Elder Paisios - Cordial Fast

	The man is showing his cordial will by fasting. If one is accomplishing cordially, God helps him. But, if the one is making such efforts forcing himself, and says: “What shall I do, it is Friday today, and I will fast to keep the order” – then such one will suffer. However, if one has his mind clear and he understands the meaning of fasting, and if such one is fasting for love to Lord Jesus Christ, then he will be joyful: “At this day – he shall think – they have crucified Jesus; they did not give Him water, even, to drink. They were giving Him vinegar. So that I shall not drink water, even, the whole of this day.”  If this will be the deed of the one, then he will feel a sublime joy inside, bigger than the most flavourful drink of the other ones.      And look, many laymen do not fast even in Good Friday, they cannot, even on this day. But they can, and they are willing to sit the whole day long striking with hunger in front of the doors of some ministry, only to satisfy their fancy, to achieve something. There, the devil encourages them. What they do is a suicide. In addition, others sing loudly and happily: “Christ is risen”, because they know that they will eat much and well on Easter. They look like the Judeans who wanted to crown Jesus for their king, because He fed them in the desert.     Do you remember the words of the Prophet? “Damned shall be the one who carelessly acts in the deed of God” (Jer. 48,10). It is one case, if the one has a cordial will and wants to fast, but cannot, for his legs are shaking and he collapses down if he doesn’t eat, it doesn’t help him because he is weak, and his health and endurance are weak; and it is totally different if the one is strong and healthy and does not fast. Where is the good will then? Moreover, the sorrow of the one who wants to accomplish, but cannot because of his physical weakness, compensates the accomplishment and his award is bigger than the one who has courage and achieve the accomplishment, because he feels the joy (satisfaction) as well. Man becomes as a lamb through fasting. If someone becomes a beast but not lamb, then it means that the accomplishment he started, either exceeds his limits, or he accomplished only due his selfishness, and that’s why the one never gets help from God.         If man doesn’t reach the point that everything he does, he does with love to God, and to his fellows, such man is wasting his time only. If the one is fasting and has his vanity idea that he does something great and very important, he is fasting in vain. At the end, he is like an empty kettle in which you can keep only nothing. If you fill it with water, it will flow away bit by bit and nothing will remain.