Meditations in the Great Lent
On the occasion of the near coming of the Great Lent, we would like our topic on this night to revolve around our meditations in this fast…
Meditations in the Great Lent
The Great Lent is the most important fast in the Church:
Its importance reached the point that the Church added to it a week, as compensation for not abstaining on Saturdays, or as a prelude to it and preparation for entering into its holiness. And the monks used to go out during it to the wilderness, living solitary in severe asceticism like no other. And it was also a period of asceticism for the married…
It is a Lordly fast, we fast it after the example of the Lord Himself…
There are other fasts in the name of the Virgin, or the Apostles, or Jonah the Prophet or Nineveh. But this one is the Fast of the Lord Himself, He fasted it for us, on our behalf.
The period of the Great Lent is a period of spiritual storage for the whole year, and a period of concentrated spiritualities. They are the holiest days of the year, and the most spiritual.
The one who is negligent in the Great Lent is unlikely to be precise in the remaining days of the year. We say this so that we may prepare for this holy fast in a manner befitting it.
The Scripture said: “Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly” (Joel 2:15), so the fast must generally be connected with solitude, quietness, and spiritual work.
The period of the Great Lent in particular was when the Lord Christ was in seclusion; He was alone on the mountain, fasting, in meditation, and in continual connection with the Father.
If you cannot practice seclusion in its absolute sense, then at least practice it within the limits of your abilities, with determination and seriousness…
Whatever seclusion you can practice, do not waste it… save the wasted time in unprofitable discussions, and the time wasted in entertainments and amusements, and there is no need for unnecessary visits. Rescue all this time and occupy it with spiritualities…
The fast has two pillars; we cannot pay attention to one of them and neglect the other!
It is the subjugation of the body on one hand, so that—on the other hand—the spirit may obtain its freedom. And it is the starving of the body so that the spirit may obtain its satisfaction. The bodily factor in it is not intended for its own sake, but is a means that leads to the spiritual factor.
And it is not beneficial that we suffice in the fast with humiliating the body while neglecting the goal, which is the care of the spirit, its revival, and its nourishment…!
In this fast, we ought to meditate, even a little, on how it began with respect to the Lord Christ Himself.
The Lord began His incarnation with emptying Himself, and likewise He began His ministry.
He went to John the Baptist to be baptized by him with the baptism of repentance, having emptied Himself, to the point that John shrank from baptizing Him.
And when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and the Father bore witness to Him from heaven, He went to the mountain alone, far from glorification…
The process of emptying the self was continuous throughout His incarnation on earth.
And the Lord showed us by this that ministry begins with self-emptying.
The Lord Christ did not begin His ministry with glory, but with detachment, by entering through the narrow gate, and walking in the path of sufferings.
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A comparison between the Lord and Adam:
† Adam began his life with the Garden, with bliss and luxury. But the Lord Christ began His ministry with the wilderness and the mountain, in an uninhabited place, a place without water!!
Adam desired to eat, so he ate, even from the forbidden fruit. But the Lord Christ began with fasting, even from bread and water.
† Adam took from what was forbidden, and Christ refrained even from what was permitted.
† Adam—in his sin—forgot the word of God to him. But Christ placed before Him “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
† Adam, as well as Eve, each submitted to external wrong counsel. But Christ rejected all the enemy’s counsels and suggestions.
† Adam wanted to grow, and to become like God. But Christ, though He is equal to the Father, emptied Himself and took the form of a servant.
† Adam sought after greatness that was not his and desired it. But Christ relinquished His greatness that belonged to Him.
† The first human, when he heard from the serpent the phrase, “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” was affected and desired glory. But Christ, when He heard from the Father Himself the phrase, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” remained in His humility…
And He did not use His rights as Son, nor use His personal authority.
