Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verse 14-15
14 So stand fast with your loins
girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
15 and your feet shod in readiness
for the gospel of PEACE.
Paul
describes the Christian in terms of the dress and equipment of Roman soldiers.
He observes, however, that the Christian’s readiness for combat is not directed
against human beings but against the spiritual powers of evil. Unique
importance is placed upon prayer.
Feet
shod in Peace. Wherever we go, we must be prepared to bring the good news of
salvation, of peace with God, to all we may encounter. The Devil will try to
turn us back. He’ll scatter across our path, like so many rocks and thorns, a
wagonload of doubts, accusations of our inadequacy, and fear of conflict and
rejection. But if we’ve put on the “boots” of readiness— if we’ve prepared
ourselves, through faithful study and prayer, to share the gospel— then we’ll
walk safely over these obstacles, crushing them as we go.
Spiritual Weapon-Fasting[1]
Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise. Fasting is a good safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. Fasting repels temptations, anoints unto piety; it is the comrade of watchfulness and the artificer of chastity. In war it fights bravely, in peace it teaches stillness. – St. Basil the Great
Are you struggling with a sin? I mean a sin that you just can’t seem to get rid of; a sin that is keeps you in a constant state of guilt and despair. You’ve prayed, you’ve frequented the sacraments, but you just can’t seem to break its hold. We’ve all been there at one point or another, and such struggles are part and parcel of the spiritual life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today, I want to introduce you to a very powerful, but much neglected weapon in the spiritual arsenal: Fasting. If you want to put to energize your spiritual life, if you want to slay a sin that has you in bondage, if you want to grow in union with God, take up the holy weapon of fasting. For as Jesus said, there are some demons that “cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” Let’s examine this powerful weapon and its use in the spiritual life.
1. Start with the basics – The first step in fasting is
obeying the law of the Church—fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good
Friday, abstaining from meat on Fridays, and observing the Eucharistic
fast (do not eat or drink one hour before communion).
Regarding abstaining from meat on Friday, it’s true that it is technically is not required in the U.S., but some sort of food-based penance or sacrifice is still required. But instead of trying to invent some new penance, why not just stick with what Catholics have always done? Abstain from meat on Fridays. There’s a good reason for it. Men, fasting two days a year and abstaining from meat on Fridays is incredibly easy. In the “old days”, fasting was required every weekday in Lent. And there was once even a time when that fasting required abstinence from all dairy products. There were a ton of other fasts and days of abstinence throughout the liturgical year as well. I would say that we have it easier than any other period in Catholic history. So let’s start with the basics and obey the law of the Church without grumbling or complaining.
2. Add more – As Catholic men, we should never
be satisfied with the bare minimum. We should seek to constantly pursue a
deeper conversion. St. Francis de Sales gives some good advice in this regard:
If you are able to fast, you will do well to observe some days beyond what
are ordered by the Church, for besides the ordinary effect of fasting in
raising the mind, subduing the flesh, confirming goodness, and obtaining a
heavenly reward, it is also a great matter to be able to control greediness,
and to keep the sensual appetites and the whole body subject to the law of the
Spirit; and although we may be able to do but little, the enemy nevertheless
stands more in awe of those whom he knows can fast.
Accordingly,
once you’ve begun to follow the law of the Church, build on that
foundation to include fasting in other ways. Here are some ideas:
·
Skip
one meal extra a week, like breakfast or lunch. In addition to Fridays,
Wednesdays are traditional days of fasting, so that might be a good day to
start with.
·
Deny
yourself dessert on set days. Most of us eat too much sugar anyway.
·
Skip
salt on your food.
·
Fast
from soda. It’s terrible for you!
·
Skip
the beer or other alcoholic drinks when going out to eat.
·
Don’t
eat between meals. This sounds easy but try it. You’ll find it’s quite hard
since most of us snack frequently and don’t even realize it.
·
Include
things besides food. For example, fast from all technology one day a week.
·
Fast
(one main meal with two small snacks) one day a week.
·
Drink
only water.
· Now, you don’t have to fast from all of these things all of the time. It is best to choose set days for fasting, like the Wednesdays or Fridays mentioned above. Doing so helps keep our fasting consistent.
3. Fast from sin – Bodily fasting is meaningless unless it is joined with a spiritual fast from sin. St. Basil gives the following exhortation regarding fasting: Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood and perjury. Privation of these is true fasting.
4. Pray – Fasting is not simply a matter
of will power. Grace is absolutely necessary. While fasting energies prayer,
prayer energizes fasting. Both are weak without the other.
As you fast to conquer your passions, pray constantly for the grace of God to flood your soul, beg for the virtues in which you need to mature, and ask for strength in the spiritual warfare.
5. Beware of Pride – With any kind of self-discipline, penance, or fasting comes a temptation to pride. We face the danger of believing that we are superior to others because we fast or thinking that fasting is an end in itself. But fasting itself is never the goal, nor does it make us perfect or more spiritual than others. Rather, fasting is an aid, a training tool in our ascent toward perfection, which is found in a pure, self-giving love of God and neighbor. “Be on your guard when you begin to mortify your body by abstinence and fasting,” says St. Jerome, “lest you imagine yourself to be perfect and a saint; for perfection does not consist in this virtue. It is only a help; a disposition; a means though a fitting one, for the attainment of true perfection.”
Conclusion: If we neglect fasting, our
spiritual life will always be mediocre. We will be weak in the combat against
our passions, we will easily succumb to temptation, and we will never truly
overcome our inherent selfishness and self-indulgence. As men, our desire
should be to strengthen ourselves and be the best that we can be. We should
train ourselves to be strong in the spiritual warfare, so we can resist the
temptations of the evil one. There is no better way to begin this spiritual
training than through the practice of fasting.
Men Fasting for their Wives[2]
The e5 Man fasts for his bride as a way to imitate Jesus as described by Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5 (for which the e5 is named). e5 Men fast in unison on bread and water for at least one 24-hour day per month - preferably the 1st Wednesday of the month.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her." - Ephesians 5:25 "So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church." - Ephesians 5:28-29
Jesus made a bodily sacrifice on the cross for his bride the church to present her to God the Father "without spot or wrinkle." (Eph 5:27) By fasting for our earthly bride and joining our sufferings to Christ's we intercede for grace for our brides. At the same time our act of bodily love in union with Christ accelerates our own conversion.
By making this sacrifice for the women in our
lives we live out the essence of the gospel through a very particular act of self-denial.
To lay down one's body out of love for another is the central message of the
gospel.
Daily Devotions
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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