The
Time of Advent
On
November 15th, the Orthodox Churches start the Christmas fast. It is also called
the fast of St. Philip because it immediately follows the feast of this apostle.
The central idea of Advent is that it is the ‘coming’
of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus it already present to us;
but the grace of Advent allows us a more vivid, and quite
new, awareness of this presence.
Christian
prayer during this period might be summed up in one word: ‘Come’.
It is the “Come, Lord Jesus’ with which the Book of revelation
ends. If we utter this call for help with sincerity and fervor, it becomes
a true ascesis, and the hope and anticipation of the Lord in fact fill
an increasing place in our Soul. Since the Lord is already in us we can
think of this time as a period of intensification and the prayer ‘come’ could
be interpreted as: ‘Oh,
let me be aware of thy presence in me -- may the whole world feel thy
presence’.
To
prepare ourselves to receive Jesus as King and Messiah, we must above
all, during Advent, develop an attitude of inner obedience: may my
own will no longer prevail, but let me rather be under orders; may
he, who is stronger than I and whom I recognize as Master , come! The
celebration of Jesus’s birth coincides
with the victory of light over darkness in the physical world -- from
Christmas on, daylight lengthens. In the same way, our interior darkness
will be dispelled by the coming of him who is the Light of the world.
To prepare for this victory of light we must, during advent open ourselves
more and more to the light ‘which
lightenth every person who comes into the world.’ We must examine
ourselves under this inner light, and let this light ‘which is
in our deepest self’ guide
our daily actions. We must live in an atmosphere of gentleness, of truth
and of sincerity.
(Excerpted from The Year of Grace of the Lord by a Monk of the Eastern
Church)
Advent fasting guidelines.
The
Fast of Christmas (November 15-December 24). In modern usage a strict
observance of this fast commences after December 12. (The celebration
of the Marriage Service which is generally prohibited during fasting
periods is permitted between November 15 and December 12). Fasting
is integrally related to prayer and acts of charity. When Orthodox
Christians integrate these three things into their daily activity,
they are like vigilant sentinels, anticipating the man of eternity,
who goes beyond himself to God. The whole man, body and soul, participates
in the act of fasting. The body's participation in the spiritual exercise
(ascesis) is sought not through suffering and affliction, but in endurance
through abstention and resistance to distractions.
There
is a book of daily meditations for the Christmas Advent fast and Epiphany
available in our bookstore. The authors are Presbytera Emily Harakas & Fr.
Anthony Coniaris. It contains a bible reading for each day, short excerpts
from our liturgical services and the bible for meditation, a prayer
and a meditation by one of our Holy Fathers.
