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Importance of Fasting
Lent is a time of preparation. We prepare by fasting and
engaging in intense prayer and reflection in anticipation
of several feasts in our church, the most important being
the preparation for Christmas and Pascha. Fasting allows
us to receive the full experience of the celebration of
each of these feasts. It prepares us just as we do each
Sunday and as we should do all our lives preparing for the
second and glorious coming of our Savior. At the start of
the Lenten fast on Monday of the first week during Matins
we sing: "Armed with fasting, Elijah the wonderful was
taken up in a chariot of fire; through fasting Moses
received a vision of secret mysteries; and if we also fast
like them, we shall see Christ." Later in this same Matins
service we sing: "On Mount Horeb Elijah was cleansed by
fasting and saw God. Let us also cleanse our hearts by
fasting and we shall see Christ." Just as it is impossible
to be sent into heaven with no preparation, so is it
impossible to experience Pascha without fasting and
prayer.
Below are articles on the web which discuss the
importance of fasting:
Orthodox Guide to Great Lent and Pascha
Lessons
from
the Fathers: On
Fasting
The Discipline of Fasting, by Bishop
Kallistos (Ware)
Some Reflections on Fasting, by Dr.
John L. Boojamra
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