Prepare the Way of the Lord!

The Natiivity Fast is one of the four major fasts of the Church which calls us to spiritual reflection and self-examination as we prepare for the coming of our Lord in the flesh on Christmas Day.

The fast runs from November 15 through Christmas Eve. (But we are given a dispensation for Thanksgiving!)

In our day of extreme materialism and conspicuous consumption and especially during the holiday season when everyone around us is obsessed with shopping, presents, parties, and eating and drinking, the discipline of fasting is counter-cultural. Rather than indulging our appetites, the Church reminds us of the words of Christ who said, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)

She does this by giving us a season of fasting wherein we abstain from meat, fish, oil, wine, dairy, and eggs as well as eating less frequently and with smaller potions. It’s not easy! We seek to master our bodily appetite and focus on our spiritual condition. Fasting puts into practice Jesus’s words of rebuke to Satan, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (St. Luke 4:4)

So not only do we restrict our diet but we intensify our spiritual activities with more prayer — private and public — and by giving alms to the poor. Following the call to repentance by St. John the Forerunner, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” we are preparing our hearts to receive Christ when He is born of the Virgin in the cave. With the heavenly host of angelic beings we join our voices and sing, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (St. Luke 2:14)

Go here for more to read about the Nativity Fast written by our Bishop THOMAS.