HUSBANDS FASTING FOR THEIR WIVES - E5

HUSBANDS FASTING FOR THEIR WIVES

The e5 Man fasts for his bride as a way to imitate Jesus as described by Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5 (for which the e5 is named). e5 Men fast in unison on bread and water for at least one 24 hour day per month - preferably the 1st Wednesday of the month!

EPHESIANS 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her”

EPHESIANS 5:28-29 “So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church."

Jesus made a bodily sacrifice on the cross for His Bride the Church to present her to God the Father "without spot or wrinkle." (Eph 5:27) By fasting for our earthly bride and joining our sufferings to Christ's we intercede for grace for our brides. At the same time our act of bodily love in union with Christ accelerates our own conversion.

By making this sacrifice for the women in our lives we live out the essence of the gospel through a very particular act of self denial. To lay down one's body out of love for another is the central message of the gospel.