“Bring My Soul Out of Prison…” - Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov) #
Man, in the conditions of this earthly existence, is like a prisoner in a “dungeon.”
“In every person, in his soul, there is a noble captive whom he must set free. There is no one in the world in whose depths does not often clang and rattle the chains of a noble, tightly shackled prisoner (the soul). Yet, due to the noise of worldly affairs, the whirlpool of occupations, anxieties, joys, and sorrows, we mostly do not hear it. We do not notice the longing and sighs of the inner man, who cries out for air and freedom.”
To prevent a person from mistaking his ordinary life for the true element of his spirit, from considering the prison of sin to be true freedom, the Church appoints special times when she seeks to lead him out of the dungeon of sin into freedom and the pure air of communion with God.
These times are, above all, the fasts. “A favorable time… the day of salvation.”
From an external perspective, Christian fasting consists in abstaining from worldly pleasures (entertainments), refraining from certain types of food, practicing moderation in eating overall, engaging in prayer and confession. All these elements of church discipline lead to the inner goal of fasting—the renewal of the soul, a penitential turning point within it, its resurrection through repentance.
Abstaining from entertainments, withdrawing into the quiet world of family and the cell of the soul is the first condition for repentance. That which is called “entertainment,” sometimes seemingly innocent, is often a subtle yet tenacious web, a net of the devil, in which the soul becomes entangled.
We do not wish to deprive a person of the light and joys of life. But one cannot ignore the truth that “he who does not gather, scatters.” If a certain kind of pleasure does not enrich the soul, does not make it quieter, brighter, stronger, and wiser, then it diverts it from the eternal goals of its Christian and human existence and, consequently, is criminal—not from a dark monastic perspective, but simply from a human one.
The very word “entertainment” suggests that it distracts a person, draws him away from serious matters, from serious, lofty feelings and thoughts; it dissipates, scatters, and fragments our soul, exchanging the gold of our soul for trifling coins, for dust and chaff. The entertainments with which people “kill time” gradually kill their souls as well, emptying them, eroding them, drying them out, debasing, defiling, and erasing the vivid colors of the divine likeness from within a person.
Even idleness, as the wise St. Macarius the Great says, “tempts the mind to wander the paths of sin,” but even more, even stronger, does entertainment do so—that is, dwelling in an atmosphere of idle talk, frivolous conversations, seductive images from improper discussions, books, or spectacles. One must always beware of this “soot”—all the more so during the days of fasting, whose primary task is to transfer a person into a different state of mind, “to bring the soul out of the dungeon of this gray, wretchedly impoverished life—to lead it out of stench and suffocation into the light and open space, into the free air of a good, reasonable life—to rise, shake off the dust, cleanse and brighten the tarnished image of God within us, rekindle the dormant and extinguished divine spark within us, and place us face to face with the higher interests and purposes of life.”
Even from entertainments that contain elements of good and necessity—a useful book, a spectacle that stirs the soul with noble emotions, a serious conversation (though I would not call these entertainments)—the Church advises abstaining during the fast. This is entirely understandable: if we are carefully planning our life, we do not, at the same time, engage in solving algebraic equations, just as we do not, while planning a garden, read about philosophy.
How much more inappropriate it is, during days when we wish to be with God, when “the soul and God” are the sole focus of our thoughts, to turn aside to matters that, while not harmful and perhaps even beneficial, are nonetheless unrelated to the main goal. Not to mention the fact that in all the affairs and pleasures of the world, even the purest ones, there is always, even if to a small degree, the soot of sin, capable of breaking the spiritual focus that should be maintained during fasting. We mention this to suggest to our readers a necessary rule, in our opinion: during the days of spiritual preparation, one should, at the very least, abandon not only entertainments but also ordinary work—withdraw even from daily labor, if that work places one face to face with people, with temptation, with trial (such as trade and similar occupations).
I hear an objection: “You demand the impossible. Is it not possible to keep a pure heart even amidst the bustle of life?” I will respond with an old story.
An elder once met a young monk coming out of a tavern and said to him:
“Ah, brother! It is not a good thing to go to such places!”
The monk replied:
“Why not? As long as the heart remains pure…”
Then the elder, in astonishment, said:
“I have lived in the desert for many years, fasting and praying, and I rarely go anywhere, yet I have not yet acquired a pure heart. But you, young as you are, walking in and out of taverns, have already managed to attain purity of heart! What a wonder!”
