What Is the Meaning of Fasting
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that fasting is not merely abstaining from food or torturing the body, but rather a spiritual means that leads the person to the love of God and rising above material things. True fasting aims to give the spirit an opportunity to grow and work, not merely depriving the body.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that many people fast in a formal way, focusing on the type of food or meal times, while missing the spiritual depth of fasting. Therefore, a person may fast without benefiting spiritually if the goal is pride or merely carrying out a commandment without understanding its spirit.
He also confirms that fasting is a period of spiritual nourishment, where prayer, contemplation, and spiritual readings become stronger, and the person draws near to God with a pure heart and a spirit freed from bodily desires. Fasting is not an end in itself, but a means to reach a deeper spiritual life.
He presents examples from the Holy Bible such as the fasting of Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra, showing how fasting was connected with repentance, spiritual strength, and divine work. He also explains that the Lord Jesus Christ fasted in order to teach us the spirituality of fasting and lead us to a life of fellowship with God.
He also emphasizes that fasting acceptable before God must be accompanied by love, mercy, and giving to the poor, quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah about true fasting that includes loosening the bonds of wickedness and helping the needy.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III confirms that fasting is connected with prayer, vigilance, prostrations, and contemplation, and that these virtues strengthen one another, leading the person to a life of repentance, purity, and attachment to God.
He also explains that fasting is not weakness for the body, but may be a cause of comfort and health for the person, citing the lives of the monastic fathers who lived by fasting and whose bodies were strong and souls steadfast.
At the end of the lecture, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III calls believers to make fasting a period of holy solitude with God, during which the person moves away from worldly distractions and noise in order to become occupied with God, prayer, and contemplation, and live a true spiritual life.
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