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How should we fast, by spirit or food.

Mr. FaithMr. Faith
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
I am like so Confused because my Priest tells me to fast by food to take communion ???

Comments

  • socoolbishoysocoolbishoy
    Hey Man, I am just interested in what you mean exactly... I am sorry I am very slow, it takes me time to understand thing.
  • nardinnardin
    ;D
    lol me 2 i kind of dont get it as well can u plz b more specific
    thnx

    GBU
    FROG
  • Emad_ThabetEmad_Thabet
    dear brother you should fast with both with your spirit to try to prevent ur self from doing or thinking at the sin and train ur soul to walk in the virtue way.also your body should help your soul by making your willing more stornger by prevent the body from the food.when somebody doing sin there is sharing between the soul and the body which mean that they commit the sin together so in the fasting and praying also there must be sharing between the body and the soul
    finally read
    "14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD" (joel 1:14)
  • Mr. FaithMr. Faith
    I am sorry about the question, but are we supposed to fast by not eating dairy and meat products or by our selfcontrol?

    [move][/move]Have Faith in God
  • mmatt95mmatt95
    both, but by abstaining from the food u like u become spiritually stronger. U just leave things u have the right to eat, things that are wordly, so if u take away the worldly things that the devil offers to u (things u lust for), and pray, u
    -take away a means for the devil to attack u with
    -u get a means to attack him with; prayer and good deeds
  • socoolbishoysocoolbishoy
    Whatever Your Father of Confession told you... because he knows you limits
  • Mariam314Mariam314
    Hey guys,
    we should fast with both food and spirit. While fasting we should hold control over what we eat because we are giving up something that we love for God (egys + food = true love lol) and also we are extending our control over our stomachs and resisting temptation (temptations can sometimes feel like torture lol) so if we can control one of the most demanding aspects of our body, we can also have a better control over sinning. Also something i found out which i thought was very interesting: we fast from animals because animals reproduce sexually... meaning that there is lust. When we take that out of our diet.(.. this is like something scientifically proven or has very high credentials...) it helps to somewhat stop lust. and we eat fish in some fasts becausse they reproduce asexually so no lust involved. When we fast with food that also helps bring us closer to God. since we are controlling our sins and praying more often and have more purified minds, it brings us closer to God. I hope this answers ur question Mr. Fath.

    God Bless,

    mariam
  • mickeyy231mickeyy231
    one of u guys said that we fast so we can hold our selfs back from the food you like and the food your body wants. ok lets say that some one likes juce soo much and u can have juce when your fasting...its just an example you can substude juce for any thing. how is that fasting if you can have what you want. sorry to ask another question
  • Mariam314Mariam314
    well i mean God doesnt want to torture us lol. and we fast from meat from that reason that i explained earlier. we do everything for a reason. hope that makes things a little clearer.

    God Bless,

    mariam
  • battatabattata
    i have a question about fasting....are we the only church that fasts without dairy products, or do other orthodox churches fast like this as well?
  • MacrinaMacrina
    Hello. My name is Claudia and I am an Antiochian Orthodox Christian. In our church we fast from meat, dairy, olive oil, wine, fish and most sweets. If a food fits the fast in the legal sense but not the spirit of the fast then we are instructed to avoid it. We fast every Wednesday and Friday, and during Advent, Great Lent and the fasts of Sts. Peter & Paul and the Dormition of the Mother of God, and a few other days as well. Of course, some fasts allow fish, oil and wine since they aren't as strict, but these are the essential food items. Additionally, we are expected to fast from any food that we might, on an individual basis, have more of a "passion" for than others. So, for the person that asked about juice.....if that is one of your passions then you fast from it. We are expected to keep our meals very simple and never eat enough to be full. The object is to stay a little bit hungry so that we may hunger and thirst after God and His righeoustness. Snacking between meals is not encouraged. However, it is important to keep individual needs in mind, so one person may give up a food that another will eat. Fasting should be done with the guidance of your father confessor. In our church we also fast from movies, TV, music, parties, etc. during the fast periods and increase our prayer, both private and corporate. Intimate relations with your spouse is to be avoided during the fasts. And the last part of the fasts is alms giving. If a person dedicates himself to fasting this way (over 200 days each year) with the right spirit, then surely God will be merciful and hear our prayers and we can hope to grow in the image and likeness of Christ.

    In Christ.
  • socoolbishoysocoolbishoy
    Do you know if the Eastern Orthodox do that?
  • MacrinaMacrina
    By Eastern Orthodox do you mean Greek, Russian, Serbian, etc? The Antiochian Orthodox Church that I attend is considered part of the Eastern Orthodox Church and we are all in communion with each other. I believe the food they fast from is the same, however the number of days you are required to fast prior to communion varies somewhat. One Greek lady at our parish fasts on Friday and Saturday before taking communion, but not on Wednesday. The Antiochian rule is to fast on Wednesday and Friday of every week and take communion every week -- the assumption is that you go to confession frequently. Serbians must fast from meat and dairy for an entire week prior to communion so the usually don't communion every week, and they must go to confession during the Lituugy. It seems that there are many different ways within the broader world of Orthodox Christianity to fulfull the fasting requirements.

    Claudia
  • Christi_03Christi_03
    as a congregation and church of Christ, when we fast during the fasting periods, not only do we benifit spiritually from all the things we abstain from and learn, but as well we are all unified in Christ. the common sense of fasting that we do as members of Christ keeps us all One with each other and with Christ. now we all have somthing else in common :D

    i've never looked at it that way before, its somthing i heard from a wonderful monk who visited our church. the idea of unity in fasting is new to me, and i thought i'd share it.

