The Fast of Joy – Father Pimen Vlad

Listen to a beautiful word from Father Pimen Vlad related to the Christmas fast which we are fast approaching. The father advises us with practical examples on what to avoid in the fast.

Enjoy!

Here we are again, my dears!

Fast With Right Measure

What I wanted to tell you… a few things. Soon the Nativity Fasting will begin. A rather long fast, but a beautiful fast, a fast, so to speak, permitted by the Holy Fathers — a fast of joy. The Savior is born! And then the fast is not so harsh, not like the one in Lent, as they say, Easter. And what would I ask you, by strength, each of you to try and keep this fast. This fasting, which is ordained by the church, that it replaces food with fasting food, nobody forces you to not eat until I don’t know what time or that you work, that you have occupation from it that requires effort, but a little to eat fasting food, let’s try something else. That fasting is not to eat fasting until you can no longer. Fasting means eating, but not eating until saturation, leaving a little more in the plate, being able to eat a little more.

Fasting completed by prayer

So a little bit of a defeat, let’s not get there until we can no longer. So that’s what fasting means too. After that, let’s try a little more prayer, confession, communion, a little more at church, something to complete in all this. And another thing, you also need another type of fast. Let’s talk less. Zipper to the mouth. That if we talk a lot there is no time for prayer. And after that, let’s judge less, if it can be at all, this is a fast too. A fairly large fast, to judge less. And that means more prayer. That if you pray, you no longer have time to judge others.

How to cut from passions in the period of fasting

And something else, there are so many passions that do not leave us alone. Especially in men, even in Romania I see one thing: the problem of drinking, they can not overcome it. To fight with such a thing. Who can control himself, to be content with one glass, who can not, should cut it off altogether. Because the drink, once it masters you, destroys everything. It also takes your mind, you behave ugly with others around you, you destroy your family, you talk badly, you spend your money without use, and in the end you lose your soul too. Smoking also harms you and those around you. So many passions of these are that rule us and don’t leave us alone. Let’s fight it a bit. This is fasting too. To be able to cut the drink altogether or reduce it if you can, a glass at the table and that’s it.

After that, women. There’s another disease with them. I also call it ,,shop therapy”. The clothes, the purses, the shoes, what a fight they with these. If they go into a store with something like that, they also sit there all day. So it’s an inner satisfaction like that, the joy of seeing them, even not buying them, but seeing them. Sweetening of them. And I was looking a little like this, knowing different situations, it’s a very big fight, not buying your necessary, sir, something to look good on me and nice, but not overly expensive. No, the trend always towards something expensive, something of brand, especially to purses “Louis..”,,, Hermes”, “Michel Michel” and I don’t know what anymore. A bunch of firms of these that go hundreds of euros up on a simple purse.

Temptation of shopping

So here too a very big fight, the struggle of women in general. There are good brands, a little cheaper clothes, it can be done. But where does it start here? Well, let the others see me that I have this brand that is cheaper. They’re ashamed. So in the end it’s not a necessity, it’s pride, for the others to see me that I have the one that’s from 500 euros up, from I don’t know how much, those prices are getting higher and higher. Thousands of euros. And we arrive… we get out of normal. And here you need a little fast. Let us be content. They are good ones, made of leather, such, at half the price. Why do we have to pay for those most expensive ones? Look, I found shoes, boots, winter boots in Romania at Marelbo.

It’s a store, the goods are produced in Romania, they have the factory somewhere in Bucovina, somewhere near Rădăuți and they have shops all over Romania. And we saw one thing: priced very cheap, leather and very comfortable. For years I have been wearing something like this. Someone else bought me some that they were three times more expensive and not so comfortable, even they were of brand. No, I saw. So it can get good stuff, quality and at an acceptable price. That is, we must not overdo it. Come on, you make a fad once, twice, but when you get to have a closet of purses like, as they say, 50 of them all, isn’t that disease? Or clothes… every kind that you don’t end up wearing them anymore. As they say, the wardrobes break and you have there that you say, “Well, I haven’t wear it in two years, this I don’t know when” because you don’t have time to dress them all, they are so many of them.

Necessity or fad?

Is it really necessary to have so many? Or shoes the same, one full room. We don’t need so much, do you know why? Because one day we leave. And they all remain, and we say it’s an investment. Tens of thousands of euros. But we can make this investment smaller and send it beyond, that is, into the Heaven. In what way? Helping the poor, maybe others get their toes out of the shoes. Those are content anyway, they don’t look at the price. Let it be good, let it be warm. Let’s be careful. A, women. I know that now some are judging me a bit, “what do you know parent of such a thing, what do you mean, the neighbor has I do not know what and what I’m doing?”. Well, we need to be a little careful. That the brand does not keep us warm, they do not keep us warm even if they are of those exaggerated brands. They don’t keep us warm. It’s just the satisfaction of our selfishness.

Let’s take a little care. No one says to you not to buy it. But let us also have a measure that we will not overcome. Because we leave them all sometime. We don’t know what times will come. We see now, this hustle and bustle. Maybe one day it all ends. Are all this keeping us warm? No! Have the necessary. Let’s have, say, even more beautiful, come on, two three more expensive, but let’s not overdo it. I mean, always be balanced, yes? If I upset you, forgive me! But it’s my duty to tell you. Because I know the fight that is at all these levels, I’ve seen. And then we all, each one in one way or another, have a struggle towards something specific. It tempts us something specific, well, here comes the crowning, when we manage to overcome this. Let’s balance a bit.

Fasting and all-encompassing defeat

Okay, this tempts me. But there is also the second variant. That’s pretty good and don’t spend that much. Why don’t I choose this? Let me defeat myself. And because I set aside for that expensive one, with the difference I still help someone to dress. And I sent something into heaven. I mean, lets balance all these things a little bit. Yes, and then God sees our effort. That we really cut a bit, we fight a bit, straighten something. But we must try. If we don’t try, we’ll never succeed.

Yes, that’s what I wanted to tell you now, if the Lent of Joy is still approaching, let’s try a little to fast it from all directions, as they say. And most importantly: confession and communion. Because that gives us strength and courage to move forward. Because we don’t know if tomorrow is ours. Times are boiling. And that’s why, the connection with God, through the Mysteries of the Church. Because we don’t know when we’re leaving. Let’s not waste a moment, no day, let’s not postpone, did you understand? And let us always shout to the Mother of God, that she is our connection with heaven. Without the Mother of God we are lost. So always at the Mother of God, from morning to evening, “Mother of God help us! Mother of God do not leave us!” And the Mother of God will always help. Always, always, with prayer and with kindness, with love, with what we can around us. And all this you must know that they go to God.

Because with regards of the others it is enough for the day her wickedness! Let’s not add any more. And God seeing our effort, comes with His mercy and reassures all these troubled waters that are now. And He can also bring peace to earth.

Yes, my dear ones, let the Mother of God help us, keep us on Her guard and lets start a fast with joy! God help us!

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