Fast With The Heart

by Slavko Barbarić

The fact that Our Lady calls is to a two day fast, on Wednesdays and Fridays, in its own way attests to a preparation for a meeting with the Eucharistic Christ. Thursday has always been a day of the Eucharist and the Priesthood. That is why the Wednesday fast, from the Eucharistic standpoint, is in preparation for Thursday, the day of the Eucharist. The Friday fast is in thanksgiving for the Eucharist and is a realization of the possibility of remaining with the Eucharistic Christ for an entire lifetime.

By worthily preparing for the meeting with the Eucharistic Christ at the Eucharistic feast, man prepares himself for the eternal feast in Heaven. In its own way, The Eucharist is the preparation and the foretaste of the eternal feast in the Kingdom of God.

Fr. Slavko: Most respected reader, in this book I entrust to you reflections about fasting and experiences with fasting. I desire to help you understand that fasting is necessary and that it is good to fast both for the body and the soul. Moreover, I desire to help you decide to fast and to experience how good it is to fast.

As I entrust these reflections and experiences to you, I implore God to give you the grace to start fasting and praying so that you may yourself experience that Our Lady is right in calling us to fast and pray.

Father Slavko Barbaric (1946-2000)

Genres: Catholic

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Fr. Slavko Barbarić, OFM, was born near Međugorje in 1946. He was ordained a priest in 1971. He studied philosophy and pastoral theology in Sarajevo and Schwaz (Austria) and obtained his master's degree in 1973 in Graz, Austria. He gained his doctorate in religious education in 1982 in Freiburg, Germany. Fr. Slavko began working with the pilgrims in Međugorje in January 1982. He conducted numerous retreats and tirelessly spoke about the events of Međugorje all over the world. He wrote many articles for various publications and is the author of many books on the spirituality of Međugorje. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Fr. Slavko died on November 24, 2000, at 3.30pm, on Mount Križevac (Cross Mountain) in Međugorje, after having prayed the Stations of the Cross with the parishioners.

Reviews

[Sara J. (kefuwa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another edifying read from Fr Slavko. Found a lot of points to mull over. Recommended for the faithful for a deeper understanding/consideration when it comes to fasting. Especially if you are practicing or considering practicing the weekly Wednesday/Friday fasts. Both the practice of the W/F fasts and the reading of this book is recommended from my own experience.

[Michael Seagriff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much of value here. This is one of those books you will re-read countless times during your spiritual journey.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book advocates fasting with bread and water. There are several recipes for making your own bread as store bread is not sufficiently nutritious to use during fast.

[Gayle Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fasting companion

I ordered the Kindle version of this book because I wanted to learn more about Our Lady’s call for us to fast two days a week. The book was very helpful in giving background and prayer helps for fasting days. One issue I did have was in the gram to ounces conversions when the author was referring to nutrition and also to bread making. The conversions were generally off by tenfold, like the decimal was moved over one place. So, be aware and just use the grams or convert from grams yourselves. The book must have been translated from another language because the grammar is often not correct. Not a dealbreaker but a little annoying if you’re a stickler for correct grammar (thanks, Mom!).