194. Слово в неделю четвертую великого поста и в день Благовещения Пресвятыя Богородицы

(Said on March 25th; printed in the Works of the Holy Father, 1845 and in the collection of 1848.) And I said to them: this generation can come out of nothing except through prayer and fasting. (Mark 9:29). According to the institution of the Church, sanctified by examples, rules, and antiquity, we are now in the field of fasting. In order to go through it complacently and reliably, don’t we need to excite and direct ourselves by reflecting on why we were brought into this field, and what is the significance, dignity, strength and purpose of the feat offered to us? One of the Gospel readings of the present day prompts us to think about this. And the current holiday will not be offended by the word of fasting: because it also shows respect to fasting, allowing it only in part, and preserving part of it. And if the spiritual flowers with which the current holiday is decorated are the virtues of the most holy and blessed Ever-Virgin, then the virtue of fasting also belongs to the decorations of the current holiday. For what does it mean that during the stay of the Blessed Virgin at the Temple of Jerusalem, as pious tradition says, an Angel brought Her food? - “The servants of souls who are sent to serve for those who want to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14), are not sent from the bright sky to this dark earth without need. He who does not fast, without a doubt, will take care of food for himself, not only necessary, but also plentiful and pleasant, and therefore does not require Angelic care. But whoever, neglecting and rejecting the demands of the flesh, approaches the life of the disembodied, the disembodied also approach each other, and, so that the feat of fasting does not exceed the limits set by the weakness of bodily nature, when necessary, they come to remind the ascetic that it is time to help the body, and offer ready-made supernatural food instead of unprepared natural food. Thus, the feeding of the Blessed Virgin by the Angel testifies to Her exercise in fasting. The tradition known to us through Blessed Jerome and St. Demetrius even determines in detail how She organized her day and when Her daily fast ended. “From the morning even until the third hour of the day you stand in prayer; from the third even to the ninth, practicing handicrafts or reading books. From the ninth hour she began her prayer again, and did not stop until the Angel appeared to her, from whose hands she took food as usual” (Ch. Min. Nov. 21). So let's return to the question: what is fasting for? The opposite questions can lead to the resolution of this: Why did the Blessed Virgin Mary fast every day until the evening? Why did Moses fast on Sinai three times for forty days? Why did Elijah fast for forty days on the way to Horeb? Why was the entire life of John the Baptist nothing more than continuous Lent? Why did even Adam fast in paradise? Why did our Lord Jesus Christ himself fast for fourty days in the desert? Why does the Apostolic Rule (69) condemn “to excommunication” from church communion the one who “does not fast on Holy Pentecost before Easter, or on Wednesday, or on Friday, except for an obstacle due to bodily weakness”? – Even if you don’t answer these opposite questions: they already contain a strong answer against the original question. Just naming the now indicated examples and legislators of the feat 658 means already providing sufficient guarantee that this feat is of no small importance, no small dignity and strength, and is used, as if something necessary, on the path to very high goals. But we will not refuse some consideration of the proposed issues, each separately. Why did the Blessed Virgin Mary fast daily? - It cannot be said that this was in preparation for the high title of the Mother of the Lord, according to Her intention, since, when She entered into the feat of fasting, this secret had not yet been revealed to Her; but without a doubt we can say that this was a real preparation for the title of Mother of the Lord, according to the dispensation of God. Did the Virgin Mary herself enter into the feat of fasting, neglecting the physical, because she strove for the spiritual, or was she introduced into it by the hidden or open suggestion of the Angel, Her guardian: but of course not by chance, but by special discretion and preparation, the Fasting Virgin was chosen to serve the great mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. This example is unparalleled and inimitable. However, we can draw from it the correct conclusion that if the perfect fast of the Blessed Virgin Mary was beneficial and useful on the path to Her unparalleled high election, then our, although imperfect, fast can be beneficial and useful on the path to the grace-filled election, which is common for all true Christians. Why did Moses fast at Sinai? - The sacred books say that he fasted for forty days, the first time, to receive the Law from God, the second time, to appease God, who was angry with the idolatry of the Jewish people and threatened to punish it with complete destruction, the third time, for the high, gracious vision of God and for the second time to receive from God the tablets of the Law and Covenant, instead of the broken ones. And this example is far from imitation. However, it can also give us instructive conclusions. If the great fourty-day fast of Moses was his assistant in accepting the law of God for the entire Jewish people, and, one might say, for the entire subsequent human race; then our fast, although it is not deservedly called great, although