Day 9 of the worldwide bread and water fast, joy increases…
October 15, 2015 A.D.
“In our time zone, I am about to close day 9! I am ending the fast, but am not eager to come back to the norm. I am happy to be part of this movement. I would have not done this without the knowledge that some people in some parts of the world are so committed to this spiritual journey.…”
Ron, Manila, Philippines
Many others throughout the world have told us that they feel supernaturally united with those who are joining in this 9-day fast. United in sacrifice, with one mind, one heart, one Mother, one God.
“Dear Community. It is day 8 of the fast. In our Prayer Group there is a 11 year old boy fasting as well. His name is Diego. He also did it last year, but his mother did not want me to give his name on the list of the members I sent for a day to be assigned, as she thought he would not complete the nine days, not even one! (he loves eating) Again this year, his mother was very reluctant to give him permission but he insisted so much that his mom finally said yes. When asked why, he smiles and simply says “I want to help Our Lady”. I wanted you to know about him. A boy who firmly believes in the great power of fasting. That’s something extremely rare around here.”
H.N., Puebla, Mexico
So many have wanted to help Our Lady through this fast. If any word has been told to us over and over again by those joining in this fast it has been the word: joy. Our Lady of Medjugorje said on September 25, 1996:
Joy is found in God, not in the things of this world. The 9-day fast helps to purify the mind, heart and body of those things which weigh it down, and keep it on the earth. The suffering of the fast, beginning on day 1, becomes by day 9, joy.
“On Day 1 of our fast, it felt like we were going up a mountain to meet our Blessed Mother with our fasting sacrifice; now as we enter into Day 9, it feels like we’re joyfully running down it into Her waiting arms – praise be to God! Thank you!!!”
D.Y, Hawaii, USA
We remain united on this last day of the 9-day fast, filled with joy in our hearts, and confident that God is listening.
“It’s so easy to feel like you’re all alone in times like these, but reading [a Friend of Medjugorje’s] reflections and insights and especially the feedback of others around the world makes me realize how connected we really are! …Thank you for all you do to keep us connected as Our Lady’s apostles. You can’t know how much it feeds us especially during this time of fasting! Please continue to encourage all of us throughout the world who are struggling to remain faithful in this fast. It is such a joy to know deep, deep inside my soul that God truly heard and accepted our fast and prayers last year [2014] and in his intimate, daddy’s care for us chose to reveal that to us.”
Cherelle, Louisiana, USA
Cherelle was writing to us of a remarkable story that happened from last year’s fast of 2014, to this year’s fast of 2015, and how God had woven all the pieces together. Others have told the same thing, that last year’s 9-day fast of 2014, somehow was united in a special way to this year’s 9 day fast of 2015. Beginning now, God is weaving a beautiful story for you for next year’s 9-day fast, and we look forward to doing this again, united with all of you, Our Lady and Jesus. Wait for next year, 2016, the year of blessing and mercy, and join in this again. We will let you know when we will be doing this worldwide 9-day fast again for ourselves, our families, our nation and world. Many have said that they are waiting in anticipation for next year’s 9-day fast. Pray and wait…
January 2, 2000
Our Lady Queen of Peace of Medjugorje
United in Joy with Our Lady and in anticipation of next year’s fast,
On behalf of Caritas of Birmingham
The Community of Caritas
Medjugorje.com
9 thoughts on “Day 9 of the Fast – Not Eager to Come Back”
I usually don’t look forward to the 9 day fast because I anticipate the headaches, etc. that go along with it and really don’t care for bread. But this year I wanted to do it with everything we are going to be facing and so I prayed and asked Our Lady to help me this year. My goal was to take only the body of Christ in the Eucharist this time. I was able to do that strictly for 6 of the 9 days and the other 3 were done with only minimal amounts of bread! I must say this was probably the easiest fast I have ever done and I owe it all to Mother Mary. I know I would not have been able to accomplish this without Her helping me! It was also the most meaningful fast I have done. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this along with so many other wonderful folks!
