Fasting

[尼古拉前执事]

To fast is to do violence to nature. It is to do away with whatever pleases the palate. Fasting ends lust, roots out bad thoughts, frees one from evil dreams. Fasting makes for purity of prayer an enlightened soul, a watchful mind, a deliverance from blindness. Fasting is the door of compunction, humble sighing, joyful contrition and end to chatter, an occasion for silence, a custodian of obedience, a lightening of sleep, health of the body, an agent of dispassion, a remission of sins, the gate, indeed the delight of Paradise.

[尼古拉前执事]

From the Old Orthodox Prayer Book:

Fasting is a holy tradition passed down to the Orthodox Church from the Old Testament times, and is one of the means by which we partake of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In guarding ourselves against gluttony and impure thoughts, words and deeds, we gain God's grace and power to resist spiritual temptations and the passions of the flesh. By abstinence we are able to set ourselves free from dependence on the things of this world and the desire for possessions in order to concentrate on our salvation. Only by bringing ourselves to true humility and repentance, accompanied by fasting, tears, prayer, and confession, can we ever hope to achieve the Kingdom of God and eternal life with Christ our Savior. Together with fasting and prayer, we should also strive whenever it is possible (particularly during the fasting periods) to give alms, to relieve the sick, the poor and the oppressed, and to do other good deeds from a pure and sincere heart.

[尼古拉前执事]

Also we must remember that Christ said, "When you fast ..." not "If you fast ... " which might be good to point out as many may not be aware of this, that Christ expects us to fast.

[尼古拉前执事]

The meaning of fasting consists, In the first place, in abstinence (in theology it is called self-denial,) in forcing oneself to do not only what is pleasing to "my little soul," as the Russians would say. The meaning of fasting lies in controlling one's egoistic desires, In submission to something other than the continuous dictates of the self-loving ego. Why Is this necessary? Why is it good for us periodically to tame and humble ourselves? Because our nature Is a part of the world which is wallowing in sin In the words of John the Evangelist; man carries In himself the fruits of the original sin, and his voluntary renunciation of the ties to this natural world elevates him -above that world and frees him from It thus beginning the process of freeing him from the shackles which keep him in bondage to sin.

It would be wrong to think that fasting is in some way similar to suicide. Atheists and materialists try to force this Idea upon us arguing that religion Is a renunciation of life, a disregard for life In the name of a non-scientific and abstract Idea of the Spirit-GOD. Any religion, they aver, is the opium of the masses, and fasting blunts man's physical activity. This assertion is entirely unsubstantiated. The practice of fasting was Instituted In order to revitalize, not destroy, our nature. Fasting Is the hygiene of the soul, the means of Its cleansing and healing. In the physical sense alone fasting Is good for one, and one can speak about the necessity to fast from the medical point of view.

Fasting gives us back our lost equilibrium and brings into harmony our mind, our soul and our body. Abstaining from excessive food results in the lightening of the capabilities of the mind and the soul. Food is conducive to sleep rather than activity, be It physical -or mental. incidentally, St. Seraphim of Sarov used to say that It is not meet to speak of things Divine having "stuffed one's gut."

Man must eat In orderto survive. Eating is certainly not sinful from the spiritual point of view. Heaviness and obesity are harmful for spiritual life: the Bible tells us that God warned Israel on Its way to the Land of Canaan: "Israel, Israel! Thou goest to the land that floweth with milk and honey. Beware, Israel, lest thou become heavy and forget thy God!"

It pains us to see hunger In this world. Yet It not less painful to see what the poet Marina Tsvetaeva called the "satiety of the sated."

Fasting leads to the total equilibrium and harmony of our mental, spiritual and physical selves. if our physical self becomes dominant, it is good to reduce physical activity so as to liberate the spirit and establish the equilibrium of spiritual purity. Even the stoics taught that spiritual purity leads to the harmony of man's entire being.

Why does the Church prescribe the choice of foods for fasting periods?

Our physiological activity Is a function of the food we eat. The more we eat foods which are located higher up on the ladder of organic and animal world, the more active we become In the physical sense. Vladimir Soloviov.gives the following gradation of physical activity. Physical activity Is the least pronounced in the plant world. For this reason, the most "fasting" food consists of vegetables, fruits and cereals. Fish are more highly developed than plants, and birds are more highly developed than fish. That Is why the physical energy derived from birds Is proportionately stronger than that derived from either fish or plants. The most highly developed animals are mammals which Is why they are Justly considered the most "un-lenten" food.

Apart from its physiological aspect, fasting Is Important for spiritual development and the training of will.

The Lord gave man the freedom of will so that he may do good deeds, seek the Truth and create beautiful things. But the freedom of will does not mean the absence of will, lack of volition, weakness of will or apathy. If man is given his freedom of will, than he must know what he wants, towards what end his will should be directed. The freedom of will must never lead man to immorality, lack of concern, indecency, licentiousness. Having decided what is good and what evil, man Is under an obligation to use his will to do good which would lead him to God. Man Is called to the doing of good deeds, to spiritual activity, the building of the City of God. For this reason, fasting, as every form of self-denial, Is a marvelous instrument in the education of man's will and the taming of his licentiousness.

The discipline of the Church fast, as every discipline makes man more compatible with others, less solipsistic, less self-willed. Man must make his will conform with the will of the Church. It Is good for each of us to know what the will of the entire Church is. it is good for us to fast at times and in the manner prescribed by the Church. It is good for us, for our salvation, to be subject to the discipline of the Church, to be together with all others, to have the personal ego conform with the general desire of the Church. It Is Imperative for a man to be active not only in his own cause but also in the 'Common Cause" and to submit to the discipline of the Church. Incidentally, the word 'liturgy" means "common cause." According to the Church's definition, Christians are "Christ's soldiers". Together, they make up "Christ's Army." The earthly church is the "Church militant", the church fighting for the salvation of Its children. Discipline in the army of the Church, In the army of Christ, is just as necessary as It Is In the ordinary army. This is In part the essence of Christian catholicity.

Fasting, of course, is not merely an exercise In abstinence. It also consists In performing good deeds. The Church insists on this aspect of fasting in Lenten hymns. it is evident, for instance, in the following liturgical text: "While fasting, brethren, In our bodies let us also fast in our spirits, let us destroy every alliance of deceit, let us give bread to the hungry and let us bring the poor and the homeless into our homes."

On the eve of the Lenten Fast, during the liturgy on the Sunday of Repentance the gospel reading speaks of conditions on which is predicated our liberation from the slavery to sin , to 'this world." The first condition for our liberation from the dictatorial will of the flesh, the matter, is fasting. But for the fast to be real, authentic, the Gospel indicates, we must not fast hypocritically, ostentatiously. In the words of Christ, when we fast must not appear to fast unto men but unto our Father which Is In secret. The second condition Is forgiveness. "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you." The triumph of sin and the principal sign of Its dominion over the world are quarrels, discord, dissension, hatred. The first breach in the fortress of sin is forgiveness, that Is the return to unity, concord, love.

At the-end of the vespers on the Sunday of Forgiveness, the worshippers come up to the celebrant and ask for forgiveness after which they turn to each other asking each other for forgiveness. It Is precisely this act of love, this act of becoming one, that marks the beginning of the Fast.

To-day, there are not many who stop to think about the meaning of fasting. This is a result of the overall spiritual weakening, of the lack of spiritual vigor and responsibility.

O, If only we remembered what we were called for, what feats of spirit the Lord expects of us! If only we remembered more often that we were appointed laborers in the vineyard of the Lord and that we shall be called by the Master to account for our labors and for the fruits brought forth by our labors In His vineyard! Perhaps It is to us that the terrible words of the Master in the parable refer: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof!" (Matt. 21, 33-43.)

Archpriest Victor Potapov

The Lenten Fast, 1988

Parish Life

March, 1988

[Elijah]

While we are on that subject I think it would be beneficial to add to what Fr. George said with a quote from a lecture on marriage by Fr. Ambrose Young (formerly Fr. Alexey Young)

"Furthermore, it is the consistent teaching of the Church from the time of the Apostles, that a man and a wife abstain from one another on the evening before receiving Holy Communion and the evening after."

