Belgrade, April 14, 2022
Photo: pirogi499.ru
“Fasting in the Church isn’t given as a time to suffer, to torment ourselves with worrying about what kind of food to eat. The main goal of fasting isn’t to not eat a certain type of food,” His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Church preached yesterday to a congregation mainly consisting of children.
Rather, by fasting, we build a strong will and prepare ourselves to do good and reject everything that’s bad, the Serbian primate encouraged the children, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.
When we practice not thinking, saying, or doing bad things, then we “try to build up what is good,” including building good relations with others and building up the virtues.
“The goal of fasting isn’t to suffer, but to be joyful,” the Patriarch emphasized. “This means that by building love, we bring joy into our hearts.”
He also encouraged the children examine themselves and confess more during Great Lent, “because Confession is actually a kind of hygiene for the soul, cleansing one’s soul from everything that has polluted it.”
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