one small meal
“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.” Ezra 8:21
Today marked the 12th day of fasting for LIFE. Success!
My husband and I have been fasting off sugar, flour, and alcohol since January 1 with great spiritual rigor for the cause of LIFE. The first week is physically and emotionally the hardest after feasting from Christmas through New Year’s Eve.
Wednesdays and Fridays are fasting days.
It is Wednesday evening today as I am writing this post. I was finally able to get back into the weekly rhythm of successfully fasting all day on water and consuming only one small meal in the evening. I ate my evening meal of Baked Salmon and Roasted Broccoli at around 6:30pm. It was delicious. Food is always more delicious when you are fasting and really hungry for it.
Eat, fast, feast.
The rhythm of the week that I describe is an eat, fast, feast cycle. And this cycle has been instrumental in helping me fast off sugar, flour, and alcohol for periods of time while offering sacrifice and prayer for specific intentions regarding Right to Life issues.
Here is an example of a fasting week cycle:
• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 2 meals
• Wednesday and Friday: 1 meal abstaining from meat on Friday
• Sunday: 3 meals
The reasoning behind the cycle is based on Catholic historical church teaching. Typically, Wednesdays and Fridays were fasting days in the Church—especially on Friday when abstaining from meat. (Abstaining from meat on Fridays is still being done all year round—even outside of Lent.)
Mary, our Mother is always pointing us to her son, Jesus—the Bread of Life.
And, it is widely known that the Blessed Mother has asked us to fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays if we can. But, if you find that too difficult when beginning fasting, she asks you find a meaningful way to fast in some way on these days. It is all about Jesus in the Eucharist. He is the only true Bread of Life that will satisfy us.
Sunday Feast Days!
The end of every week is Sunday. The most important day. Every Sunday is a little feast day in the Catholic Church where we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. On this day, we feast instead of fasting, adding in a bit of what we are fasting off of if we would like. You don’t have to add the foods back into your diet on Sunday as there are so many ways to feast without sugar, flour, and alcohol, but the choice is yours.
The rhythm of the week draws us closer to Jesus and creates a fasting habit that forms virtue.
Virtue is what is needed to get us to Heaven. So beautiful.
As you can probably see, the eliminating of certain foods combined with Intermittent Fasting (eating your meals within a specific time window) within a rhythm of the week with regular reception of the Sacraments results in spiritual fasting that is doable. There are still urges to eat off protocol during the day and in the evenings, but they grow weaker as time goes on. When the urges are manageable, they can be handled by The Model, coaching, and lots of prayer.
Oh, the breakthroughs that I am seeing happen in body and soul for myself and for so many clients going through this process. God is the best collaborator I know. Come join us!