Link to lecture:
Part 1: http://www.roca.org/OA/154/154f.htm.htm
Part 2: http://www.roca.org/OA/155-156/155h.htm

With love in Christ,
Elijah

[Tessa]

Thank you all for your responses and input in this matter, as they didn't go un-noticed.

About the priest who very smugly suggested, "why don't you just try drinking calcium fortified orange juice", he is new to our parish has some ways of thinking I am not accustomed to. I spoke with the priest I consider my spiritual father, retired but who still serves at our parish and who I have confessed to since I was 10. He said my responsibility as a mother is to my "neonate" (I love the way old foreigners talk), and anything else would be sinning, especially with my son and I developing anemia while I fasted too-strict and nursed him during the last Great Lent. He also said that fasting is not what is to be attained but rather a means of attaining, and it's NOT the same for everyone. He perscribed me to fast as much as I can on Wed., Fri., Holy Days etc, but also to focus more on fasting from iniquities than just food. This to me was the logical answer and my midwife agreed too, so I tried my best and still managed to strictly for good Holy Week.

Meanwhile you all might be worndering why I would not heed the advice as my active priest too strongly. This unfortunately has come about after a variety of issues have come up where he tells us to do one thing but he or his family all do another. This is probably a sin for posting this but I would like to have some feedback, for maybe I am too judgemental. I will list a few examples of not practicing what has been preached.

1.) I had talked to him about Halloween and his thoughts on it, maybe organizing an alternative for our refugee kids, whose parents so eager to have them fit into "America" actively pariticipate in this pagan festival. He said he was STRONGLY against Halloween and he would put it in a bulletin in Serbian that Halloween is against our faith, etc. etc.

Meanwhile, day after Halloween his kids are showing off their Halloween candy to my kids and I was like, "you guys are allowed to trick or treat". The response was: "as long as we don't dress up".

2.) I teach Sunday school and one of his children is in my class. We were talking about fasting and what it means, what we abstain from food, entertainment, etc. She was shocked first that I would actually try to lessen my children's TV consumption and second that we don't have cable. Then she proceeded to tell me how her mother (Matushka) makes chicken soup during Lent but takes the chicken out. What is THAT???!?!?!
As I struggle to make Lenten brownies Matushka buys them "plain" Krispy Kreme doughnuts and then tries to make me look like I am crazy for thinking they could be mrsno (non-lenten)!

3.) I could go on for hours but here's the latest one, during Lent I went in to set up for class and the Sunday school teachers and kids were in the kitchen making brunch for a fundraiser after Liturgy. What's on the menu? Pancakes mixed with OJ but the mix is full of egg whites, milk products, etc. that I could handle, but worst of all,
you guessed it kids-FISH STICKS!
I stated to them I thought fish was only permitted during Palm Sunday and during the Annunciation, and there Matushka is to pounce on me saying that she never "heard of such a thing, my HUSBAND (she won't refer to him as Father to me for some reason) eats fish EVERY weekend, the fast is relaxed during the weekends," and that "we don't fast THAT strict like we're in a monastery".

So about me not listening to his ALL of his advice, from now on I take it with a grain of salt. I like my old Father who has been a priest for over 45 years. He doesn't preach alot, but sometimes actions speak louder than words.

Who knows...maybe I will end up joining ROAC.

That was a joke.

Sorry to ramble.

Tessa

[Justin2]

Our priest back home told my wife that fasting during pregnancy was a no-go, again for the same reason, that being that her first responsibility is to the little person growing inside her. Of course, my wonderful wife tried very hard to fast from other things, such as intrigues, anger, idle talk, etc, and I noticed that she actually did a better job at that than I certainly did She's also supposed to not fast until she's done breast feeding, from what I remember. But, like others have said, every priest is different, and they will all encourage you to do what you can without jeapordizing your child. Our priest back home also absolves deployed soldiers from fasting, since it's virtually impossible, and in situations like Holy Friday or St. John the Forerunner, dangerous to your unit if you can't handle it.