I felt so compelled to enter into this 9 day fast with others across the world. I had a lot of support from my husband and boys and I felt joy to start it. They prayed that Jesus would sustain me and I wouldn’t fall. There were difficult times, but mostly it was easier than I thought. Probably because I wasn’t thinking about eating, but had my mind and heart on the Blessed Mother and Jesus. Truly, it felt as though the clouds did open up and I saw more clearly. I didn’t worry about the next day or the next minute – I left my life in His hands. By the 9th day, I didn’t want to stop fasting. I had so much joy and I didn’t want to lose that closeness with Our Lady. I had a Funeral Mass to attend the day after the last day of fasting. My first food was Holy Communion. It was so perfect! This truly was a gift from God and I am trying to live my life differently – better than before. Totus Tuus
DEAR CARITAS, I joyfully entered into the 9 day fast as so many others throughout the world united with Caritas. On the 4th day of the fast our family experienced a terrible tragedy. My sister-in-law lost her life to Leukemia. She had been battling cancer since May of this year. She had gone through stem cell transplant also. Thirteen family members including her husband and 4 children ages 27 down to 14 were with her when she passed away on 10-10-15 in the hospital. I was so overcome that I called Caritas on Sunday evening and left a message that I could not finish the fast. I now regret that I called and cancelled. I should have been thinking of this family that just lost a wife and mother. It was a terrible trying time as we had to watch her pass away-she had been on a breathing ventilator-to keep her breathing. Her lungs were no longer functioning at all. I had a weak moment-thinking I could not continue the fast due to everything that was happening. I wish now I would have finished.
Dearest Caritas, We entered this 9-day fast with great joy knowing that we were standing with so many other Apostles, who desire only to serve Our Lady. Our love for and faith in her abounded. On the fifth day of the fast, She wrapped Her mantle of protection around us and our family. With Her grace, the prayers of the Caritas community, and many others, we are moving toward joyfully accepting Our Father’s perfect timing in the sudden death of our son. We Love Our Lady! We Love You!
Now that the fast is over for this year, I feel especially blest to have the range of foods available to me and more than ever, I remember to give thanks to Almighty God for His grace and goodness to His creatures. Having experienced the bland and basic staple bread for the nine days, it mirrored the manna from Heaven in my daily life, as I have had Two very difficult years. However, through the grace of God, I was able to surrender to His will in the path that He has laid out for me and Caritas has helped me so much. I will now embrace the weekly opportunity to continue the fast because it has truly given me a new perspective. Blessings to all who participated. Thank you Caritas for bringing us together under the protection of Our Lady and Her Son, Our Lord Jesus.
Thank you so much for having this fast. Last year I didn’t participate because I felt that I would not be able to do it. But this year It seemed important. Knowing that so many others were joined in this fast and, that Caritas was counting on me to complete it for my assigned day in 2016 definitely helped me through. United with all those who love Our Lady, our nation and our world carried me through. I prayed to Mary for help in sustaining me. Not only was I strong enough, I only had a slight headache the second day, but I became less hungry. Cooking dinner for my family and not eating the meal was not an issue. Nor did my fasting become an issue with my family. Mary was with me all along. Thank you again for leading all of us through this fast.
What a buzz! I am eager to do it all again. When I received communion this morning, the last day of the fast, and just after I had returned to the pew, I felt the grace of Jesus physically flowing through my body from top to bottom. I had never had that experience before. So looking forward to receiving again at mass tomorrow.
By far the last 3 days have been the most difficult for me, but I find comfort in reading all your comments knowing we are standing in solidarity all across the continent for this great cause!! May God bless you all my brothers in Christ with an abundance of graces and fill your hearts with love for thy neighbor which is so needed. As we approach this bittersweet ending, I find my self eagerly awaiting for next years 2016 fast. Thank you Caritas for all you do!!
Wow, its been nothing but the wonderful grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ thru the intercession of Our Lady that I have come thru this fast without my usual cravings and justifications and headaches. I prayed that any obstacles that satan would use to get me to abandon this fast would be used to make Our Lady victorious over him and his tactics. It worked, rather than feeling deprived I was shown the abundance of I have been given in so many areas of my life and those times that I was not a good steward. I was made aware of my unrepentant sins and how thru fasting I can begin to atone. I was made aware of how many hours of my free time could be used to get in three hours of day in prayer insted of making to do lists of things that still need to get done. I used some of my free time to catch up on past Radio Wave shows so was further strengthen and educated about knowing what to do in these times and how to open myself up as an apostle of Our Lady. Thanks Caritas!