Fasting of the Apostles
In this lecture, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the Apostles’ Fast, explaining its spiritual meaning and deep faith significance. He shows that fasting is not a bodily habit or a diet but a spiritual virtue touching both soul and body. It is one of the oldest fasts in the Church, beginning after Christ’s ascension when He said, “When the Bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast.”
Spiritual and Educational Dimension
The Pope explains that fasting is essentially a training in self-control, teaching a person to say “no” to himself, thus learning humility and contrition before God. True fasting is not only abstaining from animal food but also includes abstinence for a period, enduring hunger as a way of drawing closer to God.
He stresses that true fasting involves both the soul and the body — the soul abstains from sin just as the body abstains from food. Therefore, an acceptable fast must be accompanied by repentance and holiness, not merely external appearance.
Main Spiritual Concepts
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Fasting is a practice of humility and self-control.
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Hunger during fasting creates a contrite heart and strengthens prayer.
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Fasting is a way to nourish the spirit, not to torture the body.
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Fasting without repentance is not accepted before God.
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The believer should make fasting a holy period for prayer, reading, meditation, and spiritual growth.
Practical Application
The Pope calls believers to accompany fasting with a spiritual program including daily prayers, reading the Bible, meditation on repentance, and abstaining from bodily and mental desires. He encourages living fasting as a spiritual school that leads to asceticism and detachment from materialism.
Conclusion
Pope Shenouda ends by urging the faithful to make fasting a true encounter with God, an opportunity for inner purification and renewal of heart, so that their fasting may be holy and acceptable — as the prophet Joel said: “Sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly.”
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