Arabic original here.
Message for Lent
During the time of fasting, we refrain from everything that does not pertain to God so that we may be nourished with the bread of heaven. Spiritual life (that is, life in the Spirit of God) is not acquired without hunger, hunger for invisible food. Being sated is to do without God and "excessive luxury leads to sin."
Saint John Chrysostom says that this is the time of repentance and repentance is nothing other than turning to God. In this way we acquire "the mind that is in Christ Jesus," as the Apostle Paul says (Philippians 2:5).
Training the body through fasting and prostrations brings us closer to God, just as it also brings us closer to our brothers, the poor. The fast does not take us away from our body, but rather it takes us away from its lust, from its selfishness, indeed, from the worship of it. There is an intimate relationship between the body and the soul. God became flesh and dwelt among us in His Holy Spirit and we are no longer sated with anything but Him.
The body is trained through bodily exercises, through fasting and prostrations. The soul is one with the body and it is trained through refraining from sin. There is an intimate connection between the soul and the body. Changes in thinking have an impact on the body. The most important thing during the time of fasting is to turn to God, being occupied with Him first of all: how many Christian families until today take an opportunity out of their obligations to make time for prayer?
Being alone with the Beloved is good, especially during Holy Week. They long for Him, so should we not sacrifice some time out of our worldly occupations to dedicate to seeing the Lord, to speaking to Him? How, when we don't see Him? How, when we don't taste Him? "Taste and see how good the Lord is." How, when we don't get to know Him from close by, when true life is with Him!?
This comes through prayer and also through the neighbor.
Yes, our path of fasting leads us to the vision that we enjoy before it comes to us and into us. It is an earnest effort to connect to God in unity with Him. It is a vision of the Savior risen from death, in the hope of our own resurrection from our stumbling, and along with us the resurrection of the world that is despairing of its darkness. Amen.
The time of the fast is an opportunity for us to practice works of charity. The Bible says: "Redeem your sins by works of charity" (Daniel 4:27).
+Ephrem
Metropolitan of Tripoli, al-Koura and their Dependencies
Message for Lent
During the time of fasting, we refrain from everything that does not pertain to God so that we may be nourished with the bread of heaven. Spiritual life (that is, life in the Spirit of God) is not acquired without hunger, hunger for invisible food. Being sated is to do without God and "excessive luxury leads to sin."
Saint John Chrysostom says that this is the time of repentance and repentance is nothing other than turning to God. In this way we acquire "the mind that is in Christ Jesus," as the Apostle Paul says (Philippians 2:5).
Training the body through fasting and prostrations brings us closer to God, just as it also brings us closer to our brothers, the poor. The fast does not take us away from our body, but rather it takes us away from its lust, from its selfishness, indeed, from the worship of it. There is an intimate relationship between the body and the soul. God became flesh and dwelt among us in His Holy Spirit and we are no longer sated with anything but Him.
The body is trained through bodily exercises, through fasting and prostrations. The soul is one with the body and it is trained through refraining from sin. There is an intimate connection between the soul and the body. Changes in thinking have an impact on the body. The most important thing during the time of fasting is to turn to God, being occupied with Him first of all: how many Christian families until today take an opportunity out of their obligations to make time for prayer?
Being alone with the Beloved is good, especially during Holy Week. They long for Him, so should we not sacrifice some time out of our worldly occupations to dedicate to seeing the Lord, to speaking to Him? How, when we don't see Him? How, when we don't taste Him? "Taste and see how good the Lord is." How, when we don't get to know Him from close by, when true life is with Him!?
This comes through prayer and also through the neighbor.
Yes, our path of fasting leads us to the vision that we enjoy before it comes to us and into us. It is an earnest effort to connect to God in unity with Him. It is a vision of the Savior risen from death, in the hope of our own resurrection from our stumbling, and along with us the resurrection of the world that is despairing of its darkness. Amen.
The time of the fast is an opportunity for us to practice works of charity. The Bible says: "Redeem your sins by works of charity" (Daniel 4:27).
+Ephrem
Metropolitan of Tripoli, al-Koura and their Dependencies
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