"When you pray, pray first for the Holy Spirit because when you have the Holy Spirit, you have everything."        - Medjugorje April 4, 1985

"You have forgotten that through prayer and fasting you can avert wars and suspend the laws of nature."       - Medjugorje Dec. 2, 1982

Today, the most studied New Testament scripture in the world is from Acts 15. It portrays Paul’s debate on the lack of need to circumcise believers.

But some believers belonging to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “it is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.”

- Acts15:5

The Pharisees were the super theologians of the day. A group of 70 who were the equivalent of the most respected PhD‘s. And although Yahweh had clearly said that he was drawn to David because of David’s heart, the Jewish elders placed their entire focus on the intellect and not the heart. And in the passage above we again see these intellectual theologians completely missing what the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church towards fresh off of their mistake when they missed and killed the Messiah.

The theologians’ intellectual errors highlight the gaping canyon between pursuing God with formal education, versus pursuing him with the heart in prayer.

The life of Saint Catherine Laboure by Rene Laurentin highlights this reality. To our protestant friends, before dismissing any reflection on saints as evil, consider the Catholic saints as a Billy Graham, or Derek Prince. They simply achieved remarkable spiritual results and reflecting on their lives is insightful and often merits emulation.

For those who don’t know Catherine’s story, she was born in 1806. Her mother died when she was a little girl and by age 12 she was responsible for running the family home and providing for her siblings from their farm.

She eventually chose to become a nun in the city of Paris and claimed that the Lord spoke to her with great clarity and even sent His mother to visit her with a mission. The most well-known part of that mission was communicating to Catherine the design of a medal that heaven wished to have made. As Paul’s handkerchief brought great blessings to believers 2000 years ago, Catherine said that heaven promised believers who carried this medal would also receive extraordinary blessings.

Her religious superiors scoffed at her claims to have been visited by the mother of the Redeemer and for years her mission went nowhere. Obviously fast forward to today and millions of such medals, perhaps hundreds of millions of such metals have been distributed worldwide with thousands of reports of unexplained phenomena and blessings flowing from them.

And while the Catholic theologians in the early 1800s went so far astray as to make instituting the crowning of the King of France a sacrament of the church, consider the insights from simple Catherine, taken from The Life of Catherine Laboure by Rene Laurentin

“Nourishment through fasting”

At age 14 Catherine began to fast on Fridays and Saturdays all the year round. Her mistress who was in charge of Catherine post her mother’s death told Catherine she would tell her father of her activity if Catherine did not stop fasting. Catherine refused and also told her father that she was going to continue fasting despite his objection. To Catherine this was between God and her and Catherine would not back down to either on this spiritual point.

… Isn’t it interesting that this prayer warrior, seemingly unknowing of the Didache, felt led to fast twice each week as well?

As it relates to her heart and what God may have seen in her, Catherine was described by her superior when she was sent to boarding school in this manner:

“Never have I known a soul so guileless and so pure.”

A third is how Catherine prioritized her days on the farm and again as a nun.

“Framework of the day”

 “The rising bell rang at four o’clock. The morning wakeup call was:

“In God’s holy name, please Sisters arise.” And a whole chorus of voices some still half-asleep, others already clear and strong, would respond:

“Blessed be the God’s holy name.”

…. Isn’t it interesting again to consider the importance placed on praying during the 4^th watch?  And a focus from the outset of the day calling to mind an awareness of the power of His name.

A final reflection on this simple woman’s prayer life reveals more of her supernatural experiences revolved around the Eucharist:

At Mass suddenly the host became transparent like a veil. Beyond the appearance of bread, Catherine saw Our Lord… Could it be an illusion? Catherine concentrated her critical faculties … and no longer saw anything but the host and just the host. But when she let herself follow her internal motion – when she really started to pray again – then the host revealed, what ordinarily, it would conceal. It was neither a dream nor a state of over-excitement but more like a mystical door to Reality. Catherine summed her Eucharistic experiences like this:

“I saw […] Our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament […], all the time that I was in the seminary, except all the times when I doubted [i.e. resisted]; when that happened, the following time I would see nothing, since I wanted to get to the bottom of it […], I doubted this mystery, [and] believed myself to be mistaken.” Like St. Peter when he sank into the sea as he began to think of the improbability of it being possible to walk on the waters.”

Isn’t that also fascinating?

Whenever Catherine tried to behave like a sceptic or a doubter or a theologian and looked to prove what she sensed, she experienced nothing.

It was only when Catherine subordinated her mind to her heart that the Lord manifested Himself to her in such extraordinary ways.

Skeptics and satanic worshippers who are merely disguised as sceptics, will always be vocal in trivializing the miraculous as something void of God.

Remember such skepticism brought some of Jesus’ strongest criticisms of the apostles.

Thank you for fasting with us today. You will be glad you made the effort for all of eternity.

Why We Fast – Our Core Fasting Intentions

1) We add the new fasting intention of taking back the church from evil. We submit the three-step process to achieve this victory is 1-Repent, 2-Prayer & Fasting and, 3-Imitate our Savior by throwing the evil leadership from the church. We will seek to emulate the Savior in our effort to End The USCCB, an organization that has been devastating to the church.  (“You shall know the spirit by the fruits” - Matt. 7:16)

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

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

4) 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 all patriots who put themselves on the front lines in combatting evil 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. 

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 and free them.

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.