When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:16-18
“Like John the Forerunner to Jesus, John of Ustyug was born to two elderly parents who had long prayed for a child. Also like his eponym, John demonstrated from his youth a desire to lead a godly life.
John practiced strict fasting even while still a child, eating nothing on Wednesdays and Fridays and only bread and water the rest of the week. When his mother asked him why he observed so strict a fasting rule, he replied that he wanted to avoid feeding his flesh so that it would become his enemy and tempt him from following Christ.
At some point in his early life, the family moved from Ustyug to Orlets, but shortly after John’s father died. His mother entered Holy Trinity Convent, where young John was allowed to live with her the rest of his childhood. While there, John continued his strict fasting and began practicing the discipline of silence. Seeing his unusual devotion, his mother left him to God’s will to do as he saw fit in his struggle.
After gaining his majority, John returned to Ustyug and took up residence in a small hut that a devout friend had built for him next to the Dormition Church. It was after his return to Ustyug that John increased his struggles and took up the difficult challenge of being a fool for Christ.
He began wandering the streets of Ustyug during the day wearing only a long shirt that was tied about his waist with a rope… He allowed himself to become the object of much derision and abuse by the townsfolk, but at night he would frequently remain awake all night in prayer, praying especially for those who had abused him during the day.”
John of Ustyug (d. 1494) in Holy Fools: The Lives of Twenty Fools for Christ by Oswin Craton (Chesterton: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2024) 61-63.
If you read the Didache (the early church discipleship manual) on fasting, it reads as follows: “Be careful not to schedule your fasts at the times when the hypocrites fast. They fast on Monday and Thursday, therefore make your fast on Wednesday and Friday.
This tradition prevailed through church history that the days followers of Jesus fasted were Wednesday and Friday. Perhaps that might be a discipline for all of us to adopt with the first Christians and fools for Christ like John of Ustyug.
This bloke took his podvig, his ascesis, to a new level. He did not just pray for those he helped. He prayed by night for those who abused him by day. I have much room for growth in this area.
My human tendency is to avoid people who wrong me, to stay away from them, not pray for them. And I don’t fast weekly. I do it periodically. Perhaps this can help my own mortification of the flesh.
Why study these saints? We find clues like fasting, praying for oppressors, and other disciplines to help us increase our generous impact on those around us. God help us do this on this Lord’s day and throughout this new month!