From the nostalgia of the ash in Popayán to the universal ethics of sacrifice: a journey through fasting and charity as bridges of transcendence, social cohesion, and spiritual rebirth across the great traditions of humanity.
By Claudia Benítez
HoyLunes – Deep within my memory, recollections of Lent in Popayán appear wrapped in a soft mist, much like its cold mornings and sweet nights that precede the processions. It was not merely a spiritual time: the entire city seemed to pulse to the rhythm of that waiting. Popayán lived the year preparing for Holy Week, and Lent marked the beginning of a silent transformation. It all began with the Ash Wednesday Mass, when the marked forehead reminded us of the fragility of life and the need to return to what is essential. Fish Fridays, the absence of meat, and small daily sacrifices began to give new value to the simplest gestures, as if every act were charged with a deeper meaning.
With the passage of time, I have come to understand that these practices were not exclusive to my childhood or my city. Since ancient times, fasting has accompanied humanity as a common language between cultures and religions. To fast has not only been about ceasing to eat, but about stopping, listening to the body and the spirit, and learning to renounce in order to truly see ourselves. In those moments, the human being has sought purification, clarity, and meaning—a way to reconcile with oneself and with the world.
Fasting does not walk alone. Alongside it appears charity, as voluntary deprivation is transformed into an opportunity to help and recognize the dignity of one’s neighbor. Personal renunciation gains true significance when it becomes an opening toward others.
Sharing what one has, alleviating the pain of others, and recognizing the other as a brother: within religious tradition, these gestures are the living proof of a sincere spirituality. Charity transforms inner reflection into action and weaves the bonds that sustain the community, contributing to its cohesion and generating an impact that transcends the individual.
In Christianity, Lent remains that time of preparation that invites personal conversion and social commitment through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Today, these practices manifest in new forms: solidarity campaigns, social projects, and spaces for encounter that seek to respond to current needs without losing their symbolic roots. Something similar occurs during the Islamic Ramadan, where daily fasting is accompanied by prayer and aid to the needy; or in Judaism, where fasts such as Yom Kippur open paths of repentance and reconciliation.
Even in Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, spiritual discipline and abstinence preserve their value as paths toward inner balance and collective harmony. Thus, ancestral practices continue to breathe in the present, adapting without disappearing.
In the end, fasting and charity remain like invisible threads that unite past and present. In them, different religions remind us that personal transformation only gains meaning when it is reflected in the care of the other and in the shared life of the community.
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