it is a small fast, can be an assistant to us in the in-depth and living knowledge of the law of God, at least to each one for himself; since, on the contrary, a saturated belly, as even external teachers admit, is not conducive to worldly teaching, much less spiritual and divine. If the fasting of Moses alone, combined with prayer, was a successful intercessor for asking God’s forgiveness for an entire people in grave sin: then couldn’t your reverent fast be a useful intercessor for asking for the forgiveness of sins, at least for you alone? If the extended fast of Moses was the path to a miraculous vision of God, which is only achievable for someone living in the body: then our feasible fast, lightening the heart from the burden of the sensual, refined from the whiteness of the flesh, can’t it prepare us for at least the beginnings of grace-filled sensations? Why did Elijah fast for forty days on the way to Horeb? – This fast might seem like an unintentional act of random necessity: because the Prophet traveled through desert places. But the Angel makes us understand that this was not a matter of chance, but of order, and, moreover, of heavenly order. The Prophet, apparently, did not care much about food; and, after “going the way into the wilderness by day” (1 Kings 19:4 et seq.), without having supper, “lie down and have time under the garden. And behold, the Angel of the Lord touched him and said to him: Arise, eat and drink.” The Prophet tasted the unleavened barley and water prepared for him by the Angel, but not much, as is typical for a lover of fasting; and felt the need to complement the interrupted dream: “Having returned in time.” So what? “The Angel of the Lord turned again, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat and drink, for the way from You is many.” What was the need to wake up the Prophet, who fell asleep immediately after eating, and force him to eat again? If the Angel cared for his food; then later, at a more opportune time, he could have appeared on the way with his unleavened barley bread and a pot of water, if necessary, and more than once. You see that the Angel does not give a feast to the Prophet, but orders a fast. Strengthen yourself, he says, with food, because you must remain without food for a long time, you have a fourty-day journey ahead of you, and at the same time a fourty-day fast. Where did the fourty-day journey and fourty-day fast lead Elijah? - To a wonderful vision of God, just like Moses. Thus, fasting in the person of Elijah seems to be not only a voluntary feat of the Prophet, but also a direct followership of heavenly leadership. Brethren! in heaven they know what they are doing and why they are commanding. Apparently, there is a special need for fasting for a special approach to God. We can also somewhat understand this need. If, as the Wise One says, “the corruptible body burdens the soul” (Prov. 9:15), then judge when it is more able to rise to the heavenly and communicate with the Divine, then when the “corruptible burden” abundantly receives an increase in heaviness and corruption, or when, if possible, it is lightened and refined through prudently measured deprivations? Why did John the Baptist lead a strictly fasted life? - We will not be mistaken if we say that this was his free inclination: for no one forced him to fast. But we must also remember that this inclination of his was foreseen, predetermined and predicted even before his birth, and, moreover, in connection with his greatness. “It will be,” the Angel said to Zechariah, “he will be great before the Lord, and will not have to drink wine or strong drink” (Luke 1:15). The angel removes wine and strong drink from John, as if suggesting that they would humiliate the greatest among those born of wives, and calls for fasting so that this would support his greatness. And what is this for? - Without a doubt, so that he is worthily prepared for the high service - to be the forerunner of Christ, the baptizer of the incarnate Son of God. Do you think, brethren, that this extraordinary example offers nothing to imitate for our ordinary life? - Yes. To stretch out his mortal hand, to touch the head of the Son of God being baptized in the Jordan, while the Holy Spirit visibly descends and overshadows Him - how cleansed John had to be, so that he would not be scorched by the impregnable fire of the Divine! And can anyone else encounter anything similar? Can't? - Let's look around, though. Are you not approaching Christ directly, or is He not approaching you, touching you, entering into you, fulfilling you in the communion of His body and blood? Think about it, would it be unnecessary or difficult if you, like John, were prepared for this Divine communion by fasting and prayer of your whole life? So, I’m not saying, isn’t it fair—isn’t the Mother Church very condescendingly demanding that you prepare for this great Sacrament by fasting, not strictly, for a few days? I come to the most important questions: why did Adam fast in paradise? Why did Christ fast for fourty days in the desert? I connect these questions: because there is a deep connection between them. If it seemed doubtful to you whether Adam truly fasted in paradise, then it is enough to remind you that you consider fasting, and not a small one at that, when you are ordered to eat only the plants of the earth, and not to touch meats and fish. This was the constant law of heavenly life. Please note here that you never know, but fasting is closer to heavenly life than being a meat-eater. But besides this, there was a special commandment of fasting in paradise: “from the tree, if you understand