Beautiful Egypt 112 – «The Effect of Fasting» – June 21, 2015

   First, many happy returns to our Muslim brothers in Egypt and the whole world on the occasion of Ramadan! May God accept their fast and preserve Egypt.

   What attracts one’s attention nowadays is that Ramadan coincides with the Apostles’ Fast. Thus, Christians and Muslims share a profound spiritual practice.

Fasting in Religions

   Fasting is a common practice in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is also known in other creeds like Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and so on. The Jews have always known fasting. In the Psalms, we read, “… I wept in my soul with fasting…” Prophet Isaiah writes, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Prophet Joel says, “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

   In Christianity, we know that Christ fasted forty days and forty nights. We read, “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” Likewise, He preached the following about fasting, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Thus, Christ handed the apostles how to fast. We read, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…”

   In Islam, we read in Surat al-Baqara (The Cow Chapter), “O believers! God orders you to fast, in like manner your predecessors did, so you might fear Him.” In a Divine Hadith, we read, “Whatever humans do is multiplied: the good deeds are rewarded ten-fold, or even, seven-hundred-fold… yet, fasting is an exception; it is for Me. I shall reward whoever abandons his lust, food, and drink for Me.” In other creeds, fast plays a crucial role in controlling the body and setting the spirit free. For instance, Gandhi was a complete vegetarian. He used to fast for long periods of time in order to purge his self and soul, and to overcome the problems he faced. Likewise, Buddhists believe that fasting creates discipline which helps man contemplate, and improves his health. Also, it is a means of purging the human soul, liberating the mind from fallacies, controlling man’s desires, and quieting the heart. Thus, there is always one philosophy or another that promotes the importance of fasting.

The Two Facets of Fasting

   Through fasting, man seeks God’s mercy. Fasting is always accompanied by prayer and charity which are its two facets.

The Effect of Fasting

   While fasting, man prays and praises the Lord, which is why fasts are filled with individual or collective prayers.

   Also, during fasting, man seeks quietude and seclusion during which he looks into his self, trying to find out its defects and get rid of them. Thus, he repents the bad deeds that upset God, in an attempt to abandon them forever. Henceforth, fasting becomes a chance for man to annihilate his sins and start repenting. In effect, fasting is associated with repentance that brings about God’s mercy and drives man to good doing.

   Likewise, when man fasts, he is more able to control his desires. If you restrain your hunger, and train yourself on continuing to do so, you will acquire more endurance. Also, fasting will regulate your soul, mind, senses, and feelings. It will strengthen your spirit and elevate it.

   Moreover, you will become more sympathetic with others: as you will feel the pains and suffering of the poor, hungry, and needy and hurry to help them lovingly.

   Here, it is worthy to recount a story of an amputee. While lying down in his room, he heard the heart-rending outcry of another patient who discovered that his leg was amputated. Nobody could calm him down except his counterpart: having worn his prosthetic limb and started to move with it before the panicky patient to make him feel he could do the same someday.

   The man did calm down: for he was relieved indeed. In fact, the best one to help you overcome your troubles is the person who went through the selfsame ones and overcame them. Same applies to fasting: for when you fast you get to know what hunger is like.

   How wrong it is to think that fasting harms one’s health! On the contrary, fasting relieves and detoxifies the body, because as you fast, you refrain from eating fats which cause most ailments, especially those of the liver and gall bladder.

   To conclude, it is worthy to quote reposed Pope Shenouda III’s words about fasting, “During fasting, man gets closer to God and feels God’s closeness to him, too, as He listens to his hopes and fears. Man’s heart can cry out to God at any time; yet, during fasting, crying becomes more sincere and profound.”

   Many happy returns on fasting! May God accept our fasting and prayer and preserve our country… Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center