THEN YOUR LIGHT SHALL BREAK FORTH LIKE THE DAWN: What God REALLY Wants From You This Lent

As we continue our journey of forty days, it’s good to remember that fasting from food is good, but what God REALLY wants from us is our gift of self—expressed in a love for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the downtrodden. 

The first reading at Mass today explains it all:

 Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

 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.

 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech.

—Isaiah 58:5-9: