On the Holy Forty Days (Great Fast) #
By Abba Dorotheos
It is written in the Law that God commanded the sons of Israel to give a tithe each year from all that they acquired, and by doing so, they received a blessing upon all their works. Knowing this, the holy Apostles established and handed down to us, for our aid and as a benefit to our souls, something even greater and higher—that we should set aside a tithe from the very days of our lives and dedicate it to God. In this way, we too may receive a blessing upon all our deeds and annually cleanse ourselves from the sins we have committed throughout the year.
With this in mind, they consecrated for us these seven weeks of the Holy Forty Days out of the three hundred sixty-five days of the year. Thus, they set apart these seven weeks. However, in time, the Fathers deemed it good to add yet another week—firstly, so that those who wished to enter into the struggle of fasting might use this week to accustom themselves and prepare for it; and secondly, to honor the number of days of the Forty Days fast which our Lord Jesus Christ Himself observed. For when we subtract the Sabbaths and Sundays from these eight weeks, we obtain forty days of fasting. The fast of Holy Saturday is held in special reverence, for it is the holiest and the only fasting Sabbath of the entire year.
Now, seven weeks without the Sabbaths and Sundays amount to thirty-five days. Adding to this the fast of the Holy Great Saturday and half of the radiant night of Pascha, we obtain thirty-six and a half days, which corresponds precisely to a tenth of the three hundred sixty-five days of the year. For the tenth part of three hundred is thirty, the tenth part of sixty is six, and the tenth part of five is half of a day of Pascha. Thus, as we have said, thirty-six and a half days form, so to speak, the tithe of the entire year, which, as I have said, the holy Apostles consecrated for us for repentance and the cleansing of our sins committed throughout the year.
Blessed, then, brethren, is he who carefully and worthily preserves himself in these holy days. For even if he should sin out of weakness or negligence, yet behold, God has granted these holy days so that if one makes an effort with attentiveness and humility of mind to care for himself and repent of his sins, he may be cleansed of the transgressions he has committed throughout the year. Then his soul will be freed from its burden, and thus, purified, he will reach the holy day of the Resurrection and partake of the Holy Mysteries without condemnation, having become a new man through repentance in this holy fast. Such a one, with joy and spiritual gladness, by the help of God, will celebrate the entire Holy Pentecost, for Pentecost, as the Fathers say, is the rest and resurrection of the soul. This is signified by the fact that throughout the Holy Pentecost we do not kneel.
Thus, anyone who desires in these days to be cleansed from the sins committed throughout the year must, first of all, refrain from an excess of food, for, as the Fathers say, overindulgence in food gives birth to every evil in man. Then, he must also be careful not to break the fast without great necessity, not to seek out delicious foods, and not to burden himself with excessive eating or drinking.
For there are two kinds of gluttony. The first is when a person seeks the pleasure of food—not necessarily desiring to eat much, but craving what is tasty. Sometimes, such a person, upon eating dishes that he enjoys, is so overcome by their pleasant taste that he holds the food in his mouth, chewing it for a long time, reluctant to swallow it because of its delightful flavor. This is called in Greek lemargia—gluttony of the throat.
Another person, by contrast, struggles with excessive eating. He does not desire fine foods, nor does he concern himself with their taste—whether they are good or not—but wants only to eat and does not care about the quality of the food. His only concern is to fill his belly. This is called gastrimargia, that is, gluttony of the stomach.
Let me explain to you the origin of these terms. The Greek scholars use the word margainein to describe someone who is possessed by a demon, and the word margos refers to one who is in a frenzy. Thus, when someone suffers from this malady—that is, when he is possessed by an uncontrollable craving to fill his belly—it is called gastrimargia, from margainein (to be frenzied) and gasthr (belly), meaning a frenzy for food. When this frenzy is directed solely toward the pleasure of the throat, it is called lemargia, from laimos (throat) and margainein (to be frenzied).
