Lessons from the Fathers on Fasting
IF THOU, O man, dost not forgive
everyone who has sinned against thee, then do not trouble
thyself with fasting. If thou dost not forgive the debt of
thy brother, with whom thou art angry for some reason, then
thou dost fast in vain God will not accept thee. Fasting
will not help thee, until thou wilt become accomplished in
love and in the hope of faith. Whoever fasts and becomes
angry, and harbors enmity in his heart, such a one hates God
and salvation is far from him. Venerable Ephraim the
Syrian.
It is necessary most of all for one who
is fasting to curb anger, to accustom himself to meekness
and condescension, to have a contrite heart, to repulse
impure thoughts and desires, to examine his conscience, to
put his mind to the test and to verify what good has been
done by us in this or any other week, and which deficiency
we have corrected in ourself in the present week. This is
true fasting. Saint John Chrysostom.
An excellent faster is he who restrains
himself from every impurity, who imposes abstinence on his
tongue and restrains it from idle talk, foul language,
slander, condemnation, flattery and all manner of
evilspeaking, who abstains from anger, rage, malice and
vengeance and withdraws from every evil. Saint Tichon
of Zadonsk.
Seest thou what fasting does: it heals
illnesses, drives out demons, removes wicked thoughts, and
makes the heart pure. If someone has even been seized by an
impure spirit, let him know that this kind, according to the
word of the Lord, "goeth not out but by prayer and
fasting" (Matthew 17:21). Saint Athanasius the
Great.
By fasting it is possible both to be
delivered from future evils and to enjoy the good things to
come. We fell into disease through sin; let us receive
healing through repentance, which is not fruitful without
fasting. Saint Basil the Great.
The strictness of the Quadragesima [the
Forty Days] mortifies the passions, extinguishes anger and
rage, cools and calms every agitation springing up from
gluttony. And just as, in the summer, when the burning heat
of the sun spreads over the earth, the northern wind renders
a benefaction to those who are scorched by dispersing the
sultriness with a tender coolness, so fasting also provides
the same, by driving out of bodies the burning which is the
result of overeating. Saint Asterius of Amasia.
As bodily food fattens the body, so
fasting strengthens the soul; imparting it an easy flight,
it makes it able to ascend on high, to contemplate lofty
things, and to put the heavenly higher than the pleasant and
pleasurable things of life. Saint John Chrysostom.
Fasts do not shorten a man's life, on
the contrary. Venerable Symeon the Stylite lived for 103
years, Saint Cyril the Anchorite lived 108 years, Saint
Alypius the Stylite 118, Venerable John the Silent 104
years, Anthony and Theodosius the Great for 105 years,
Venerable Paul of Thebes 113, Paul of Komel 112,
Venerable Macarius of Alexandria 100, Venerable Sergius of
Radonezh 78, Venerable Cyril Belozersky 90, Macarius
Zheltovodsky 95.
Missionary Leaflet # E3c
Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church
2049 Argyle Ave. Los Angeles, California 90068
Editor: Archimandrite Alexander (Mileant) |
