 |
| Source: unsplash.com |
As we begin the Second Week of the Fast, I am sharing some insightful and challenging passages for us to "meditate" (think hard) on from two fellow Orthodox priests currently serving in their respective parishes. Both priests present that "bigger picture" that is essential to grasp in order for the Fast to be truly fruitful.
_____
"You can follow all the fasting rules of the Orthodox Church to the nth degree and never have an empty stomach once for all six weeks. Which means you miss one of the chief reasons for fasting - to be hungry! - and being hungry, to have some sympathy for the poor and needy, and then to act on that sympathy in measurable ways. Eating lobster instead of tuna is not fasting, it's abstaining. And abstaining isn't all that impressive ... it's something that every diabetic or person with IBS or celiac disease does every day of his life."
"And so our conclusion: In the Orthodox Church, Lent is simple: we fast from food. We go hungry a little bit so that someone else might eat (i.e. almsgiving with money saved by fasting). Or as St. Euthymius told his monks" Correct abstinence is consuming a little less than the belly would like. In the season of Great and Holy Lent, I invite you - for the sake of the hungry, homeless, hurting Christ out there - give up a meal and feed the Lord instead. This is the Gospel, this is Good News - not only for the poor around us, but for all of us who discover that in skipping a meal, we unknowingly fed the Lord, who rewards us forever with a place at his eternal banquet of love."
- Fr. Mark Sietsema Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
_____
"Our hearts are not softened through the vain repetition of fasting regulations, but through the realization that our lives are not sustained simply by the food we eat, but by the Word of God. The experience of the Church teaches us that by restricting both the type and quantity of food we consume, we begin to learn — not just intellectually, but deeply within our hearts — upon Whom we truly depend."
"The rules of the fast should not be dismissed. At the same time, they must be applied and understood properly, so that they cultivate and till the soil of our hearts rather than merely strengthen our sense of accomplishment. Properly embraced, the fast prepares us to receive and participate fully in the joy of Christ’s resurrection."
- Fr. Gregory Ealy
The Apostle Paul Orthodox Church