“This is one of the profound meanings of fasting: the passage from our own will to the will of God. We fast so that our desires, habits and passions cease to determine the direction of our lives. We practise self-restraint to make room for the work of grace. We pray more often so that our distracted minds may withdraw from vanities and our hearts may hear the voice of God’s calling.
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“A person who cannot refrain from judgement, malice, pride, envy, anger, consumption or distraction becomes a slave to his own impulses. Through fasting, therefore, we learn once again to say no to passion so that we may say yes to becoming like God
“The Church’s fasts are distributed throughout the year so that each season has its own particular rule of abstinence. Thus, for spring there is the spring fast, Great Lent; for summer, the summer fast at Pentecost; for autumn, the autumn fast in the seventh month; and for winter, the winter fast.
“Tomorrow we transit from the Fast to the Feast of the Dormition, our solemn observance of her passage from death to eternal life. Our cessation from fasting is more than an occasion for feasting. Our embrace of the Virgin’s crossing over into the infinite Kingdom of God is an acknowledgment of our own destiny. She traverses perfectly the Way, the Truth, and the Life, pointing us in the direction of eternity. She is the model for every one of us, for within her holy womb, she bore the Lord Incarnate, and in our lives, we are also called to bring forth the Lord Christ through our thoughts, our intentions, and our actions. May our celebrations of her Holy Dormition be a renewal of our own journey heavenward, with the Panagia as our guide, our protector, and our most loving Mother. Χρόνια Πολλά!
“the conclusion of the fast is more than an occasion for feasting
“St. Nazaria, he said, shows that pure prayer isn’t a utopia. St. Olimpiada, he continued, shows that taking on external cares and administrative or leadership responsibilities doesn’t stop a person from reaching God—rather, when such service is undertaken in God’s name, it becomes a pure offering to the Holy Trinity. St. Elisabeta, he added, shows those who fulfilled the Lord’s word to the rich young man in the Gospel: “Go, sell your possessions, give to the poor, then come and follow Me.”