by Prince Mathew
Preface for Meditation:
Fasting was practiced by the Lord Himself. After prayer and fasting for forty
days in the wilderness, the Lord victoriously faced the temptations of the devil
(Matthew 4:1-11). The Lord himself asked the disciples to use fasting as an
important spiritual weapon to achieve spiritual victories (Matthew 17:21; Mark
9:29; Luke 2:37). The example of the Lord was followed by His disciples (Acts
14:23; 27:9; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 6:5, 11:27, etc.).
The importance of fasting depends on its meaning. Fasting is not abstaining from
food only; it is first of all, abstaining from sin. By detaching us from earthly
goods and realities, fasting has a liberating effect on us and makes us worthy
of the life of the spirit, a life similar to that of angels. Fasting, as
abstinence from bad habits and sin, is the mother of Christian virtues, the
mother of sound and wholesome thinking; it allows us to establish the proper
priority between the material and spiritual, giving priority to the spiritual.
In our materialistic society we learn to identify ourselves through
self-indulgence and we tend to see the fasting only as a time of deprivation and
penance. But this is not at all the view of the Church on fasting and abstinence
and it is clearly explained by the Fathers in their spiritual discourses. For
them, fasting is the feast of the soul and good fasts are like medicine which
cures our soul and mind, and, along with other virtuous works, it leads us to
the eternal life. In our spiritual battle, fasting protects us from the evil
one. It not only resists the attack but also trains our body and mind for the
battle. Fasting is a great weapon against the evil one. Through fasting Christ
defeated the Satan and has given us this weapon to overcome the evil. Fasting
and abstinence are the two weapons for cultivating the field of Christian life.
Bible Reading Passages:
Evening
Morning
Bible Verse for the day:
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and
whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." St.
Luke 16: 10.
Second Thursday of The Holy Lent
* St. Luke16: 1-13
* Numbers 16: 1-10
* Isaiah 20: 20-25
* Acts 10:34-48
* I Corinthians 9: 1-12
* St. Luke 18:1-8
* St. Matthew 18: 18-22
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