from a Sermon by Pope St. Leo the Great
There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting that that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not. The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention.
Reading this and the remainder of the Office leads one to understand why he was Pope St. Leo THE GREAT.