Therefore, whoever wishes to be cleansed of his sins must be especially attentive and vigilant in avoiding these two forms of gluttony. For they do not satisfy the body’s natural need but rather fuel a passion, and if someone gives himself over to them, it is reckoned to him as sin. Just as in lawful marriage and in fornication the physical act may be the same, but the purpose distinguishes one from the other—for one unites for the purpose of bearing children, while the other seeks only to gratify his lust—so too, in regard to food: eating out of necessity and eating for the pleasure of taste may appear outwardly the same, but sin lies in the intention.
To eat out of necessity means that a person determines for himself how much food to consume in a day. If he finds that the portion he has set for himself is too much and weighs him down, he reduces it accordingly. If, on the other hand, it is not burdensome but insufficient to sustain his body, he increases it slightly. Thus, by carefully examining his needs, he adheres to a measured intake of food, not for the pleasure of taste, but with the goal of maintaining the strength of his body.
Yet even this small portion, whatever it may be, must be taken with prayer, and one must reproach himself in his thoughts as being unworthy of any food or comfort. He should also take no account of the fact that others, due to some necessity or need, may allow themselves certain comforts, lest he be tempted to desire the same for himself. In general, he should never assume that bodily comfort is easy for the soul.
Once, when I was still living in a coenobitic monastery, I went to visit one of the elders, for there were many great elders there. I found that the brother serving him was eating together with him. Seeing this, I spoke to the brother privately and said:
“Do you not know, brother, that these elders, who, as you see, partake of food and make certain allowances for themselves out of necessity, are like men who have acquired a treasury and, through long labor, have stored up their earnings in that treasury until they have filled it? When it was full and sealed, they continued to work for their daily needs, gathering an additional sum of a thousand gold coins, so that they might have something to draw from in times of necessity while preserving what had already been placed in the treasury.
Likewise, these elders, through their labors, gathered spiritual treasures in their youth and, having sealed them up, continued to work a little more, so that they might have something to sustain them in old age or infirmity, while keeping their earlier gains untouched. But as for us, we have not yet even acquired such a treasury. What then do we have to spend?”
Therefore, we must, as I have said, take food only according to the body’s need, while condemning ourselves and regarding ourselves as unworthy of any consolation—even of the monastic life itself. We must not eat without restraint, so that our eating may not become for us a cause of condemnation. This is what we have said concerning the restraint of the belly.
However, it is not only in food that we must observe moderation, but we must also restrain ourselves from every other sin. Just as we fast with our stomachs, so must we fast with our tongues—abstaining from slander, from falsehood, from idle talk, from insulting others, from anger, and, in short, from every sin committed by the tongue. Likewise, we must fast with our eyes, not looking upon vanity, not giving our eyes unbridled freedom, not gazing upon anyone shamelessly or without fear. Similarly, we must restrain our hands and feet from every evil deed.
By fasting in this way, as St. Basil the Great says, with a fast that is pleasing to God—abstaining from every sin committed by all our senses—we shall reach the holy day of the Resurrection, becoming, as we have said, new, pure, and worthy to partake of the Holy Mysteries. But first, let us go forth to meet our Lord Jesus Christ, who comes to suffer for us, and with olive and palm branches receive Him, seated upon a colt, as He enters the holy city of Jerusalem.
Why did the Lord sit upon a colt? He did so in order to take our souls—souls that had become like irrational, senseless beasts, as the Prophet says—and, as the Word of God, to turn them toward Himself and subject them to His divinity.
And what does it mean that He is met with palm and olive branches? When a man goes to war against his enemy and returns victorious, all his subjects come out to meet him with palm branches, for palm branches are a symbol of victory. Likewise, when someone suffers injustice from another and wishes to appeal to one who has the power to defend him, he brings olive branches, beseeching and pleading for mercy and help, for olive branches are a symbol of mercy.
Thus, we also go out to meet our Lord and Master Christ with palm branches, as to a victor, for He has conquered our enemy; and with olive branches, asking for His mercy, praying that just as He has triumphed for us, so we too may triumph through Him. May we be found bearing the signs of victory—not only because of the victory He won for us but also because of the victory we have won through Him, by the prayers of all the Saints.
For to Him belongs all glory, honor, and worship unto the ages. Amen.