Hale is a Democratic politician from Tennessee; he has been a Catholic nonprofit executive and helped lead faith outreach for President Barack Obama.
Christians around the world mark the beginning of Lent with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. This ancient day and season has a surprising modern appeal. Priests and pastors often tell you that outside of Christmas, more people show up to church on Ash Wednesday than any other day of the year—including Easter. But this mystique isn’t reserved for Christians alone. The customs that surround the season have a quality to them that transcend religion.
Perhaps most notable is the act of fasting. While Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during the Lenten season, many people—religious or not—take up this increasingly popular discipline during the year.
But Pope Francis has asked us to reconsider the heart of this activity this Lenten season. According to Francis, fasting must never become superficial. He often quotes the early Christian mystic John Chrysostom who said: “No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.”
But this isn’t to downplay the role of sacrifice during the Lenten season. Lent is a good time for penance and self-denial. But once again, Francis reminds us that these activities must truly enrich others: “I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.”
So, if we’re going to fast from anything this Lent, Francis suggests that even more than candy or alcohol, we fast from indifference towards others.
In his annual Lenten message, the pope writes, “Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience.”
Describing this phenomenon he calls the globalization of indifference, Francis writes that “whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
But when we fast from this indifference, we can began to feast on love. In fact, Lent is the perfect time to learn how to love again. Jesus—the great protagonist of this holy season—certainly showed us the way. In him, God descends all the way down to bring everyone up. In his life and his ministry, no one is excluded.
“What are you giving up for Lent?” It’s a question a lot of people will get these next few days. If you want to change your body, perhaps alcohol and candy is the way to go. But if you want to change your heart, a harder fast is needed. This narrow road is gritty, but it isn’t sterile. It will make room in ourselves to experience a love that can make us whole and set us free.
The wind lifts Pope Francis' mantle as he delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on Sept. 26, 2015.Tony Gentile—APPope Francis looks at the Statue of Liberty from the window of a helicopter on his way to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2015.L'Osservatore Romano/APA Pope Francis mannequin rides around in a car in Times Square as New York City waits for the arrival of the Pope to the city, on Sept. 24, 2015.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty ImagesKaydn Dorsey, 4, and Lionel Perkins, 4, draw on a coloring sheet bearing the image of Pope Francis as they wait for him to arrive on a visit to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015.David Goldman—ReutersNuns with the Hospitaler Sisters of Mercy in Pleasantville, N.J., pose for a selfie with a cutout of Pope Francis, at the World Meeting of Families conference, in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 2015. Matt Rourke—APPope Francis blows out the candles of a birthday cake to celebrate his 78th birthday during a general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 17, 2014. Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty ImagesPaying the bill at Rome's Domus Internationalis Paulus VI hotel, where Pope Francis stayed as a cardinal before entering the conclave and being elected pope.Osservatore Romano/APWelcoming Pope emeritus Benedict XVI as he returns to the Vatican from the pontifical summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.Osservatore Romano/APHolding a disabled child after celebrating Easter Mass.Alessandro di Meo—ANSA/Zuma Press Pope Francis masks in a factory in Brazil, where the Pontiff took his first overseas trip. Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty ImagesLeading the Worldwide Eucharistic adoration at the Vatican.Alessandra Benedetti—CorbisA gust of wind blows the pope's mantle. Alessandra Tarantino—APAttending the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome. Stefano Rellandini—ReutersLeaving a welcoming ceremony at Guanabara Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—ReutersGreeting the weekly General Audience. Stefano Rellandini—ReutersPointing to the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the balcony of the Aparecida basilica in Brazil. Domenico Stinellis—APA Catholic faithful in Brazil bears a sticker of Pope Francis on his forehead. Ueslei Marcelino—ReutersImages of Pope Francis projected onto screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Whitaker— ReutersDeparting Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—ReutersA stray dog walks across the stage near the altar where Pope Francis celebrates the World Youth Day's closing Mass on the Copacabana beachfront. Victor R. Caivano—APListening to confessions of young people in a park in Rio de Janeiro. L'Osservatore Romano—EPAPosing with youths in Saint Peter's Basilica.L'Osservatore Romano—EPAGreeting the faithful on a rainy day during the General Audience.Fabio Frustaci—Eidon Press/Zuma PressArriving to lead his General Audience in a firefighter's helmet.Stefano Rellandini—ReutersA quiet moment after meeting with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Vatican.Max Rossi—ReutersMarking the 110th anniversary UNITALSI, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping the sick. Francesco Zizola—NOOR for TIMEA private Audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. L'Osservatore Romano/APKeeping warm during a General Audience. Alessandra Tarantino—APComforting a disfigured man at the end of his General Audience. Claudio Peri—EPABlessing a sick man with deformed facial features. Evandro Inetti—Zuma PressVisiting the parish of the Sant'Alfonso Maria de Liguori during the Epiphany day.L'Osservatore Romano—AFP/Getty ImagesReacting to devotees at a weekly General Audience.Alessandro Bianchi—ReutersA seagull attacks a dove released during a prayer conducted by Pope Francis.
Alessandro Bianchi—ReutersA scarf is tossed at Pope Francis by a faithful. Tony Gentile—ReutersItalian artist Mauro Pallotta's superhero rendering of Pope Francis in a street near St. Peter's Basilica.Alessandra Benedetti—CorbisBlowing a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter's Square. Vincenzo Pinto—AFP/Getty ImagesMeeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.Vatican Pool/Contrasto/ReduxWith Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Vatican.Alessandra Benedetti—Vatican Pool/CorbisA wind gust lifts Pope Francis's mantle as he arrives at the traditional Washing of the Feet during Holy Thursday. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty ImagesKissing a man's at the traditional Washing of the Feet. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty ImagesVisitors take photos of Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Michael Sohn—AP
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