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Glory be to Jesus Christ!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but my sister Anna has a question. How old do you have to be so that the Great Fast is mandatory, in whichever form you take it?

Peace,
Nathan Augustine

I am looking at a booklet, "O Lord, Hear My Prayer" put out by Byzantine Seminary Press for the Great Fast which says the following.
"Those who have completed their 21st year through their 59th year are bound to observe Strict Abstinence." It also says, "Strict Abstinence is to be observed on the FIRST DAY OF LENT and on GOOD FRIDAY. Abstinence (Simple Fast) is to be observed on every Friday during Lent.

Current directives, at least in the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, do not specify any lower or upper age limit. Everyone is expected to the Great Fast as they are able.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Wow, that is even a more minimal requirement than what is normal throughout the entire year. Every Wednesday and Friday are fast days.

I can't help wondering, what has become of the Great Fast? Where is the 'Great' sacrifice in what is laid out above?

If thats what the Church now calls us to, the season should be renamed the Great Break-Fast.

I'm no ascetic, believe me, but come on... lets not make a mockery of this Great penitential season. Lets atleast have something to strive for, even if we fail.

The booklet was published in 1987, so I wasn't sure if those regulations pertaining to minimum age were still in effect. But the fast regulations are still the same, as far as I know. You're right about the fast. It's neither "Great" nor a "Fast" anymore. It's similar to Latin Rite fasting regulations, except that the Latins can have eggs and dairy products.

Ghazar,

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

I have the 2005 Byzantine Seminary Press calendar hanging at work, and it shows fast days on Fridays only (as a general rule). My wife and I personally try to follow the fasting regulations as posted at http://www.goarch.org under the calendar. We both feel that the commitment is challenging, yet rewarding.

Alice, maybe you can answer this:

One thing that I am personally a bit confused with is that I believe we are not to fast on Saturdays and Sundays (with the exception to Holy Saturday), yet I see on GOARCH fasting requirements that allow, as on March 26th and 27th, Wine and oil.

That has always thrown me for a loop. Please correct me or help me understand if you could.

Thank you.

In Christ,

Michael

From pseudo-Athanasius's blog:

Fasting is optional. Like heaven.

William,

Currently, our particular law requires Simple Abstinence (no meat) or eviquvalent penance only on Fridays during the year. During the Great Fast, Strict abstinence (no meat or dairy) is required on Pure Monday and Great Friday. Simple abstinence is required on Wedensdays and Fridays.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Dear Friends,

Actually, my parish and other traditional parishes announce the strict Orthodox fasting regimen for the Great Fast - period.

Knowing our parish priest, you don't want to break it and then have to go to him for Confession

Alex

Yes, but historically the Church lead its faithful to both of these.

Apparently this is no longer the practice.

Btw, what the hell is a "blog?" And why are so many Roman Catholics using that word all of a sudden?

It's a web log. It's an online journal where many people write things that in previous times, they would have had the good sense and taste to keep to themselves. Some blogs are topical and cover only certain subjects. Other blogs are just personal ramblings.

I think it does, but perhaps, increasingly without the legalism so frequently criticized by our Orthodox friends.

byzanTN:

" . . . an online journal where many people write things that in previous times, they would have had the good sense and taste to keep to themselves."

I had a mentor years ago who advised me NEVER to commit to paper anything that might come back to haunt me. He advised me never to write anything that one could say to another. He also advised that if it were not on paper and there were no witnesses one could always deny something brought back up later. It was quite an education.

In Christ,

BOB

Bob, that is so true!

Charles

Brothers and Sisters:

In our newspaper there was mention about a month or two ago of Ramadan. The Moslem children were quoted as saying that they looked forward to being part of the fast with their parents and making a cmmmitment to Allah.

Why can't our Christian children be worked into our fasts as age allows? Is the Great Fast not something we should present to them as our own commitment to imitating Our Lord as He fasted in the desert and our identification with Him? Or our preparation for Pascha and the Resurrection, as a time to assess our commitment made at Baptism to following Him and evangelizing others by our example? Or preparing, like an athlete, to resisting the temptation to "go along to get along" by learning to say "no" to those things, people, and activities around us that are morally and/or physically harmful to us? Or all of these reasons?

I found with my own children that they were enthusiastic for adopting faith and faith-related habits when these activities were presented as being part of who we are as a family and who we are as believers. I mean that these fasts and other activities were not a set of rules to be imposed, but part of how we lived our lives and why we did so. They are not ABOVE us, but a part OF us.

My children are now on their own, but still call and talk about these things that make them part of family and Church. The best part is that they are not afraid to be more than minimalists when it comes to the practice of their faith.

BOB