وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Prostration may be a form of self-abasement before God.
Every prostration, man rebukes himself before God for on of his sins and asks for forgiveness, saying: I have sinned, O Lord, in doing this or that, so please forgive me. I have desecrated Your temple, so please forgive me. Forgive me, for I am lazy, negligent.... etc.
Prostration may be accompanied by prayers of gratitude and praise.
Spiritual preliminaries, such as self-examination or any spiritual reading to soften the heart, may precede prostration.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Drills while Fasting




What are these drills?
Since the fasting period is a sacred spiritual, during which one aims to develop spiritually, it is proper that one should place before him, some spiritual drills to convert these spiritual desires into a practical mode of living. So, what are these drills?
Spiritual drills vary from one person to anotheraccording to their requirements. These drills may include things like resisting some weak facets in the life of a fasting person, gaining certain virtues that such a person lacks, or spiritual longings pervading his heart.
Thus, they differ in the same person in accordance with his needs.
A person’s needs will differ from time to time in accordance with his struggles on the one hand and his degree of development on the other hand.
What is important is set up spiritual drills so that the person who fasts may feel that he has before him a certain target against which he will examine himself and which he will pursues to accomplish clear result in addition to the general virtues of fasting that are of benefit to him.
What we are going to discuss now is by way of example.
Every person should set whatever exercises are appropriate to him in his fast provided that this is done, as much as possible, under the supervision of his Confession Father.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Drills Pertaining to Fasting




The purpose of these drills is to pursue a sound and developing fast.
Some of these drills pertain to self-control.
They may include stopping oneself from eating certain kinds of food that one covets. This may mean a total stop throughout the fasting period, a partial stop during a limited period or on a certain day, a reduction of the quantity of the food, or abstinence from a certain item of food.
Self-control drills may include the length of abstinence, its conditions and self-development during such a period. Some people resort to a system of gradual progression even within one fast. Lent for example, covers eight weeks during which one may gradually advance in degree of his asceticism and abstention from food.
Self-control also includes eating in moderation before beginning of a fast and on feast days. Eating on these days should not be gluttonous and uncontrolled. Self-control also includes the element of hunger.
Drills may embrace virtues accompanying fasting.
In this way they include the spiritual aspects of fasting such as self-control in areas outside the scope of eating such as control of the body, abstention from bodily lusts and all sensuous luxuries, spiritual vigils and keeping away from luxuries.
There are also drills that pertain to what fasting including humiliation and penitence before God and gradual growth in asceticism.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Concentration on a point of weakness or a favourite sin:
Each person knows perfectly well which sin he easily falls into and which sin he repeatedly commits and repeatedly referred to in his confessions. Try to discard on of these sins while fasting. In this way, your fast indeed becomes sacred.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Fasting could be a period of quitting a sin of anger or judgement of others.
Many people fall into this well-known sin. Drills may deal with eliminating a number of verbal sins that one may have become accustomed to saying. In fasting, he may train himself in elimination them one by one.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

How easy it is for man to condemn his sinful actions by using verses from the bible:
For instance, if he slips into the sin of anger, he reminds himself of the Bible verse: “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.“ (James 1:20),. He should repeat this verse often every day especially in situations where anger wars upon him. He should rebuke himself saying: What benefit is my fast if I anger and do not do the will of God?
If he slips into any of the spoken sins, he puts the following words of the Bible before his eyes: “Every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.“ (Matt 12:36). He then says to himself in reproach: To what benefit is my fast in self-control but can not control my tongue saying to my brother: “You fool” thus deserving of “hell fire?” (Matt 5:22)..

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Whenever you feel hungry and covet food, rebuke yourself:
Say to yourself: When you give up this sin, I shall allow you to eat, for the Bible says: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thess 3:10), and you have not repented in a way befitting the fast or befitting a heart that is the residence of God.
Rebuke yourself, and say to it: What is the use of me shunning food if I have not yet given up the sin that separates me from God and that makes all my fast of no avail?

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Take your point of weakness and make it the topic of your prayers and the target of your efforts during your fast.
Concentrate fully to be careful and exacting and in resisting it.
Pour yourself before God, and say to Him: Save me, O’ Lord, from this sin. I admit my weakness in this particular case and will not conquer it without Your help. Have mercy, O’Lord, on my weakness and helplessness. I do not want to conclude this fast before this sin is eradicated from my life.4
Collect Bible verses that deal with this sin. Place them before you so that you may read them constantly.
Let fasting be a period of struggle with God so that he may grant you fortitude to conquer your sins. Train yourself while fasting in this kind of struggle, and say: Since, according to the Lord's words, fasting exorcises the evil ones, may it exorcise the devils that wars within me with the sins with which I am weak. May it exorcise my sins as it exorcised devils when coupled with prayer.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Drills Pertaining to Repentance


Since fasting is a period of repentance, and repentance drills are numerous, let me mention the following:
(a) Concentration on a point of weakness or a favourite sin:
Each person knows perfectly well which sin he easily falls into and which sin he repeatedly commits and repeatedly referred to in his confessions. Try to discard on of these sins while fasting. In this way, your fast indeed becomes sacred.

(b) Train yourself to quit a certain habit while fasting.
An example of this is a smoker who trains himself while fasting to quit smoking. Likewise he who is addicted to drinking coffee or tea and cannot rid himself of this habit. Likewise the person who is addicted by to watching television, wasting his time, discharging himself of his responsibilities.


The period of fasting is an opportunity for to all of them to quit their habits.

(c) Fasting could be a period of quitting a sin of anger or judgement of others.
Many people fall into this well-known sin. Drills may deal with eliminating a number of verbal sins that one may have become accustomed to saying. In fasting, he may train himself in elimination them one by one.

(d) How easy it is for man to condemn his sinful actions by using verses from the bible:
For instance, if he slips into the sin of anger, he reminds himself of the Bible verse: “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.“ (James 1:20),. He should repeat this verse often every day especially in situations where anger wars upon him. He should rebuke himself saying: What benefit is my fast if I anger and do not do the will of God?
If he slips into any of the spoken sins, he puts the following words of the Bible before his eyes: “Every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.“ (Matt 12:36). He then says to himself in reproach: To what benefit is my fast in self-control but can not control my tongue saying to my brother: “You fool” thus deserving of “hell fire?” (Matt 5:22).

(e) Whenever you feel hungry and covet food, rebuke yourself:
Say to yourself: When you give up this sin, I shall allow you to eat, for the Bible says: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thess 3:10), and you have not repented in a way befitting the fast or befitting a heart that is the residence of God.
Rebuke yourself, and say to it: What is the use of me shunning food if I have not yet given up the sin that separates me from God and that makes all my fast of no avail?

(f) Take your point of weakness and make it the topic of your prayers and the target of your efforts during your fast.
Concentrate fully to be careful and exacting and in resisting it.
Pour yourself before God, and say to Him: Save me, O’ Lord, from this sin. I admit my weakness in this particular case and will not conquer it without Your help. Have mercy, O’Lord, on my weakness and helplessness. I do not want to conclude this fast before this sin is eradicated from my life.4
Collect Bible verses that deal with this sin. Place them before you so that you may read them constantly.
Let fasting be a period of struggle with God so that he may grant you fortitude to conquer your sins. Train yourself while fasting in this kind of struggle, and say: Since, according to the Lord's words, fasting exorcises the evil ones, may it exorcise the devils that wars within me with the sins with which I am weak. May it exorcise my sins as it exorcised devils when coupled with prayer.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The Bible states: “Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly.“ (Joel 1:14). Place this verse before you and train yourself in solitude.



What is meant by solitude is being in seclusion with God, for there are those who isolate themselves at home doing in no spiritual work and concentrate on the radio, television, or magazines, or delve into conversation with others at home! Or they may indulge in sinful thoughts!
Seclusion should actually be indulgence in spiritual work that you do with your bedroom door closed between you and God.
You seclude yourself with the Bible, with the biographies of saints, with prostration, and with prayer.