The same is true—and alas!—not only of taverns but of worldly affairs in general: it is difficult to avoid distraction. It is not without reason that, in the ancient deserts, monks would even withdraw from their brethren during fasting periods. By distancing himself from vanity and entertainment, a Christian in the fast must gather his “soul”—that is, concentrate it in God. The means for this is prayer. We do not wish at this moment to speak about the fruits and properties of prayer. Even those who deny the Church (such as Tolstoy) find no arguments against it. Even modern unbelieving psychology acknowledges it as a means of renewal and enlightenment.
But what about the setting for prayer—prostrations, meager food, in short, a regimen that is not spiritual but purely bodily? Why is this necessary?
The Holy Fathers have explained to us the wisdom of these practices. To make the soul capable of true union with the Lord, we must overcome the resistance of the body. “The repose of the body is the enemy of prayer,” explains Isaac the Syrian. If an electric wire is grounded, no matter how much you turn the wheel, there will be no current—the electricity will simply dissipate into the earth. A body accustomed to idleness pulls a person downward, diverting the grace of prayer away from the soul. The way to overcome this sluggishness of the body is through prostrations. They warm the heart.
Fasting serves the same purpose in subduing the body and its inclination toward the earth. “Fasting dries up the swamp of sin, weakens unruly impulses, subdues the passions, dispels lust, and pacifies the rebellion of the flesh.”
But fasting should not be reduced to mere external observance; one must learn to ask: Does fasting benefit the soul?
Two measures help us evaluate this.
The first is our inner state of mind. Fasting should create within us a sense of peace, goodwill, and spiritual joy. Have you ever seen people who, during fasting, during days of spiritual preparation, become particularly sullen, irritable, and angry? Sometimes fasting itself becomes an excuse for irritation. One writer tells the story of two brothers who quarreled over oil on a fasting day. One brother angrily prevented the other from pouring oil onto his potatoes. The argument escalated, and the fasting brother struck his sibling with a bottle of oil, killing him, mixing the fasting meal with blood. Clearly, in this case, fasting did not foster a spirit of love, which acts not through anger but through compassion. On the contrary—it gave the devil an even greater foothold. Why is this?
Because an external, formal fast brought nothing but self-exaltation and pride into the soul. Fasting, if not inspired by holy thought and prayer, irritates the soul, as would any meaningless deprivation. May God save us from such a fast. A fast reduced merely to dietary restrictions is not a Christian fast. “What benefit is there in fasting if you do it superficially and only abstain from food?” says St. John Chrysostom. “The appointed days will pass, and so will your fasting; but if you abstained from sin, your fast would continue always, to the glory of God.”
“A perfect fast consists in the rejection of all that is impure and sinful. Therefore, fast from all sin. Do not partake of the food of malice; do not intoxicate yourself with the wine of intemperance; abstain from deceit, evil words, and impure thoughts. Such a fast is pleasing to God. Let your eyes, ears, tongue, hands, and entire soul fast, for all have sinned.”
The second measure of a true fast is the positive fruits of fasting. Fasting, as we have said, should increase our inner strength, intensify our fervor in prayer, detach us from worldly concerns, open our eyes to sin and the spiritual leprosy of our soul, and bring forth from our hearts a sorrowful and prayerful cry: “Lord, forgive! Lord, heal!” If fasting does not bear these fruits, it is a false fast. This means that something is wrong within it. The medicine that was meant to heal has itself become corrupt. In such a case, the fast itself must be treated. But how? With what?
One must strive to understand the true meaning and purpose of fasting. Remember the words of the holy prophet Isaiah. The Israelites complained to the Lord that He did not accept their fasting:
“We have fasted, and You did not see; we have humbled our souls, and You took no notice.”
The Lord answered them through the prophet:
“In the days of your fasting, you seek your own pleasure (your own desires); you oppress those who are under your authority. If you fast amid quarrels and strife and strike with a wicked fist, your fasting is in vain. This is not the fast that I desire. I desire a fast that loosens the chains of injustice—to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke… Share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into your house, clothe the naked…”
This is the true fast, and then the Lord will hear you (Isaiah 58:3-9).