One of the most significant fasts preparing Christians for Easter is Lent. It would be a mistake to regard it as a kind of diet when the Orthodox refuse certain foods.
The purpose of fasting is to correct your heart. An angry person must become meek, cruel - philanthropic, envious and greedy - get rid of these passions.
Without spiritual work on oneself, constant prayer, reading special literature, everything else makes no sense.
10. Do not eat food of animal origin
During fasting, a person devotes himself to spiritual work. It is desirable that it is the soul that controls the body. This is easier to achieve if you abandon animal products and limit the amount of food.
John of Kronstadt wrote that drunkenness, eating, and everyday worries cut off the wings of the soul, bring us closer to the ground.
During fasting, you should not eat animal products: milk and any dairy products, meat and meat products, fish and eggs. There is a small exception. On Palm Sunday and the Annunciation it is allowed to cook fish dishes.
Believers can eat cereals, herbs, vegetables and fruits, nuts, dried fruits, etc. If a person is sick, he may not fast so severely, because any disease also humbles the flesh. The same rule applies to pregnant women, those who have to work hard or study hard.
9. Drink alcohol
Christians should not drink vodka, beer or cognac, not only during fasting, but also at other times, because drunkenness is condemned by the church.
On Lent, believers on Sundays can drink some dry, loose wine. Before use, it must be diluted in half with water, and drink no more than 300 g per day. From this amount of alcohol a person will not get drunk, but he will have the strength to pass the post.
8. You can’t get married
It is advisable not to have a wedding in fasting. It is worth abandoning all the amusements, and festivities, a plentiful table will be inappropriate.
In addition, registration of relations implies marital proximity. And during this period, it is advised to abstain from it. For the same reason, newlyweds are not crowned during Lent. But sometimes, if there is a good reason, young people can be blessed for marriage.
7. It is necessary to limit entertainment and amusement
In fasting, you need to pray more, more often visit the temple. It is advisable to avoid leisure, which can lead to sin: drunkenness, laziness and idleness. Some priests do not advise watching feature films at this time, as this is also entertainment.
And the believers have another task - to work on their spiritual development. Refusing the TV and other entertainments, you can leave time for reading books. And it’s not necessary to choose only spiritual literature, you can read high-quality classics.
As for the holidays, such as a birthday or an anniversary, supermarkets now have such a rich selection of products that you can set a rich table without breaking the fast.
6. You can not spend a lot of time aimlessly reading news on the Internet and discussions on social networks
The canons of the Church do not say that fasting should refrain from a computer. But only because when they were written, there was no similar technique. Many elders warned against verbosity and talked about how helpful prudent silence is.
After prayer, in order to maintain the received tender mood, it is advisable not to talk to anyone. Silence helps the soul prepare for prayer. Therefore, at least in the post it is worth refraining from reading newspapers and magazines, from constant communication in social networks. So a man is drawn into worldly vanity.
This does not mean that you can not go to the computer. The Internet is not just about entertainment. If you need to check your mail or find the necessary information, you can not only, but also need to use a computer or phone.
5. You can not be angry and irritable
During fasting, more often than usual, sensitivity and irritability are manifested. When a person cannot receive joy from a meal, he does not have a feeling of satiety, a certain vacuum is formed. It needs to be filled. It should be prayer or worship, or reading. This is the meaning of the post.
When we simply refuse food, suffer from hunger, tension appears, and, as a result, irritability.
4. To offend and condemn loved ones
During fasting it is not allowed to swear, enter into conflicts and quarrel with anyone. The meaning of fasting is self-improvement, i.e. a man brings up kindness, meekness, patience, piety, etc. If he still experiences anger and irritation, then something in his spiritual development is going wrong.
3. To be exalted above them, to be proud of their “lent successes”
It also happens that a person is proud of his “achievements”, that he can hold a post. In this case, it is useless. To receive spiritual fruits, a prayer of repentance is necessary.
A person who does not see his sins or considers them insignificant will not fight them. And realizing his sinfulness, he will understand that there is nothing special to be proud of, a huge work on himself is ahead.
2. Cheer up
Often, especially at the end of fasting, temptations appear. The believer is increasingly starting to think about what he would like to get rich or become famous, etc.
And, as a result, sadness and sorrow are born. To cope with it, you need a deep prayer, which a person must create every day. When God's grace descends upon him, he will begin to better understand himself, see his sins, correct himself, and despondency will recede.
1. Marital intimacy is not permitted
By tradition, these days spouses should not enter into marital intimacy. But this should be negotiated between husband and wife, and everything should happen by mutual agreement. If both spouses or one of them cannot abstain for so long, then you can make concessions.
What is really unacceptable is a quarrel about this, a break in relations or even treason. If the husband or wife cheats, then both will be guilty of sin.
And kisses during fasting are allowed. If a couple has a sense of proportion, they can kiss, showing so their love and tenderness.