Patriarch Sviatoslav: ‘To fast is above all to abstain from sin, bad habits and passions’

“We should remember that to fast does not mean only to limit oneself in food and entertainment. To fast is above all to abstain from sin, bad habits and passions. It is also a rejection of indifference, evil thoughts and selfishness. The Great Lent is an invitation for each of us, wounded with sins, burdened with infirmities and exhausted by daily chores, to rush into the arms of the Lord,” explains Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), head of the UGCC, in his Lenten Pastoral Message. In the letter, the head of the UGCC indicates the following elements of the Great Lent: repentance and penance, prayer, and alms. His Beatitude Sviatoslav says that Lent is a time of intense prayer. “Refraining fromentertainment during this time, we also have to devote more attention to communication with God: through participation in Lenten services in church, and through longer and more zealous prayer in the family and alone,” says the Primate. Blessed Sviatoslav also speaks of works of mercy, which he calls “an essential condition of the Lenten spiritual journey.” In conclusion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav wished that Lent gave all “a renewed spiritual life, awakening of Christian zeal, and love for God and thy neighbor in our parish communities and monastic cloisters.”

UGCC Information Department