Tarek El Mahaba مجلة طريق المحبة عدد مارس ٢٠١٩ | Page 41

Great Lent in our Coptic Church 41 “I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplication, with fasting.” (Daniel 9:3) Fasting is an essential component of our spiritual Life. Lent, known as “the Great Fast,” is the main fast of our church. It is 55 days and they are the most Holy days of fasting of our Coptic Church. According to our beautiful church, great Lent starts with a pre- Lent fast that consists of a week for preparation, followed by a forty day fast commemorating the Lord Christ’s fasting on the mountain where He was tempted, ended with the holy week of the Coptic calendar (Pascha). The forty days were fasted by the Lord Himself. The word Pascha is a Hebrew word which means Passover. Great Lent is the six-week period before Palm Sunday. In the past, the spiritual fathers began fasting the Holy Lent on the following day of the Feast of Epiphany. There are three essential means of participating in Great Lent: fasting, prayer, and giving (efforts, time, tithe,…) In giving, we share what we have with others. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the most outstanding model of fasting. He started His service by fasting for forty days. Christ fasted and taught us to fast. We fast by not eating or drinking for a period of time (each according to the advice of his/her father of confession), and then we do not eat whatever is related to animal fat. By God’s power, we get trained not to eat certain food for a certain period. So, in the process of restraining from food and drink, we also restrain ourselves from committing sins. Fasting requires discipline and self-control not just physically but also spiritually. Fasting must be accompanied by prayer. During fasting, our prayer get also deeper and our reflection on our own behavior gets more serious. Our relationship with God becomes stronger. The fasting of the body is a chance to nourish the spirit. Fasting is to be linked to repentance. So, great lent must be accompanied by practicing repentance and confession sacrament. May the Lord Almighty grant all of us a holy fast that glorifies His holy name through the intercession of saint Mary and Saint Stephen. Amen