وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Man's prayer is intense when hungry.

Fervent spiritual prayers do not come from a full stomach.

That is why prayer and fasting are inseparable. People fast when they seek depth in their prayer. Prayers and bible readings during Passion Week become profound when united by hunger...

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Easter melody recording during Passion Week exhibits spiritual depth by he who records it while fasting. A recording of the same melody on other than fasting days, loses its spiritual depth to become in all probability a mere tune.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

God desires that through hunger that man may identify his weakness. Prostration is therefore more effective when hungry than with a stomach filled with food.
My advice to you is this: If you feel hungry, resist for a while the temptation to eat so that you may receive the blessing of hunger.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The Lord Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and finally became hungry. When the Devil tempted Christ to eat He refused despite His hunger. In doing so, He taught us a lesson. Therefore, endure your hunger, and do not avoid it.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Do not escape from the feeling of hunger through idle talk, wasting of time or sleep which you may resort to in order to overcome the period of hunger without feeling it. By escaping from hunger, you forfeit its blessings, spiritual benefits and the virtue of endurance and control over the body.
Our aim is to benefit from hunger and not escape from it.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

If hunger presses on you, say to yourself that you do not deserve to eat.
Say to yourself: I do not deserve to eat because of my sins. You become inwardly humble when you are physically fatigued which allows you to pray in humility and help you to relinquish pride, vanity and self-complacency.
As for he who stands to pray in might, health and the strength of iron, where will submissiveness come from?

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Two minutes prayer whiles hungry are better than hours when full.
In fact, a hungry person longs for prayer, while he who is full often forgets. That is why most faithful people pray before eating.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Peruse hunger in wisdom when you fast.

Those who have experienced the spiritual benefit arising from hunger tend to prolong its period. However, one must be careful not to exaggerate in utter exhaustion that you end up too frail to stand on your feet to pray. Such a person may opt to pray while prostrating not out of submissiveness but to seek comfort and relaxation for his tired body.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Be wise to train yourself within your body’s limit of endurance. However, I have a frank word to say to you:

Do not be afraid of hunger, for it is a passing sensation. The reason is that the more you give your stomach, the more it expands to accommodate more. Moreover, in cases of those who are overweight, the stomach is flabby, its walls are weak, and if you do not fill it, you feel hungry.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

If you endure your hunger, your stomach will re-condition itself and contract. If you persist, it will no longer be in need for much. Hunger will then not persist since a small quantity will give the stomach a feeling of fullness.