, momentary pleasure, an ever greater multiplicity of sensations.

We sometimes hear it said that the excessive increase of audiovisual media in the rich countries is not always useful for the development of intelligence, particularly in children; on the contrary, it sometimes contributes to checking its development. The child lives only on sensations, he looks for ever-new sensations... And thus he becomes, without realizing it, a slave of this modern passion. Satiating himself with sensations, he often remains passive intellectually; the intellect does not open to search of truth; the will remains bound by habit which it is unable to oppose.

It is seen from this that modern man must fast, that is, abstain not only from food or drink, but from many other means of consumption, stimulation, satisfaction of the senses. To fast means to abstain, to renounce something.

3. Why renounce something? Why deprive oneself of it? We have already partly answered this question. However the answer will not be complete, if we do not realize that man is himself also because he succeeds in depriving himself of something, because he is capable of saying "no" to himself. Man is a being composed of body and soul. Some modern writers present this composite structure of man in the form of layers, and they speak, for example, of exterior layers on the surface of our personality, contrasting them with the layers in depth. Our life seems to be divided into such layers and takes place through them. While the superficial layers are bound up with our sensuality, the deep layers are an expression, on the contrary, of man's spirituality, that is, of conscious will, reflection, conscience, the capacity of living superior values.

This image of the structure of the human personality can serve to understand the meaning of fasting for man. It is not a question here only of the religious meaning, but of a meaning that is expressed through the so-called "organization" of man as a subject-person. Man develops regularly when the deeper layers of his personality find sufficient expression, when the sphere of his interests and aspirations is not limited just to the exterior and superficial layers, connected with human sensuality. To facilitate such a development, we must sometimes deliberately detach ourselves from what serves to satisfy sensuality, that is, from those exterior, superficial layers. Therefore we must renounce every thing that "nourishes" them.

This, in short, is the interpretation of fasting nowadays.

Renunciation of sensations, stimuli, pleasures and even food or drink, is not an end in itself. It must only, so to speak, prepare the way for deeper contents by which the interior man "is nourished". This renunciation, this mortification must serve to create in man the conditions to be able to live the superior values, for which he, in his own way, hungers.

This is the "full" meaning of fasting in the language of today. However, when we read the Christian authors of antiquity or the Fathers of the Church, we find in them the same truth, often expressed in a surprisingly "modern" language. St Peter Chrysologus, for example, says.. "Fasting is peace of the body, strength of minds, vigour of souls" (Sermo VII: de jejunio 3); and again: "Fasting is the helm of human life and governs the whole ship of our body." (Sermo VII: de jejunio 1.)

And St Ambrose replies as follows to possible objections to fasting: "The flesh, because of its mortal condition, has some specific lusts: With regard to them you are granted the right to curb them. Your flesh is under you...: do not follow the promptings of the flesh to unlawful things, but curb them somewhat even as regards lawful ones. In fact he who does not abstain from any of the lawful things, is also very close to unlawful things." (Sermo de utilitate jejunii III.V.VII). Also writers not belonging to Christianity declare the same truth. This truth is of universal significance. It is part of the universal wisdom of life.

4. It is now certainly easier for us to understand why Christ the Lord and the Church unite the call to fasting with repentance, that is, with conversion. To be converted to God, it is necessary to discover in ourselves that which makes us sensitive to what belongs to God; therefore, the spiritual contents, the superior values which speak to our intellect, to our conscience, to our "heart" (according to biblical language). To open up to these spiritual contents, to these values, it is necessary to detach oneself from what serves only the consumer spirit, satisfaction of the senses. In the opening of our human personality to God, fasting

— understood both in the "traditional" way and in the "modern" way — must go hand in hand with prayer because it is addressed directly to him.

Furthermore, fasting, that is, the mortification of the senses, mastery of the  body, confer on prayer a greater efficacy, which man discovers in himself. He discovers, in fact, that he is "different", that he is more "master of himself", that he has become interiorly free. And he realizes this in as much as conversion and the meeting with God, through prayer, bear fruit in him.

It is clear from these our reflections today that fasting is not only a "vestige" of a religious practice of past centuries, but that it is also indispensable for the man of today, for Christians of our time.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 21 March 1979]

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 but 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 with God and on the other speak with 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: "Undo 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 left room for 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 some hunger, 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 one 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, s. Marta, in L'Osservatore Romano 17/02/2018]

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C) [31 August 2025]

May God bless us and may the Virgin Mary protect us. For many, the holiday season is coming to an end and we are preparing to resume our normal rhythm of life. The Word of God comes to us with appropriate advice. 

