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Although the world desperately needs fasting, yesterday, today and tomorrow come together to arrange a triduum of feasts that do not grace these days of June every year. Yesterday was the feast of the Baptist, today the mystical feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and tomorrow will one day be fully recognized as the feast of the Queen of Peace, evangelist par excellence who has led to the conversions of millions to Christ in recent years alone. As such we did not feel heaven is asking us to fast today but giving us a day of feasting to celebrate its great acts of love on our behalf. And so we wish you a wonderful day and weekend of feasting and savoring these summer moments the Lord so graciously bestows on us. Here are some thoughts from Greta on one of her favorite saints who we commemorate in this triduum, John the Baptist.  Thank you for fasting each week with us - you will be glad that you did for all of eternity...

Hold the fast friends! In case you didn’t know, June 24th is the Solemnity of John the Baptist, a hero to those of us who regularly fast. In medieval times (and still now in some European countries), the celebrations for St John the Baptist were many and varied since the cousin of Jesus had a unique role in salvation history. Let’s review what we know about him:

-John’s parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah were elderly, and Zechariah was a priest- a priest who was chosen by lot that fateful day to enter the sanctuary. The account is detailed in the first chapter of Luke. All of a sudden, there was angel standing there next to the table of incense. The angel’s straightforward message to the fearful priest was that God had heard his prayer and that his wife would bear a son. Wouldn’t it be that this prayer for a son was decades old? Surely, an elderly man wasn’t still praying for a child? He likely would have given up, but the prayer was heard when it was prayed, and was being answered, impossibly, now. Zechariah’s doubtful question about how it could be, resulted in his being made mute (a stroke perhaps?) for nine months of the subsequent miraculous pregnancy.

-John must have been raised without his parents, and some sources say that he was raised with the ascetic sect, the Essenes. This background would fit well with John’s eschewing comfort, plentiful food, and fine clothes. He was known for wearing camel’s hair clothing, probably tanned by him, and eating whatever was available for him to forage: insects and wild honey. Because he was the real deal and obviously not living for status, power, or money, people listened intently to his preaching. So many people listened to him and made the trek out to the wilderness to see him. St Mark says in chapter one that “ALL of JERUSALEM and the surrounding countryside” went out to see him. That’s a lot of people!! Some thought he was Elijah returned or the Messiah, but “No,” he told them, he was the “voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.” He made heart stopping proclamations such as, “Even now the ax lies at the root of the tree! Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire!” People were repenting all over the place, asking what they should do to reform their behavior, and lining up to be baptized. John had many disciples who fasted as well, and some of them, including Andrew, began to follow Jesus when John pointed to Him and said “Behold the Lamb of God.”

-He himself did not know who the Messiah was, but John said that he was mystically told that when he would see the Spirit descend on someone he was baptizing, that would be his sign. When Jesus presented Himself for baptism, it must have been an awesome moment for John to baptize Him, witness a dove descend on Him, and hear a voice from heaven proclaiming, “You are my beloved Son. With you I am well pleased.”

-John spoke the truth, directly and forcefully, without regard to status to soldiers, tax collectors, Pharisees, and even the King. In fact, it was John’s candid pronouncement that the king’s marriage was illegitimate that basically signed his death warrant. The hateful queen whispered into her daughter’s ear to “ask for the head of John” when Salome, the daughter, had danced beautifully to entertain the guests at a banquet. Standing for true marriage was the cause of John’s martyrdom as it has been for many today. Faithful Christians have suffered loss of jobs, friendship, family ties for speaking the truth about marriage. 

John’s life was not a long life, nor was he blessed with material wealth, but oh how the spirit of God flowed through him. So let’s honor him today by recalling his conception, birth, ministry, and death, and following his model of holiness. Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to light a bonfire, swim in a river, or have a glass of mead in honor of John.

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Why We Fast – Our Core Fasting Intentions

1) For the Holy Spirit to reign down upon America renewing our land as the Christian, capitalist meritocracy we were founded to be.

2) For the protection of our police, firefighters, military and their families from harm and that the Lord bless their courageous generosity on our behalf one hundredfold.

3) For the protection of the families who fast with us, and for God’s blessings of abundance upon them and that true to His word, we will be able to witness that He prospered us in famine.

Would you like to learn more about fasting?

We maintain a repository of ideas and information we have learned over the last decade while fasting weekly for America. From scientific studies on the benefits of fasting, to the differences between intermittent dieting vs intermittent fasting, to scriptural references regarding the power of fasting to the history of first century Christians who stated believers are obligated to fast weekly, we hope you will find numerous insights with our free resource located here.

Together let us also implore Heaven while fasting for intentions you have highlighted:

4) For Mike Lindell who is putting himself on the front lines suing over the election fraud that has taken place and for all of the warriors who are stepping up around the nation to fight for the gospel – May The Father cover them in the blood of our savior,  protect them and their families from evil and bring victory to their endeavors.

5) For priests, ministers and all who aspire to lead others to the Lord, that the Holy Spirit will reign down upon them as at Pentecost filling them to overflowing with an understanding of what the Lord wants, courage and the desire to preach what He would have them preach and protection and strength from all evil that comes against them. 

6) For the Americans jailed after January 6th who were admitted to the Capitol building by the police, and who were not found to have destroyed any property at the capitol yet who have been held captive ever since on our own soil - That God's Spirit will move quickly to bring justice back to this land by freeing them while enlightening Americans how to bring God's justice back to our nation.

7) For young Megan who has an incurable liver condition @ Duke Hospital - Asking the Divine Physician for a complete healing.

Who We Are

St. Joseph Partners is a for-profit business that has funded Fast for America for over ten years. To the extent you support our work to renew America and if you understand why gold and silver protect believers' wealth in this world, please consider us or recommend us when you or someone you know buys or sells gold and silver. From our website www.StJosephPartners.com you can buy and sell dozens of types of precious metals. We close on Sundays to honor the Sabbath. Click here for a link where you can view a brief video about our firm and a brief video about why all investors and families should have some gold and silver in their portfolios.