  • Unknown
    [quote author=Mariam304 link=board=1;threadid=873;start=0#msg15700 date=1103241971]
    well i mean God doesnt want to torture us lol. and we fast from meat from that reason that i explained earlier. we do everything for a reason. hope that makes things a little clearer.

    God Bless,

    mariam

    I have a question sorta like mickeyy231's. So during the fast, we can't eat dairy products and stuff like that, but I was wondering, what if you don't like dairy products? Then how does that strengthen you? And I see what you're saying about that reason you explained. So does that mean that there are two reasons for fasting? To give us more willpower and to protect us from lustful thoughts? I think I just confused myself even more, could you elaborate a little please?
  • socoolbishoysocoolbishoy

    By Eastern Orthodox do you mean Greek, Russian, Serbian, etc? The Antiochian Orthodox Church that I attend is considered part of the Eastern Orthodox Church and we are all in communion with each other.

    Is it Syrian, or Antiochian? because antiochians are Oriental, but Syrians are with the Eastern Orthodox, if I am not mistaken?

    Serbians must fast from meat and dairy for an entire week prior to communion so the usually don't communion every week, and they must go to confession during the Lituugy.

    interesting..... :o
  • MacrinaMacrina
    The Antiochian Orthodox Church is not Oriental. We are part of the Eastern Orthodox communion along with the Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, etc. churches. Our patriarch is Ignatius IV who resides in Damascus. However, there is a Syrian Orthodox Church which is I believe is Oriental....I'm not sure what the different points in theology are that keep us separate. The bulk of members of the Antiochian Orthodox Church seem to be Lebanese.

    The Antiochian Orthodox Church is growing rapdily with many converts from Roman Catholocism, the Anglican/Episcopal church and the Protestant Evangelical denomonations. But then, in America there is much church hopping since we tend to look at Christianity as a buffet of theology, don't we? I am a convert from the Evangelical tradition and have been in the Orthodox Church for almost 10 years. I am Scotch/Irish/English so the conversion was more than just theological -- there has almost been a conversion of ethnicity as well.

    Our patriarchical synod in Damascus just this year granted autonomy to the Antiochian Orthodox churches in Canada and North America, resulting in the election of 3 new bishops and several other changes. Our new status gives us more "home rule" so to speak, but we are still accountable to the patriarch. Our hope (since the way the Church functions in America is not canonical) is to evetually have only one Orthodox Church in America with the various other Eastern Orthodox groups united under one partriarch. Right now most are still under the partriarch in the mother country. But of course, that is years and years away. The Greek Church seems to be moving toward autonomy and the current jurisdiction called the Orthodox Church in America (OCA, which is Russian) has had autonomy for almost 200 years (I think that is correct).

    Does this help?

    Claudia
  • mmatt95mmatt95

    one of u guys said that we fast so we can hold our selfs back from the food you like and the food your body wants. ok lets say that some one likes juce soo much and u can have juce when your fasting...its just an example you can substude juce for any thing. how is that fasting if you can have what you want. sorry to ask another question

    I have a question sorta like mickeyy231's. So during the fast, we can't eat dairy products and stuff like that, but I was wondering, what if you don't like dairy products? Then how does that strengthen you? And I see what you're saying about that reason you explained. So does that mean that there are two reasons for fasting? To give us more willpower and to protect us from lustful thoughts? I think I just confused myself even more, could you elaborate a little please?


    By giving up the dairy products that contain a lot of fat (cheese, milk, butter etc), not only do we give up a certain type of food (that most people like), but we also weaken the body a little bit. I think most of us will feel a bit weaker in the body during Lent for instance than during the Fifty days. Also when we abstain from these typs of food it's easier to stay awake for prayers; i mean how tiresome is a heavy meal, everybody who has a huge christmas meal full of meat and food full of greace gets sleepy after it rite?
    All of this helps us to;
    -feel weak, so we ask God for help
    -stay awake for prayers etc
    -give up certain food which helps to give up other sins of lust

    As for the things we are allowed to eat/drink but we still like as in the example of the juice; basicaly there's nothing wrong with those kinds of food, but if u go eat siyami chocolate because u like the taste of chocolate so much, then u are fasting in the body, but you are not fasting in the spirit. So if u really want to benefit from the fast, and do it in the proper spiritual way, then abstain also from the siyami food that u really like. I think everyone should ask the FOC for appropriate personal advice concerning these things though
  • Unknown
    Oh, ok, thanks, you made it more clear. :D
  • mmatt95mmatt95
    anytime ;)
  • MacrinaMacrina
    Please allow me to add something to the discussion.

    Giving up dairy products may not necessrily be hard for you if you don't like such foods, or if you are allergic to them. However, one of the points of fasting is obedience to the mind of the Church. So we must not decide for ourselves what foods we will deny ourselves. If fasting from dairy is not difficult, praise God. But if you have a passion for flavored black coffee.......then you probably need to discuss this with your Father confessor to see if forgoing this favorite beverage fits the spirit of the fast better for you. The danger with deciding for yourself that you will fast in spirit by not following the rules of your Church by giving up other foods that you really love is that you are straying into self determination and not being obedient. But of course, that is why we must work closely with our Father confessor to make sure we are fasting properly. The fasting rules are guides but we shouldn't play fast and loose with them on our own. And we must not discuss how we are fasting with other people.

    My understanding of the Saints is that they often suffered much because of their strict fasting. I agree with the posting from Hos Erof that by giving up meat and dairy we weaken our body, thus in a very very small way identifying with the suffering of Christ. In this suffering we learn how to pray when hungry and tired, work and be patient when hungry and tired, do works of mercy when hungry and tired, etc. The purpose of our prayer and fasting is to enter into the life of Christ, not just follow rules, yet somehow in following the fasting rules with the right attitude we rise above the rules and experience Christ more deeply.

    In Christ,

    Claudia
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