*First Reading from the Book of Sirach (3:17-18, 20, 28-29 NV 3:19-21, 30, 31) 

This text becomes clearer if we begin reading it from the end: 'The wise heart meditates on parables, and an attentive ear is what the wise man desires' (v. 29). When the Bible speaks of wisdom, it means the art of living happily. Being a 'wise man' is the ideal of everyone in Israel: such a small people, born as a 'people' only at the time of the exodus from Egypt, has the privilege, thanks to Revelation, of knowing that 'all wisdom comes from the Lord' (Sir 1:1), in the sense that only God knows the mysteries of life and the secret of happiness. It is therefore to the Lord that we must ask for wisdom because, in his sovereign freedom, he chose Israel to be the repository of his wisdom. Yeshua Ben Sira (Jesus son of Sira), the author of the book, makes wisdom itself speak as if it were a person (cf. Sir 24:8); Israel seeks wisdom every day (cf. Sir 51:14) and, according to Psalm 1, finds its happiness in it: ' Blessed is the man who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night (1:2). 'Day and night' means always. Those who seek will find, Jesus will later say: but one must seek, that is, recognise that one does not possess everything and is always in need of something. Ben Sira had opened a school of theology (beth midrash) in Jerusalem around 180 BC and, to promote it, he said: "Come to me, you who are uneducated, and dwell in my school" (Sir 51:23). A true son of Israel knows that wisdom comes from God, allows himself to be taught by Him, meditates on the maxims of wisdom, and his ideal is an ear that listens. Israel has treasured this lesson so much that it recites the "Shema' Israel, Hear, O Israel" (Deut 6:4) several times a day. An "open ear" means listening to advice, instructions, commandments; the proud, on the other hand, believe they know everything and close their ears, but they forget that if the house has its shutters closed, the sun cannot enter. We read in verse 28: "There is no remedy for the miserable condition of the proud, for the plant of evil is rooted in them." In other words, the proud are incurably sick because, being full of themselves, they close their hearts. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Lk 18) is interesting in this regard: the tax collector limited himself to being true because the humble have their feet on the ground and therefore recognise themselves as poor and rely only on God. The Pharisee, self-sufficient in everything, returned home as he had come, while the tax collector was transformed. Isaiah describes the joy of these humble people: ' The humble will rejoice more and more in the Lord, and the poor will exult because of the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 29:19), and Jesus will exclaim: "I praise you, Father... because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to the little ones" (Matthew 11:25 // Luke 10:21). God can accomplish great things with the humble, making them servants of his plan, as with Moses, his great and tireless servant, whose secret, as we read in the book of Numbers, was that he was a very humble man, more than anyone else on earth" (12:3), and Jesus, the Servant of God, says of himself: "I am gentle and humble in heart" (Mt 11:29), while Paul writes: "If I must boast, I will boast of my weakness... The Lord has told me... for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 11:30; 12:9). Ultimately, humility is more than a virtue: it is a vital minimum and a prerequisite.

*Responsorial Psalm (67/68) 

"The Lord is his name" (v. 5), this very short phrase sets the tone for the whole: "Lord" is the tetragrammaton (YHWH) revealed to Moses, which expresses God's permanent presence among his people: "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh" (I am who I am). And since He surrounds us at all times with His care, each of the verses can be read on several levels, and the richness and complexity of this psalm lies in being able to sing it in every age and feel involved. "The righteous rejoice, they exult before God and sing for joy. Sing to God, praise His name. Lord is His name" (vv. 4-5). David also dances before the Ark, but here we are talking about the joy of the people freed from Egypt: Moses' song after the crossing of the sea; Miriam, sister of Aaron (and Moses), took up the tambourine and all the women went out after her, dancing and playing the tambourine. Later, during the Exodus, there were many reasons to sing and dance. This emerges in the following verses: 'He brings out the prisoners with joy' (7). 'You have poured out abundant rain, O God, you have strengthened your weary inheritance, and your people have dwelt in it, in that which, in your goodness, you have made secure for the poor, O God' (10-11).  Here, different levels of interpretation overlap, but every allusion to liberation always refers to the exodus from Egypt, the return from Babylonian exile, and other liberations, that is, every time that individuals or entire peoples advance towards greater justice and freedom and, finally, the definitive liberation that we still await. "He brings out the prisoners with joy": for us Christians, this is a reminder of Christ's Resurrection, thinking of our own. "You have poured out abundant rain": this reference to the Exodus offers several interpretations: the manna in the desert (cf. Ex 16:4, 13-15) and most likely also the beneficial rain on which all life depends, because without "abundant rain" the promised land does not flow with "milk and honey". In the past, there have been memorable droughts (and therefore famines): the seven years of famine that led Jacob's sons and their father to go down to Egypt to Joseph; the drought in the time of Elijah (1 Kings 17-18) with the harsh confrontation between Elijah and Queen Jezebel, worshipper of Baal, the god of fertility, storms and rain; the famine under Emperor Claudius when the Christian communities of the Mediterranean basin, regions not affected, were invited to provide financial assistance to the victims, and St Paul called on the community of Corinth for their slowness in giving their contribution (cf. 2 Cor 8-9). Finally, we too have reason to give thanks for the new manna, our daily bread: Jesus Christ, the living bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6:48-51).

*Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (12:18-19, 22-24a)

Addressed to Christians of Jewish origin, the Letter to the Hebrews aims to place the New Covenant in its proper perspective in relation to the Old Covenant. With the earthly life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ, the entire past is considered by Christians as a necessary stage in the history of salvation, but now superseded, though not annulled, so that between the First and the New Covenant there is both continuity and radical novelty. In favour of continuity are elements familiar to Israel: Sinai, fire, darkness, gloom, hurricane, trumpets, Zion, Jerusalem, names written in the heavens, judge and justice, covenant with language that evokes the entire spiritual experience of the people of the Covenant and certainly familiar to listeners at that time. (cf. Ex 19:16-19; 20:18, 21; Dt 4:11). Israel feeds on these stories as titles of glory of the people of the Covenant. However, the Letter to the Hebrews seems to downplay this memorable experience because that Covenant has now been completely renewed. Moses approached God, but the people remained at a distance; in the New Covenant, the baptised are introduced into a true intimacy with God, and the author describes this new spiritual experience as entering a new world of beauty and celebration (cf. vv. 22-24). The "fear of God" in the Old Testament was fear in the face of manifestations of power, so much so that the people came to ask not to hear God's voice anymore, but later, little by little, their relationship with God was transformed and fear became filial trust. Those who knew Jesus discovered in him the true face of the Father: "The Spirit himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:15-16). Jesus, therefore, fully fulfils the role of mediator of the New Covenant and allows all the baptised to approach God and become "firstborn" (in the sense of "consecrated"). Thus, the ancient promise to Moses on Sinai: "If you will listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession among all peoples... you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:4) is finally fulfilled in Christ, and for this reason we too "let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence" (Heb 4:16).

*From the Gospel according to Luke (14:1a, 7–14)

In Luke's Gospel, there are often scenes of meals: at the home of Simon the Pharisee (7:36); at Martha and Mary's house (10:38); again at the home of a Pharisee (11:37); at Zacchaeus' house (19); the Passover meal (22). The importance that Jesus attached to meals even led his detractors to say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard" (Lk 7:34). Three of these meals take place in the homes of Pharisees and become occasions for disagreement. During the first, at Simon's house (Lk 7:36), a woman of ill repute threw herself at Jesus' feet and, contrary to all expectations, he took her as an example. The second (Lk 11:37) was also the occasion for a serious misunderstanding, this time because Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting down at the table: the discussion degenerates and Jesus takes advantage of it to launch into a severe diatribe, so much so that the episode ends with the scribes and Pharisees beginning to rage against him, setting traps for him to catch him in the act (cf. Lk 11:53). Today, the third meal in the house of a Pharisee takes place on the Sabbath, a day of rest ('Shabbat' in Hebrew means to cease all activity) and celebration: a memorial of the creation of the world, the liberation of the people from Egypt and the anticipation of the great feast of the Day when God will renew the entire creation. The Sabbath included a solemn meal, often an occasion to invite fellow believers, even though the ritual prohibitions of the Law were so numerous that, for some, observance of the prescriptions had obscured the essential: fraternal charity. On that Sabbath, Jesus had healed a man suffering from dropsy (a scene that does not appear in our liturgical reading: cf. Lk 14:2-6), and lively discussions ensued because Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath. Here I pause and ask a question: are the relations between Jesus and the Pharisees always a clash? In truth, they are a mixture of sympathy and severity: sympathy because their religious movement, born around 135 BC out of a desire for conversion, was esteemed, and the name 'Pharisee', which means 'separated', expressed the rejection of any political compromise or laxity in religious practice, two problems that were very present at the time. At the time of Christ, their fervent faith and courage in respecting tradition were appreciated, not in a pejorative sense, but as a treasure received from their fathers and transmitted in the form of precepts concerning the smallest details of daily life. These rules, written down after 70 AD, resemble those of Jesus himself and were therefore so respectable that Jesus did not refuse to speak with them, as demonstrated by these meals and the meeting with Nicodemus (cf. Jn 3). Under Herod the Great (39-4 BC), six thousand of them, in order to remain faithful to the Law, refused to swear allegiance to Rome and Herod and were punished with heavy fines. However, their strict observance sometimes led to excessive self-confidence and contempt for others, and Jesus reacted to this because it created certain ambiguities and deviations, well symbolised in the parable of the speck and the log (Mt 7:3-5; Lk 6:41-42). In today's text, Jesus invites us not to occupy the first places, not to recall a norm of good manners and philanthropy, but, in the manner of the prophets, he seeks to open their eyes before it is too late, because excessive self-satisfaction can lead to blindness. And so, precisely because they are people of value and faithful practitioners of the Jewish religion, Jesus unmasks the risk of their contempt for others by reminding them that to enter the Kingdom, they must become like children (cf. Lk 9:46-48; Mt 18:4), welcoming and respecting them without expecting anything in return and, indeed, opening one's heart to the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind (v. 13). This is a lesson for the Pharisees of yesterday and today, bearing in mind what St James writes: never mix personal favouritism with faith in Christ (cf. Jas 2:1).

+ Giovanni D'Ercole