Beloved in Christ God,
WHAT IS THE TRUE SPIRIT OF FASTING?

According to the Holy Scripture, Christians should fast in the following manner:

"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (St. Matthew 6:16-18).

"Let the husband render to his wife the affection due to her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control" (1 Corinthians 7:3-6).

"For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master, he stands or fails. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand...He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks" (Romans 14:2-6).

Our Lord Jesus Christ Tempted In the Wilderness

"Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.' But Jesus answered him, saying, "it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (St. Luke 4:1-4).

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Please note: In order for fasting to be of any spiritual value and a benefit to you, it must be done according to the guidelines of the Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition of the Church. It is a matter of fact that very few Orthodox Christians fast and to what extent. I have heard of people that have adopted unorthodox foreign practices of fasting where they may give up, as they say, chocolate or smoking. The whole spirit of fasting has been distorted or entirely lost. Others attempt to find ways of subverting fasting by looking for loopholes and shortcuts. This type of attitude is no less than outright mockery.

It is better, to be honest, and avoid deceiving oneself and others. There are those who make a sincere effort but they are not totally successful. At least they make a good effort. Fasting is a form of spiritual discipline and a challenge. Fasting and prayer are inseparable partners.

According to Saint John Chrysostom, it is not what goes into the mouth that condemns one but what comes out of the mouth. Instead, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good, for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29).

May God bless all of you.

With agape,

+Father George