"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

One of the biggest surprises for us over the past year has been the amount of pushback we have received over the power of the scripturally based idea of confession.

In James 5:16  we are explicitly told “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.“

Confess your sins to one another. Not only to God in prayer, but to one another.

It is interesting that confessing to one another is linked as a conditional along with prayer to receive healing isn’t it?

It brings to mind how Jesus forgave sins and then brought about the physical healing behind the forgiveness of sins.

Recently a protestant pastor of a one-church congregation suggested to us that the only reason the Catholic Church insists on confession through priests is simply so that the church can maintain its power base.

That certainly is possible, and one can see where that thought may gain traction given the corruption in the Catholic Church today that many protestants rightly recognize.

However John Chapter 20, which was just the world’s most studied gospel passage, shows Jesus telling the apostles they had the power to forgive sins … and the authority to choose not to forgive sins:

"Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

The pushback from protestants about this is so intense that it leads us to think we, that even as enthusiastic proponents of confession, we probably still underestimate its importance.

Stephen Auth, known as The Missionary of Wall Street conducts street evangelization in New York City where their end goal is getting people to go to confession.

Think about that job description – You are going to walk the streets of New York City and approach strangers. Then you are going to ask them to confess their sins. Try it just one time. Selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door suddenly sounds easy in comparison doesn’t it?

Perhaps most interesting from Auth’s conclusions is that the profile of those who resist confessing sins the most, often have forms of possession.

It seems that demons know humbling oneself to confess to another as James specifically exhorts us is powerful.  Powerful enough that demons push every intellectual button they can within the individuals, trying to keep the possessed from the grace that comes from a confession.

So let’s ask for fairness from our protestant brothers on this topic and at least admit the possibility that the protestant minister who guides his congregations to reject confession may be the ones who are concerned about their power base and losing relevance … which can admittedly be scary. And let’s agree that there is at least scriptural basis for importance of confessing one’s sins to someone on this earth as we can’t say the bible is the unerring word of God but only when it aligns with our thinking.

So to our dear protestant brothers and sisters, as the vast majority of protestant churches do not offer a mechanism for confessing to one another, perhaps you may consider going to a regularly scheduled, Catholic confessional service at a Catholic church near you.

Just ask your local church when confessions are held.  When you get to the front of the line (if there even is a line) let the priest know you are not catholic but you have no mechanism to confess your sins in your church as James instructed us to do and ask the priest to allow you to confess.

He may agree or his initial response may be to push back. If he pushes back, perhaps you can read the priest the words of Divine Mercy Novena, one of the most respected and admired insights a catholic believer had in the 20^th century. The Catholic church just celebrated this great feast this month.  Gently remind an objecting pries of The Lord’s words from this modern revelation:

"Bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Hopefully, the priest will be receptive to you even if he qualifies his comments in some way – but you will know that you tried. And see how the Spirit guides your experience around confessing.  Let us know how it goes for you. If the priest is unresponsive and cold then know you can say to the Lord:

Lord, I tried to confess my great sins to you today. As embarrassing and humbling as my sins are, it is even more humbling that my effort was rejected. I offer up my embarrassment to you. May it be a balm for your heart this day as You know I tried to come closer to you.

And for Catholics let us resolve to remind other Catholics that those who are not in the state of grace should not receive communion. St. Paul said receiving communion in a state of sin is so upsetting to God, that we bring condemnation upon ourselves:

For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself – 1 Cor. 11:29

Additionally Catholics should recall the words of the future doctor of the church, Conchita Cabrera, that when Catholics receive communion in a state of sin, it is more painful for the Lord in that intimacy then Good Friday was for him.

Think about that.

Initially her words seem impossible.  Catholics realize we cannot have short confessional lines and long communion lines, without being totally hypocritical. As a rule of thumb if you have not confessed within the last month, you should probably refrain from going to communion until you confess.

In conclusion, the experience of Auth is simply that when one confesses, the occasion opens up a plethora of graces.

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.