Fast with your heart

I am convinced that, in ancient times, the Eucharistic fast was in effect the door through which the believer entered with deep respect into the ministry of the real presence of Jesus Christ, distinguishing the ordinary bread from the body of Christ. How important was the wait! of the encounter with Jesus for the children who received their first communion! For this meeting they prepared with a strict fast from midnight until the time of receiving communion the next day. Through this fast, the souls of the faithful were led to the ministry of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Likewise, the danger of a superficial encounter with Jesus Sacramented was avoided. When the believer begins to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist without adequately preparing for this encounter, the authentic relationship between Christ - who has remained with his people in the bread - and the person who receives him in communion is lost.

The fact that the Blessed Virgin calls us to fast two days a week, Wednesday and Friday, is in itself a testimony of the preparation for the encounter with the sacramental Jesus. Thursday has traditionally been a day sacred to the Eucharist and the priesthood. That is why fasting on Wednesday is - from the Eucharistic point of view - a preparation for Thursday, the day of the Eucharist. Fasting on Friday is in thanksgiving for the Eucharist and a relation to the possibility of remaining with Our Lord for a lifetime.
By preparing worthily for the encounter with Jesus Sacrament given through the Eucharistic fast, man prepares for the eternal banquet in heaven. In its own way, the Eucharist is a preparation and a foretaste of the eternal banquet in the kingdom of God.

Slavko Barbaric