On Fasting and Becoming a Universal Donor

     Jesus told St. Faustina: “There is but one price at which souls are bought and that is suffering united to My suffering on the cross” (Diary 324). And later, He added: “Every conversion of a sinful soul demands sacrifice.” (Diary 961).

     With these statements from Jesus in mind, it may help us to understand Our Lady’s insistent call to fasting during her apparitions at Medjugorje. Of all of her messages given at Medjugorje over the last 43 years, the call to fasting has proven to be the most difficult for many. In one of her early messages back in 1982, Our Lady said: “The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer, one can stop wars, one can suspend the laws of nature. Charity cannot replace fasting. Those who are not able to fast can sometimes replace it with prayer, charity, and a Confession; but everyone, except the sick, must fast.” And on August 14, 1984, Our Lady said: “I would like the world to pray with me these days! As much as possible! To fast strictly on Wednesdays and Fridays; to pray every day at least the Rosary: the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries.”

     If we understand that there is a larger purpose to our fast, perhaps we can offer this small sacrifice and begin to ‘fast with the heart.’ Imagine you have a friend that does not go to church, does not pray and even more, is resistant to your efforts to share anything related to God or prayer or the events in Medjugorje. This person is very dear to you. From following Our Lady’s messages at Medjugorje, you know that this friend has absolutely no chance of finding lasting happiness here on earth and in the life to come if they do not change. As Our Lady revealed to Mirjana on March 18th, 2000, “Only in the name of my Son will you experience true happiness and true peace in your heart.”

     Our belief as Christians is that our prayer and fasting for others can help to soften their hearts and open their minds to the love, the peace and the goodness of God. Of course, we realize that ultimately, God is in charge, and it is His grace that penetrates the soul and opens the eyes of nonbelievers in His time and in His way. But it should be clear that Our Lady wants to use us as her apostles. On November 25th, 1987, she told us, “Today also I invite you to rejoice and be joyful Christians, responsible and conscious that God called you in a special way to be joyfully extended hands towards those who do not believe, and that through the example of your life, they may receive faith and love for God.”

     So, as we pray and fast, we trust that our small sacrifices, united to the incomparable sacrifice of Christ on the cross, will bear fruit in the lives of others. Remember Jesus said to St Faustina, in Diary entry 67: “You are not living for yourself but for souls, and other souls will profit from your sufferings. Your prolonged suffering will give them light and strength to accept my will.”

     We may not be able to bear ‘prolonged suffering’ like St. Faustina and so many other heroic saints that we read about, but each of us can do a little something to help others who are dear to us. Our fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays can be part of our offering for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls. In our modern times, the church has become weak and anemic because we have forgotten that ‘to love is to give and to give is to sacrifice’. Archbishop Sheen once wrote, “The day that man forgets that love is identical with sacrifice, he will ask how a God of love could demand mortification and self-denial.”

     We begin to see that our prayers and our fasting for others is an expression of our love for them. Prayer and fasting go together. Fasting has been rightly called prayer of the body. Why is fasting so effective in the spiritual life? First, fasting liberates us, it frees us to some degree from the whims and desires of the flesh. To reign in the inordinate desires that we all struggle with, we must develop a spiritual strength that comes not only through prayer but also from some physical effort, from a discipline that comes through some sacrifice. Saint Augustine wrote: “Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity.”

     And remember, Jesus said ‘when you fast’, not ‘if you fast.’ He told His disciples, when they were unable to drive out a demon, that some demons can only be driven out through “prayer and fasting.” (Mt 17: 21) Prayer without fasting was somehow seen to be lacking an essential dimension, like praying with only one hand. Fasting and prayer go together and will help us to be strong so we can overcome the evil one.

     Fasting also helps to detach us from this world. Remember, if we are to grow spiritually, we have to focus more intently on the world to come and less and less on this world. This world offers many enticements to distract us and to draw us away from the path that leads to Heaven. We must cultivate a sense of detachment to the pleasures of this world. Yes, when God created this world, He pronounced His creation good. But the world to come is far greater than we can imagine, and we prepare for it by learning to control our desires. And for the spirit to gain dominance over the flesh, we learn to strengthen the spirit by asserting its dominance over the flesh by fasting, by doing without something good for the sake of something better.

     Finally, fasting helps to sharpen our spiritual vision. Many of the conflicts in the world today are over ideas. The world is flooded by ideas, and it is sometimes difficult for us to discern what is good and what is evil, what is coming from God and what is coming from the devil. Fasting will help us to open our eyes to the signs of the times so that we can become better at discernment and discernment will help us to embrace the good that comes from God and strengthen us to avoid evil.

     Now, let's take this one step further. We mentioned offering our prayer and fasting for someone dear to us. Now imagine offering our prayer and fasting for the good of sinners in general, to contribute our efforts to the general benefit of the Church. Once again, a quote from Jesus to St Faustina may help: “I saw the Lord Jesus nailed upon the cross amidst great torments. A soft moan issued from His heart. After some time He said ‘I thirst. I thirst for the salvation of souls. Help Me, My daughter to save souls. Join your sufferings to My Passion and offer them to the heavenly Father for sinners.’” (1032)

     Many have had the experience of donating blood. Some have been called upon to donate a couple of units of their own blood in preparation for major surgery, in case they might need a transfusion during that time. The plan would be to receive their own blood back later if a transfusion is needed. Or if one has a family member in need, sometimes, if the blood type is compatible, one can donate blood for that individual as  a directed donation.

     For those who have donated blood in the past and have blood type O negative, they soon learn how valuable their blood is. They are considered a universal donor. Their blood can be given to anyone without the risk of a transfusion reaction. In an emergency, physicians will often call for O negative blood to be given because there is not time to type and cross match blood for the person in need. Well, prayer and fasting can be directed to an individual dear to us as described earlier. But it might be considered an even more generous act to just give without any specific intention for your gift, to be a universal donor of prayer and fasting. In this way, we let Our Lady use our prayer and sacrifice where she knows it will do the most good. It is to give without expecting anything in return. Of course, if we abandon ourselves in a generous act of charity in this way, we can trust in the great mercy of God and be certain that Our Lady will take care of us and those dear to us.  But the goal is to give for the sheer joy of giving. Here are some prior messages from Our Lady on fasting:

 Medjugorje Message, December 4, 1986

“Dear children! Today I call you to prepare your hearts for these days when the Lord particularly desires to purify you from all the sins of your past. You, dear children, are not able by yourselves, therefore I am here to help you. You pray, dear children! Only that way shall you be able to recognize all the evil that is in you and surrender it to the Lord so the Lord may completely purify your hearts. Therefore, dear children, pray without ceasing and prepare your hearts in penance and fasting. Thank you for having responded to my call. ”

Medjugorje Message, July 25, 1991

Dear Children! Today I invite you to pray for peace. At this time peace is being threatened in a special way, and I am seeking from you to renew fasting and prayer in your families. Dear children, I desire you to grasp the seriousness of the situation and that much of what will happen depends on your prayers and you are praying a little bit. Dear children, I am with you and I am inviting you to begin to pray and fast seriously as in the first days of my coming. Thank you for having responded to my call.