GENERAL RULES OF FASTING FOR THE GREAT AND HOLY LENT

Transcription

1 GENERAL RULES OF FASTING FOR THE GREAT AND HOLY LENT Let us set out with joy upon the season of the Fast, and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat. Let us purify our soul and cleanse our flesh; and as we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion. The Orthodox idea of fasting is first of all that of an ascetical effort. It is the effort to subdue the physical, the fleshly man to the spiritual one, the "natural" to the "supernatural." Limitations in food are instrumental; they are not ends in themselves. Fasting thus is but a means of reaching a spiritual goal and, there- fore, an integral part of a wide spiritual effort. Fasting, in the Orthodox understanding, includes more than abstinence from certain types of food. It implies prayer, silence, an internal disposition of mind, an attempt to be charitable, kind, and - in one word -spiritual. "Brethren, while fasting bodily, let us also fast spiritually..." And because of this the Orthodox doctrine of fasting excludes the evaluation of fasting in terms of a "maximum" or "minimum." Everyone must find his or her maximum, weigh his or her conscience and find in it his or her "pattern of fasting." But this pattern must necessarily include the spiritual as well as the "bodily" elements. The Typikon and the canons of the Church give the description of an ideal fast: no meat, no dairy products, total abstinence on certain days. "He that is able to receive it, let him receive it" (Matthew 19:12). But whatever is our measure - our fasting must be a total effort of our total being. Keeping this in mind we should fast in order to achieve the goal of prayer, repentance, and forgiveness. To fast means abstaining not only from certain foods, but most importantly from passions, bad habits, overindulgence, rudeness and selfishness. It means also that we should abstain from everything that might take the focus of our life away from the spiritual effort. Among these things are every kind of entertainment, such as going to the movies, watching TV or going on spring vacations. For married couples it will also imply abstaining from intimacy. The fundamental meaning of the fasting effort is to discover the true values of our life, to discover that we live not for our own sake but in the context of our relationship with each other and with the living God. So we fast not in terms of our individual piety but by linking our life with that of the Church. In es- sence, fasting is an exercise in being faithful: to each other in observing the same rules and sharing in the same hardship, and to our Lord Himself Who has given us fasting as a school of love. By Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church A Parish of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, Diocese of the West 2098 Benson Avenue Upland, CA Epistle: Hebrews 4:14-5:6 stgeorgeofupland@ymail.com Website: Very Reverend Father George Manneh- Parish Priest Elisha Khoury- Sub-Deacon WORSHIP SCHEDULE: Sunday Orthros (Matins) 9:00am Divine Liturgy 10:00am Sunday School after Holy Communion Sunday, March 18, rd Sunday of Great Lent: The Adoration of the Holy Cross TONE 7 ~ Eothinon 7 Holy Gospel: Mark (8:34-9:1)

2 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Page 2 Page 15 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Troparion of the Resurrection- Tone 7 Thou didst shatter death by thy Cross; thou didst open paradise to the thief; thou didst turn the mourning of the ointment-bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine Apostles proclaim warning that thou hast risen, O Christ, granting the world Great Mercy. Lord, You are the physician of our souls and body. We pray You grant the following parishioners good health and blessings: Charbel Kabbouche Nicholas Kokkinias Abla Farraj Troparion for the Holy Cross Suhaila Mokahabba Issa Elhazin O Lord, save thy people and bless thine inheritance, granting to thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of thy Cross preserving thy commonwealth. The holy bread of oblation for today s divine liturgy is being offered for the 9 day memorial in loving memory of our sister in christ mary nouha fakhoury by anwar fakhoury and family may her soul rest in peace and her memory be eternal. The holy bread of oblation for today s divine liturgy is being donated by mrs. oddette rafidy for the health of her cousin, diana marzuca, and for the health, peace, and salvation of her children.

3 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Page 14 Page 3 Sunday, March 18, 2012 got news you would like to share? If you would like to submit names for our church bulletin, please the church: stgeorgeofupland@ymail.com Troparion of St. George- Tone 4 As deliverer of captives and defender of the poor, healer of the infirm, champion of kings, victorious Great Martyr George intercede with Christ our God for the salvation of our souls. Please remember that this section is reserved for : Births Churching Baptisms Holy Oblations Prayer Requests Memorials Graduations Weddings Birthdays Celebrations The deadline to submit names: Wednesday by NOON March Birthdays May God Bless all of you with good health and happiness for Many, Many Years!!! Elias Fakhoury 3/2 Abeer Otaky 3/11 Aida Sayegh 3/12 Elias Emad Fakhoury 3/17 Mikael Fakhoury 3/26 Buy SCRIP every Sunday- Your church gets money and you shop where you usually do your shopping. It s easy & your church benefits. Just fill out the SCRIP form and TURN INTO FEIRUZ AYOUB! THANK YOU! Kontakion of the Five Sundays of Great Lent To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me from terror. As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.