good and evil, you will not take it down” (Gen. 2:17). We will not inquisitively explore the depth of this commandment: it is certain, according to the word of God, that constancy in its observance should have decisively established Adam on the path of paradise, spiritual, heavenly life; on the contrary, the seduction of the forbidden poison, the violation of the commandment gave him a strong preponderance of the sensual over the spiritual, cast him out of heavenly life into earthly life, and would have cast him into hell with all his offspring, irrevocably, if this overthrow had not been stopped and turned to exaltation by the Son of God, becoming the seed of a woman and in His person again putting humanity into the test that Adam had not passed, which became more difficult on earth than it was before. in heaven. Thus, the failure of the first Adam to observe a light fast in paradise had to be corrected by the second Adam by maintaining a strict fast on earth, and at the same time repel and overthrow our overpowering tempter. And that’s why “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and was tempted by the devil for forty days, and did not eat anything in those days” (Luke 4:1-2). Christians! “Christ,” both on Calvary and in the wilderness of temptation, “suffered for us: leave us an image, that we may follow His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). After this, is it possible to wonder what the fast is for? - It is for the purpose that “Christ left us the image of fasting, so that we may follow in His footsteps.” If the fast of Christ was a link in the chain of His Theanthropic deeds, for the salvation of the entire human race: then for us fasting should also be a link in the chain of Christian deeds, for our own salvation. After this, it is not surprising that the Apostolic Church accepted fasting as one of its permanent institutions, and that the Apostolic rules closely connect the use of fasting with church Christian life, and those who do not want to unite with the Church in the feat of fasting, except in cases of impeding weakness, are considered unworthy of church communion. “I will not be able to tell the story of the times” (Heb. 11:32), if I were to point out the feats of fasting in the lives of the Venerables and Saints, who, not content with the usual lenient rule of fasting, intensified this feat in various ways to the closest resemblance to the fast of Iliin or John. Their experienced wisdom, their wonderful lives, their illustrious holiness testify that their deed was both correct in the undertaking and beneficial in its consequences. The importance of the Lenten feat in some special cases is revealed to us by the incident brought to our reverent attention now in the Gospel. The apostles, after the Lord “gave them power and authority to heal all demons and illnesses” (Luke 9:1), after they “went through the world, preaching good news and healing everywhere” (Luke 9:6), met one possessed by a tormenting dumb spirit, and could not free the sufferer until the Lord Jesus Himself used His Divine power and authority. After the miracles that were already common for them, the sudden invalidity of the power given to them prompted them to ask the Lord why they could not cast out the silent spirit. To this the Lord responded: “This generation can come forth only through prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). How important is the meaning here, how great is the power of fasting combined with prayer! It is not clear that the Lord, giving the Apostles the power to cast out unclean spirits and heal ailments, demanded fasting from them. He did not impose a strict fast on them with Himself, but postponed it until the time of His suffering. “Can you, sons of the bridegroom, eat food until the Bridegroom is with them, and fast? The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days” (Luke 5:34). And it is clear that the Apostles worked miracles without using the intense feat of fasting and extended prayer; but they simply commanded in the name of Christ and the authority given to them, and what was commanded was carried out. But it is also clear that in the one suffering from the spirit, the power of evil was unusually great; and therefore, to defeat it, the highest degree of gracious and beneficial power was required. What other means and aids, besides the faith that was already active in the Apostles, could there be to achieve the highest degree of grace-filled and beneficial power? The Lord offers prayer and fasting. “This generation can come out in no way except through prayer and fasting.” Do you see the usefulness and benefit of fasting combined with prayer? The apostles need him: don’t we? He helps miracle workers: can we neglect his help? It contributes to victory over the tormenting and prevailing spirit of evil: wouldn’t it be closer to taming the flesh that wars against the spirit? So that those who strive in fasting do not sin in this feat, and those who are weak in this feat, without excessive effort, acquire the fruit of it, for this I suggest that you sufficiently nourish your mind with a fasting, but sweet and nourishing church song: “We fast with a pleasant fast, pleasing to the Lord. True fasting is not just a reduction in food and drink, but “the alienation of evil, abstinence of the tongue, the suppression of rage, the excommunication of lusts, speaking, lying and perjury: of these impoverishments, a true and favorable fast” 659. Amen. In the author's manuscript the word “postnago” is added here. Monday of the first week of Great Lent, evening, 1st stichera on the stichera. You might be interested in: