With Lent about to begin, I can’t think of a better time to read this short book and to implement it in your life.
About the Book:
There are many references to fasting in Scripture. In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 5, Jesus puts the solution in front of us when he says, “When you fast.” He doesn’t say “If you fast,” but “When you fast.” As Christians, we’re supposed to imitate Jesus. Jesus fasted before every major event in His life.
Jesus also tells us that “nothing is impossible for us.”
Fasting was so important that Jesus taught it to His disciples to be used as a special deterrent against evil. These are the same evils that plague our world today: the attack on life, the attack on the family, the attack on our religious freedoms, and the attack on Christianity as a whole. It’s especially important to recognize that our actions and our participation can change all of this evil. This is why we are being told by Jesus that “nothing is impossible for us.”
In this short booklet, you’ll learn how fasting is a spiritual weapon. You’ll also learn the basics of fasting, what saints, prophets and popes have had to say about fasting, and testimonials of people whose lives have been changed through fasting.
Reviews:
“The power of fasting with prayer is biblical (Matthew 17:20 from the St. Joseph Bible, New Edition). Jesus said that there are certain demons that cannot be cast out but through prayer and fasting. The two are a powerful team and Andy LaVallee, through his book, provides us with means to accomplish this goal.”
Jim and Kerri Caviezel
“When You Fast isn’t just one of the best and most thorough books on fasting. In a word, it’s inspiring. Author Andrew LaVallee shares both the physical and spiritual benefits of fasting, from calming our own anxieties to bringing peace to our troubled world. From healing family rifts to opening another’s heart, mind, and soul to the idea of conversion. When You Fast can be a key—can be your key—to a closer relationship with God.”
Susan Tassone, author of St. Faustina Prayer Book for the Conversion of Sinners
“Andy LaVallee has provided the method, the motive and the means for the spiritual discipline of fasting. His book explains why fasting is important and encourages many to take part in this vital aspect of spiritual warfare in the world today.”
Fr. Dwight Longenecker, pastor, speaker, blogger and author of Mystery of the Magi: the Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men
Jesus didn't say, If you fast, He said, When you fast. @livethefast Click To TweetMy Review:
Praying and fasting go hand-in-hand, yet most Christians are big proponents of prayer while all but ignoring fasting outside of the mere two required days of fasting set by the Catholic Church.
Andrew LaVallee is a cheerleader for fasting and its integration into the Catholic life. When You Fast makes the case for its value, spiritually as well as physically, using LaVallee’s personal conversion and adherence to regular bread and water fasts as examples.
Some points are repeated, and there is frequent reference to the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje throughout. Even if you are skeptical of the apparitions, you won’t find anything here contrary to the consistent messages of the Gospel, the Church, and the saints in promoting fasting.
LaVallee’s insights helped me to think about fasting in new ways, and as he says, the most important part of fasting is to start. That being the case, this book is a good primer and motivator. I hope the book is successful in convincing more people to adopt fasting as a regular practice. Our fractured world needs it.
About the Author:
Since 1969, Andy LaVallee, has been working in the bakery industry and in 1977, he started LaVallee’s Bakery Distributors. LaVallee’s is New England’s premier provider of artisan breads and other bakery offerings to clients such as the InterContinental Boston, the Four Seasons, Boston College, and the Chateau Restaurants.
LaVallee’s is known by their customers and colleagues for their excellent product mix, legendary customer service and business model based on servant leadership. With Live the Fast Breads, Andy brings his knowledge of top-end; highly-nutritious artisan breads and applies them to the ancient practice of prayer and fasting. They have selected multigrain rolls for this endeavor. These breads are made with no GMO, unbleached and untreated flour, with no additives and preservatives and with flavorful, nourishing ingredients that will help one maintain and finish a bread and water fast. He and his team desire to spread this practice — so beneficial on a number of levels — to greater New England and across the United States.
In recent years, during trips to Medjugorje, Andy grew to a deeper understanding of the practice of prayer and fasting, a practice that is common in this small village. He realized that he had a unique role, perhaps even a duty, to provide high quality breads to those in America who were interested in prayer and fasting. Andy has consulted with Sister Emmanuel Maillard who wrote Freed and Healed Through Fasting, Fr. Charles Murphy author of The Spirituality of Fasting and others knowledgeable about the practices of a healthy fast and the ingredients of fasting breads. He has also steeped himself in the teachings of the late Father Slavko Barbaric, who integrated into his many noble works, was his role as a humble practitioner and educator of prayer and fasting.
His first book is From the Hub to the Heart.
Buy Links:
Available from Live the Fast ($11.99 includes shipping)
Paperback on Amazon ($9.99)
Kindle Edition ($2.99)
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