The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is urging the faithful to embrace a new form of fasting this Lent by moderating their use of digital media.
In its pastoral letter titled “Fasting Beyond Food: Inviting Christ into Digital Media Use,” the CBCP emphasized that Lent, which begins on Wednesday, February 19, is a time for renewal through prayer, fasting, and acts of mercy.
The letter noted that while fasting has traditionally involved abstaining from food, it can also mean stepping back from distractions that weaken one’s spiritual life.
“Today, constant engagement with phones, social media, streaming, gaming, and online entertainment often absorbs our attention and weakens our interior life. True fasting, as Jesus teaches, is not an external performance but an interior conversion,” the CBCP said.
“Digital media fasting invites a rediscovery of silence, prayer, contemplation, and authentic relationships. It is not meant to punish the body but to free the heart,” it added.
The pastoral letter emphasized that digital media fasting is not anti-technology.
Instead, it encourages the faithful to examine how Christ can guide their use of media.
Limiting screen time can make space for prayer, reading the Scriptures, Eucharistic devotion, works of mercy, and meaningful encounters with others.
Practical ways suggested by the CBCP include avoiding phone use before sleep and upon waking, observing device-free meals and gatherings, limiting social media and streaming time, taking occasional 24-hour or weekend digital fasts, and replacing screen time with prayer, service, reading, or conversation.
The bishops said the spiritual benefits of digital media fasting include a deeper relationship with God, greater mental clarity, emotional peace, improved rest and physical energy, stronger family and community relationships, and renewed appreciation of creation and real-life encounters.
The CBCP urged the faithful to fast with joy rather than gloom, trusting that stepping back from digital excess can help reclaim interior silence, deepen relationships, and rediscover God’s presence in daily life.
The pastoral letter was signed by CBCP President and Lipa Archbishop Gubbert A. Garcera last Feb. 13. (Ellalyn de Vera Ruiz)
