But what is fasting in its essence? And is there not self-deception among those who consider it necessary to keep the fast only according to the letter, yet do not love it and feel burdened by it in their hearts?
And can fasting be called merely the observance of rules about abstaining from rich foods on appointed days? Will it truly be fasting if, aside from some change in the composition of our meals, we give no thought to repentance, to self-restraint, or to the purification of the heart through intensified prayer?
Fasting is not a diet. The Apostle notes that meat commendeth us not to God (1 Cor. 8:8). “In outward abstinence of the flesh there is no perfection; even unbelievers may practice it, whether by necessity or hypocrisy,” says St. John Cassian the Roman. Abstinence in food is only the foundation for further building; by it “our mind is preserved in proper purity and sobriety, and our heart in proper refinement and spirituality.”
On Prayer
Prayer is the sacred queen of virtues.
—St. John Climacus
If, then, you desire to gain victory over the passions, descend within yourself by prayer and with the help of God into the depths of your heart, and there track down three mighty giants: forgetfulness, sloth, and ignorance—this support of the noetic aliens, through whom the other evil passions, returning, act, live, and grow strong in pleasure-loving souls.
But through great attentiveness and persistence of mind, with help from above, having discovered these evil giants—unknown to many—you will then easily, again by watchfulness and prayer, be able to rid yourself of them.
—St. Mark the Ascetic
As lightning comes from a cloud, so from prayer comes the light of truth and understanding.
—St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
Great is the power of prayer; it more than anything else brings the Spirit of God, and it is easier than all else for anyone to practice.
Nothing so contributes to progress in virtue as frequent converse with God.
The fruits of sincere prayer are simplicity, love, humility, patience, meekness, and the like. All these, even before the eternal fruits, produce fruit here in the life of the diligent. Such are the fruits that adorn prayer; if they are absent, its labor is in vain.
The fruit of prayer is a gradually expanding vision of one’s own sins and sinfulness, whereby compunction increases and is transformed into tears.
The fruit of prayer is the sense of God’s presence, a living remembrance of death, and the fear of judgment and condemnation.
The fruits of true prayer are the bright peace of the soul, united with a quiet, silent joy— free from fantasy, self-conceit, and heated impulses and movements; love for one’s neighbors, not separating the good from the evil in love, but interceding for all before God as for oneself.
The fruit of prayer consists in the illumination of the mind and the softening of the heart, in the enlivening of the soul with the life of the spirit.
On Prayer
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you”(John 16:23), said the Lord—and again with solemn confirmation: Verily, verily, I say unto you.
What s shame it is for us that we do not know how to make use of so urgent a promise! And would that the shame were ours alone; but a shadow is cast even upon the promise itself, as though it were too great and impossible to fulfill. No—the fault lies entirely with us, and chiefly in this: that we do not recognize ourselves as faithful servants of Christ, and our conscience does not permit us to expect any mercy from the Lord.
Moreover, it often happens that even when someone does begin to ask something of God, he does so with a divided soul. He mentions it once or twice in passing during his prayer—and then abandons it, afterwards saying, “God does not hear.” No! When asking for something in particular, one must persevere and not grow weary in prayer, like the widow who by her persistence compelled even the unjust judge to grant her petition.
True men of prayer, when seeking something in prayer, unite their prayer with fasting, vigils, deprivations of every kind, and all manner of good works; and they ask not for a day or two, but for months and years— and thus they receive. Imitate them, if you desire to succeed in prayer.
From: Readings For Every Day of Great Lent, Ed. N. Shaposhnikova (Moscow: Danilov Monastery, 2025).