www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Fasting on Great Friday

I think I already know the answer to this but I would greatly appreciate if one of learned priests could help.

Tomorrow is Great Friday and I know we are to observe the "black" fast also. My problem is that I am diabetic and am taking new medication that sometimes drops my sugar level. When this happens, I have to have something to eat.

To avoid this, I have been eating snacks in between my regular meals. Things like a fruit cup, or piece of fresh fruit or graham crackers.

Am I permitted to do this tomorrow?

I feel really strange asking this since I have never not observed the fast on Great Friday. I just don't want to make myself sick... does that make sense???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

pisankar

Pisankar,

Seeing that you have a medical condition, I think you can be excused from the strictness of the law. Fast what you can, but don't overlook your health needs.

Ung

Althought I am a Latin Catholic, I try to fast as strictly as I can. But I, too, have a medical problem: acid reflux. If I don't keep something in my stomach, the acid can--and has--suddenly come up to the back of my throat: a couple times I choked on it such that it was a serious threat.

I'd recommend that you check with your spiritual father/confessor and ask this question. My own has warned me not to jeopardize my health. He also recommends I remember the "positive fast."

BOB

Simply leave out dairy and meats, as they contact blood. Anything else will work, espcially since you have health issues.

My husband is also diabetic, likes tomato soup made with water and saltine crackers for lunch, with a good old cup of oatmeal for breakfast. Then a salad for dinner with some type of fish or seafood, and what you have been doing works well in between.

Our God is an awesome God, he looks upon mans heart, and knows.

Be at peace!
Pani Rose

Almost forgot about this one. I've done this for almost 30 years since I couldn't tolerate dairy at all--formaldehyde exposure over many years. You can thin it with a little extra hot water to get it down or eat it thick and chewy after it cools a bit.

BOB

I suppose that some priest somewhere would say that since the fasting rule for Good Friday prescribes xerophagy, you should satisfy your medical need for additional sugar by eating some dried fruit!

But I'm nowhere near that strict.

Fr. Serge

C. I. X.

As my Baba (grandmother) would say "It's not what goes into your mouth that will get you a ticket to hell, it's what comes out of it".

Bob,

How did you have formaldehyde exposure?

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

I believe brother Theophan is a mortician by occupation.

Ung

Yes, I am a funeral director. I had the misfortune of working in a number of small businesses over the course of my career that did not have adequate ventilation in the operating room. The mortuary inspectors would look to see if there was a fan, but no one was trained to know if it worked. I used to test them to see if they would "draw" air toward them by lighting a candle--never when there were fumes; they can be explosive--and holding it a few inches away from the fan. Technically the flame should have been drawn toward the fan. None ever did.

At one point I presented to my physician a manual obtained from a HCHO conference. Inside was a checklist of symptoms of acute HCHO poisoning. I had 98 out of 100. Later I was told that had I not had the physical accident that took me out of the last situation I might have been dead at 45 instead of coming out of a three-year period of therapy during which they "sweated"--literally--all that poison out of my body.

So while I've had lots of physical pain to deal with ever since, I am alive to deal with it. The Hand of Providence pulls a blessing out of what seemed to be a disaster.

As far as fasting goes--since that is what this thread is about--I had a near constant fasting regimen for over 15 years. What the Byzantine regimen says one ought to fast from I simply couldn't tolerate--if I ate anything that was proscribed I became deathly ill: red meat, pork, oil, wine, fats, greasy foods, baked goods, most bread, raw vegetables and raw fruit, fruit juice, citrus fruits and their juices, tomatoes, lettuce (and the list went on).

BOB

Dear Bob,

I know that this is off topic, but I am quite curious as to how common this type of poisoning is in your industry?

I suppose that in light of what you had to avoid for fifteen years in order to stay alive and well, that you have fasted and sacrificed for God more than any of us will ever do with our traditional Lenten fasts.

May God bless you always dear brother in Christ,
Alice

Dear Brother, although Great Friday is already past, I felt it necessary to respond.

The canons of the church give recommendations about fasting, prayers, etc. Unless there is some mandate from the Bishop about one of these, it is up to your conscience to determine what is best for you, ideally with the advice of your spiritual father or mother. And your spiritual advisor (or pastor), knowing your situation will advise you on what is best for your spiritual growth.

When I was in seminary, and - true to adolescent form - was trying to do everything and be omnipresent to everyone ( "trying to save the world in a weekend" was the term!) my spiritual father told me: "Brother, a dead priest is no good to anyone." The message being: Take care of yourself in order to work for the kingdom.

If we truly believe that God's greatest gift is "life", then we need to do whatever we can to both enhance and sustain it. Do NOTHING that will harm your health; the Church is pretty clear on that issue. Even the Latin Church has strictly limited the fasting rules to people between 21 and 59. (How legal!) But it is a sign: take care of yourself so that you can serve the Kingdom of Christ.

May the Holy Spirit guide you in your path to the Lord!

Blessings!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Dr John