4 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Page 4 Page 13 Sunday, March 18, 2012 The Epistle Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thine inheritance. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord, O my God. Palm Sunday- Entrance of Our Lord Into Jerusalem...Sunday, April 8th Good Friday...Friday, April 13th Holy Saturday...Saturday, April 14th Great and Holy Pascha (Easter)...Sunday, April 15th The Reading is from Saint Paul s First Letter to the Hebrews (4:14-5:6) BRETHREN, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "Thou art my son, today I have begotten thee"; as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.

5 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Page 12 Page 5 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Looking for a Good orthodox christian book to read? an icon to add to your home? Possibly even a gift? our icon/bookstore is here!!! come visit the store every other sunday after the divine liturgy. Pa!" News COFFEE HOUR Would you like to sponsor a coffee hour or luncheon? You can offer it in memory of a loved one, in celebration of an event, or in support of a church ministry. Contact: Feiruz Ayoub (909) Jacob Hilo (909)

6 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Page 6 Page 11 Sunday, March 18, 2012 The Gospel The Reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark (8:34-9:1) Diocese of Los Angeles & the West present 60th Annual Parish Life Conference July 5-8, 2012 The Lord saith: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power." Hosted by the Orthodox Church of the Redeemer (Los Altos Hills) at Santa Clara Marriott

7 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Page 10 Page 7 Sunday, March 18, 2012 Please join us for: Lazarus Saturday- Annual Children s Day April 7, 2012 Divine 10 a.m. followed by a Lenten pancake breakfast, Easter egg hunt & crafts/activities Hope to see you all there! Donations are needed for: Easter Egg Candy & Empty Plastic Easter Eggs, Fresh Fruit, Lenten Pancake Ingredients

8 Dealing with Repetitive Sins A central element of the Orthodox way of life is repentance. We are continually recognizing our shortcomings in our life as lived when compared to the life God calls us to live. As Orthodox Christians we grow by continually seeking forgiveness and committing ourselves to change in our behavior. We fast, pray and participate in the Sacraments of the Church to help us in this life long effort. We know that we cannot do this by our now efforts alone but we need the grace of God to become like Christ. How often do we face this issue of going back to confession with the same issue time after time? What makes this process so difficult is that we are mostly focused on our body and our brain has taken control from the soul. In our brain there are trillions of neural connections that program us to act in habitual ways. The task is to be able to overcome these preprogramed habits and to recreate new habits that are congruent with the teachings of Christ. Remember how Paul described this problem? Even Paul struggled to do what he willed to do. Here is how he put it: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. (Romans 7:14-15)) Why did even Paul struggle? After all he was an Apostle, specially chosen by God, whose letters we read in our services with authority of Scripture. Modern day researchers have done considerable research on this problem we face. We can can draw from this research to help us change our behavior. Charles Duhigg summarizes this work in his book the Power of Habit. He says, This process (habitual behavior) within our brains is a three-step loop. First there is a cue, a trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Then there is a routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is a reward, which helps your brain figure out if their particular loop is worth remembering for the future. When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit--unless you find new routines--the pattern will unfold automatically. He tells us that our habits are powerful but delicate and often operate outside our consciousness. But most importantly they can be changed. To change, we must understand that each habit has a craving or desire that lies behind it. For example if we want to create a habit of morning prayer, we need to have a cue when we get up in the morning that reminds us of our love of God and our desire to be united with Him and the peace this brings to us. So when we awake we can say the Jesus prayer as soon as we awake which is a cue to seek in prayer the peace we find in connecting with God. We will then awake with an anticipation of our morning prayer session. We might further this desire when we walk to our prayer place light a candle, burn some incense or make a few prostrations. These or other actions then begin to form a new routine which get programmed in our brain so that eventually we automatically raise and go to our prayer station for our morning prayers. We need to recognize that this new routine will replace an old routine. We may have cues for this routine that we can choose to aid us. Maybe we always start our day with a cup of coffee. If we can connect this cue with the time for prayer we may be aided by an old cue to create a new routine. He points out the AA works because the program forces people to identify the cues and rewards that encourage their alcoholic habits, and then helps them find new behaviors, new routines. This is why we stress in our preparation for Confession a detailed recollection of the act of our sinfulness so we too can identify the cues that trigger what is most likely a bad habit that is programed in our brain. Once we see the cause of our old behavior then we have to identify an, new course of action, a new routine. Something creates a desire or craving in nature that needs to be fulfilled in a new way. If an encounter with a person or an action triggers anger, then we have to recognize this cue or trigger and learn a routine that is different than anger to substitute for the way we respond in anger. In AA they also seek guidance and help from God. Once our cue for sinful activity is known then we can ask God to guide us to find new routines. We can seek His help to put this new routine into action. AA does one other thing in that it provides a supportive community to help sustain the new behavior. This is what a spiritual community is for as well. It should give us support in our learning new routines. There is now a body of knowledge called habit reversal therapy which is used to treat depression, smoking, gambling problems, anxiety, bedwetting, procrastination, obsessive-compulsive disorders and other behavioral problems. Once key element of such therapies is the we must believe that change is possible. Our faith should give us this confidence. Once we admit a problem and share it with God, we know that He will help us find a way to change. We know that All things are possible in God (Matt 19:26). But change begins by first having a clear and detailed understanding of the habit we want to change. Charles Duhigg