“Lent is a time to disconnect from cell phones and connect to the Gospel,” Pope Francis said. “Fasting is being capable of giving up the superfluous and going to the essential. Fasting is not only losing weight, it is seeking the beauty of a simpler life,” he said. “If we enter the desert with Jesus, we will leave it at Easter when the power of God’s love renews life,” he said, and just like those deserts that bloom in spring with buds and plants suddenly sprouting from the sand, if we follow Jesus, our deserts will also bloom.”

Pope Francis
Ash Wednesday, General Audience, 26 February 2020