When you fast
When you fast, don't be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face.
When — not if. Jesus assumed his people would fast the way he assumed they would pray. What he corrected was not the practice but the performance: the drawn face, the visible suffering that turns hunger into theater. Instead, oil on the head, water on the face. Look like someone at a feast. A fast nobody knows about cannot feed your pride, which leaves it only one purpose: to make room. This week the fast deepens. It stays secret, and you will be more cheerful, not less.
Today's practice
Tell no one you are fasting these forty days. Dress a little better than usual. Be kind. Let the secret be between you and the one who sees.
The fast
The daily fast is now the baseline: sixteen hours, nothing after supper and nothing until midday, every day of the journey. From today, set aside sugar, alcohol, and anything from a bag.
By the calendar, today is Day ?.