Benefitting from the Great Lent

edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
Hello all,
As the beginning of Great Lent is this Monday, I was thinking that I really wanted to take advantage of the depth and richness of this coming fast and to transform it into a fast from sin through self-control and disicipline. I wanted ideas of spiritual practices we could employ this fast against sins we struggle and any other ways to make this fast count and to really grow and flourish spiritually from it-- after all, fasting and prayer cast out devils-- what are some practical things we can do to cast out the devils that surround us and have been tempting us?

I look forward to everyone's responses and I wish us all a most a holy and blessed fast that would be pleasing and acceptable before the Lord.

Comments

  • [coptic]+ Iryny nem `homt>[/coptic]

    I'm not sure if you are familiar with H.H.'s article entitled Spiritual Exercises While Fasting.  I think that may be a good starting point.  Here is another article by one of my personal favourite authors, Abouna Matta el Meskeen entitled The Deep Meaning of Fasting.  Blessed fast.
  • We just had a sermon yesterday in the youth meeting about the three components of the fast that act as one unit. These components are prayer, fasting (two kinds- abstaining from food and fasting from dairy products) and alms giving.
  • thanks, guys!
    those articles were great.
    please share more sermons as well.
    can anyone show me where to find links to some of the hymns we do in holy week, so i can learn them?
    so far i downloaded epouro (from this site) and i know thoak ta te gom (yours is the power),
    but i'd love to learn hristos anesti, the long one that we do while the icon of the resurrection is going round.
    we do this everytime during the 50 days, but i never found any words for it, i'm hoping to learn it by the
    feast of pentecost  ;)
    also what are the words for tasbeha we use during lent? there always seems to be 1001 different verses added
    to tasbeha for each different occasion, which are the 'core' verses that it's good to learn?
    personally i think knowledge of the Holy Bible is very important, and a good spiritual exercise, plus praying
    from the agpeya and memorising some psalms (note, i said it's a good idea, not that i did it, i am not good at
    memorising psalms!)
    may God guide us all in the fast.
  • [coptic]+ Iryny nem `hmot>[/coptic]

    I believe you can find a great deal of the hymns for lent on here under the Media/Audio Hymns.  There are other sites like coptichymns.net (where the articles were from) that also have hymns you can stream.
  • Wow!!! Check out this link:
                                          http://ethiopianorthodox.org/amharic/seasonal/lent/descriptionlentweeks.pdf

    GOD Bless
  • Thank you all, this is great and if anyone else has something to add, please do! I will add a few of my own ideas:
    - cutting down unnnecessary chats, via instant messanger or phone
    - cutting down social networking sites like facebook
    -engaging in spiritual reading
    -targeting one specific sin to focus on and how to stop doing that one sin
    -sitting with yourself to discover what it is that takes you from God and how to cast it off from you

    These are a few things that come to mind.... but I feel like I'm forgetting a few. Keep it up guys with any resources or ideas you have!
  • If anyone is still interested,  found a few short articles and such here:

    http://stmarkdc.org/en/node/2762
  • Hey, you've all mentioned great things...
    (but sadly I can't seem to successfully open elsi70x7's link, maybe its just my browser?)

    Here are some of the things I do not that they are that important, but will share anyway:
    I have a spiritual goal before I start any fast, something like learn 1 verse a day off by heart and repeat it when necessary (practice), i.e. when disturbed by the devil, I make sure I have all the verses memorised that would stop him in his tracks, much like the strategy that Christ used when He was in the desert for 40 days and nights. There is this verse in Psalms saying 'I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I will not sin against You', kind of reflects my goal's motivations...

    Reading, singing hymns are also good tools of benefit...
    That reminds me, I don't want to start a new post because of my perhaps inattention to detail on websites, but I was hoping that someone will kindly direct me to an mp3 of the Pslams introduction in the Passion Week tune? If it is not any trouble.

    User00, here are all the sermons related to fasting on one site:
    http://www.orthodoxsermons.org/sermons?church=All&category=19&speaker=All
    I stashed most these on my mp3 and laptop just in time for lent.

    Particular ones I found:
    http://www.orthodoxsermons.org/sermons?church=All&category=19&speaker=38

    My favourtite one of all:
    http://www.orthodoxsermons.org/sermons/fasting-controlling-what-comes-out

    user00, memorising Pslams is great, couldn't find anything more powerful for us to do during this fast, Father Yostos, I just watched his film (again, for the 40th time) when he used to pray the Pslams, his entire cell was filled with light and incense just showing how heavenly and powerful they really are. I could only memorise them easier when I put them in the tune of how it is read in church? Repitition and practice only cause more retention.
    There is this other way, I did this ages ago, I printed out the shortest Psalm in the Bible, 117, put it in a large font and stuck it in my room where I most glance, next thing you know I was reading it so much subconciously and conciously that I actually memorised it, and didnt know I had memorised it till I noticed an error on my Sunday school homework sheet. What I did out of complete randomness, God used it to build me...

    Self evaluation everyday also opens my eyes alot to what I do and initiates me to change:
    http://old.orthodoxsermons.org/dmdocuments/Handout-GuidetoDailySelf-evaluation.pdf
    I literally printed out 4 copies, kept one in my bag, one in my room, one on the fridge and one in the car.
    The entire motivation behind this is if I cannot identify a problem as a "problem" I will never have an opportunity to fix it because I might never notice it exists and then have to give an account of it on the last day. Or as I say, put on it an account of time, before time puts an account on you.

    Although, forgive me if any of this is not helpful to you.

  • Thanks a lot Selah.

    Also, if anyone is combating the sins of lust/sexual sins this Lent, I happened to stumble upon a very helpful sermon by Father Anthony Messeh:
    http://www.blip.tv/file/3311319
  • I know a lot of people in college are on spring break this week so many of us will have a lot of free time on our hands.  I also know that the devil likes to mess with people when they are bored  :-\  ...so what can us college kids do with this free time besides learning hymns?? how can we become deep in prayer as the saints do?? and how can we make our fasting acceptable to God through abstaining? what else can we practice during this free time?

    please pray for me and my weakness
  • memorise parts of the Bible (eg verses from psalms in agpeya), cook dinner for your parents or your flatmates, study Christian history and the eccumenical councils, avoid gossip and reading celebrity magazines, instead discuss the Bible readings of the day with your friends (see this website under 'our faith'), and go to church, many have extra services during lent. if you're still bored and you did all that let us know!  ;)
  • I feel as if I haven't made any spiritual progress during this Great Lent, rather, "deprogress." ={

  • there are still nearly 3 weeks till the resurrection feast!
    start by visiting all the links above (ok, some of them will do!) and read the Bible readings for each day.
    draw near to God and He will draw near to you  :)
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