The Great Fast
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III opens a central spiritual question: what is the purpose of our fast? Do we fast merely as an observance of ritual or for a deeper goal in the heart?
Fasting as a Means, Not an End
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that depriving the body is not a virtue in itself, but a means to a greater virtue: that the spirit be given its space to cling to God, so that the body is not an obstacle to the work of the spirit.
Wrong Purposes of Fasting That Obscure the Objective
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III warns that many fast for wrong reasons: self-glorification, seeking people’s praise, or merely showing the ability to abstain, and all this falls into vain glory and sin.
The Right Purpose: Love of God and Attachment to Him
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III affirms that the right purpose of fasting is love of God and the person’s desire to draw near to Him, so that fasting becomes a means for the spirit’s ascent and to live the love of God and the sweetness of His fellowship.
Practical Spiritual Manifestations of Fasting
Fasting provides seclusion, prayer, spiritual reading, contemplation, vigils and prostrations, restraint of the will and victory over desires — all of which prepare the way for true repentance and return to God.
Fasting and Readiness for Eternity
Fasting teaches asceticism in worldly things and dying to materialities, strengthening readiness for eternity and increasing attachment to God so that the fasting experience is training and a prelude to a God-filled way of life.
Fasts without Share for God and a Practical Warning
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III warns against fasting that is not accompanied by spiritual change: fasting without change in conduct or heart is fasting with no share before God, and may be mere habit or bodily appearances with no spirit in them.
Practical Spiritual Conclusion
Conclusion: we fast for the love of God and to bring the spirit near Him; true fasting appears in a heart that hates sin and in a life changed toward goodness, not in mere bodily deprivation or pretense before people.
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