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“I feel as if I were besieged by unseen fences! They strangle me. I am locked in a dungeon which, yet, has no guards, borders, or boundaries! Let go!” This he said in a voice roaring with anxiety and disquietude.
These words are strictly the opposite of Nelson Mandela’s, “Freedom does not mean the absence of bondage. Rather, it means that one respects others’ freedom.” When Mandela was in prison, his hopes and ideas soared freely. They echoed in the four corners of earth, whereas many free people lived prisoners of fear, despair, habits, or even their own selves. These are prisons which they create for themselves, ones that have no guards. Freedom does not mean the liberty to go anywhere at any time. It is the one that runs deep through one’s mind and heart, and is embodied in his behavior.
As we spend the holy days of Ramadan Fast, and get ready for the Apostles fast, we are given many a chance to break the bonds we have created by ourselves for ourselves. As man fasts, his spirit soars in the love of God, leaving out the care for food and drink. Likewise, man is granted the grace of peace which can never be shaken by worldly tumult. He is set free from the bonds of fear and worry.
Fasting is also a chance for repentance from sins that imprison man. In like manner man refrains from food and drink, he quits certain bad habits as smoking. He also trains himself on renouncing envy and anger. The mind quits negative thoughts, and the will gets used to good deeds. Thus, man grows in spirit through struggling against sin, and acquires lots of blessings. Fast sets man free from his self: for he starts to care for the others and sympathize with them. He becomes deeply humane, merciful and loving.
How sad the souls that are prisoners of self-centeredness are! And how happy those that are free from such bondage are! True happiness emanates from empathy: sharing sadness with others, thus, alleviating it, and sharing happiness, thus, spreading it.
Many happy returns everybody! May God accept our fasts and prayers. May He protect Egypt and her children.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
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العربية
