Great Lent in our Coptic Church
“ I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplication , with fasting .” ( Daniel 9:3 ) Fasting is an essential component of our spiritual Life . Lent , known as “ the Great Fast ,” is the main fast of our church . It is 55 days and they are the most Holy days of fasting of our Coptic Church . According to our beautiful church , great Lent starts with a pre- Lent fast that consists of a week for preparation , followed by a forty day fast commemorating the Lord Christ ’ s fasting on the mountain where He was tempted , ended with the holy week of the Coptic calendar ( Pascha ). The forty days were fasted by the Lord Himself . The word Pascha is a Hebrew word which means Passover . Great Lent is the six-week period before Palm Sunday . In the past , the spiritual fathers began fasting the Holy Lent on the following day of the Feast of Epiphany . There are three essential means of
participating in Great Lent : fasting , prayer , and giving ( efforts , time , tithe ,…) In
giving , we share what we have with others . The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the most outstanding model of fasting . He started His service by fasting for forty days . Christ fasted and taught us to fast . We fast by not eating or drinking for a period of time ( each according to the advice of his / her father of confession ), and then we do not eat whatever is related to animal
39 fat . By God ’ s power , we get trained not to eat certain food for a certain period . So , in the process of restraining from food and drink , we also restrain ourselves from committing sins . Fasting requires discipline and self-control not just physically but also spiritually . Fasting must be accompanied by prayer . During fasting , our prayer get also deeper and our reflection on our own behavior gets more serious . Our relationship with God becomes stronger . The fasting of the body is a chance to nourish the spirit . Fasting is to be linked to repentance . So , great lent must be accompanied by practicing repentance and confession sacrament . May the Lord Almighty grant all of us a holy fast that glorifies His holy name through the intercession of saint Mary and Saint Stephen . Amen