† The first human walked in a bodily way, seeking what would satisfy his body. But Christ walked in a spiritual way, in which He said to Satan: “Man shall not live by bread alone…”
† Adam wanted to increase, but everything decreased… even what he had, he lost. But Christ emptied Himself, while the Baptist said of Him: “He must increase…” -
Some meditations…
Self-emptying was not for Christ merely the starting point, as appeared in the incarnation, the birth in a manger, the flight into Egypt, and staying away from the spotlight for thirty years, but this self-emptying continued with Him along the whole way, to Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the tomb…
He abandoned self-centeredness entirely. If you want to fast like Him, you must abandon self-centeredness like Him…
Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him…
If He, being the Lord, Lord of all, took the form of a servant, then we servants: what form shall we take…?! We take the form of dust and ashes during the fast and outside the periods of fasting.
The Son, the Word, in His detachment and His self-emptying, was happy with the Father and was content with this detachment…
† He loved to be alone with the Father before beginning His public ministry. “O Father: I want to sit with You before I mix with people, and I want to work with You before I work with people.”
It is also a lesson for you to sit with the Father before you mix with people, and before you minister…
It is the wisdom of the forty days in which the newly ordained priest secludes in the monastery after his ordination, in prayer and fasting before beginning his work in service to the Church… exactly as Christ did…
And you also, before you work with people, sit with God before every word, before every action. Be alone with the Lord, even for a moment.
If you cannot seclude for forty days because of your worldly responsibilities, then seclude even for forty minutes… every moment in which you are alone with the Lord has its value and effectiveness… -
A period of wars and temptations:
The period of the forty days which the Lord spent on the mountain was a period of wars and temptations from the enemy of good.
And we know that every spiritual work must be fought by Satan. Therefore, it is not strange to us if he pours his wars and envy during the period of the fast and tries to disturb us so that we do not benefit.
So if you begin the fast and the wars begin, do not be surprised, and do not complain and do not say to Him: “Is this my reward, O Lord, for my spiritualities?! Shall I behave like the people of the world so that I may be comfortable?!” No, but as the Apostle Paul said: “We are not ignorant of his devices…”
Stand firm before the temptations like a solid mountain that does not shake, believing that the Lord’s power is with you, and knowing that these troubles are a sign of Satan’s effort and his jealousy of you…
The temptations do not harm us… they are a desperate attempt from Satan to turn us away from spiritual work… they are an attempt from Pharaoh at the sea to keep us in the land of bondage.
In the forty days there were temptations, and there was also victory.
Fight therefore the Lord’s battles with courage, and you will conquer as He conquered, and He Himself “will lead us in the triumph of His victory.”
The wars may come to you from within, and may come to you from without. In both, be strong and courageous. And remember before Satan’s temptations:
The period of the fast is a holy period; you must walk in it with all holiness, and sin during it is more difficult and uglier, because it carries the meaning of disregarding the holy fast and its spiritual character.
Try to make the fast for you a period of being filled with the Spirit, and a period of spiritual storing, and spiritual experience, and companionship with God…
From now, say to yourself: What is the benefit I will gain from this fast? I must come out with something…
Feel that you are entering upon a treasure of spiritualities, and upon a storehouse of experiences, and you will draw from all these…
Whenever Satan approaches you, rebuke him as the Lord rebuked him… and do not allow him to defile your fast. Be careful and be precise. And trust that the precision you practice during the 55 days will accompany you in its effects and results after the fast as well.
And you will have during the fast become accustomed to carefulness and precision, and you will have trained in chastity, and in prayer, solitude, and meditation.
Try every day to obtain from the Lord a special blessing.
And pray to the Lord that He may grant you special help during the fast.
Say to Him: Give me, O Lord, holy days with which I may begin… grant me a pure fast as a free gift from You. Do not put me to shame, and do not let me return from You empty. I will not leave You until You bless me…
And beware of thinking that the fast is merely bodily asceticism, or merely a change of food. No, rather it is a holy spiritual occasion. In it the spirit can be freed from the pressure of the body and its hindrances, through subjugating the body and its desires.
Walk therefore in the Spirit, and with you is help from the Holy Spirit of God.
I wish for you special grace, a spiritual fast, and growth in the love of the Lord.
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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in Al-Keraza Magazine – year seven (issue ten), 5-3-1976
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