Consecrate yourselves,

for tomorrow the Lord will do

amazing things among you…

Joshua 3:5
 Lord, I Commit To 5-Day Fast
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… - Ephesians 3:20

Be with me Lord as I start this journey of prayer with you.

First, I’m fasting because I want to grow closer with You. Let my hunger
for food remind me of my deeper hunger for You.

Second, I’m fasting to be more open to your surprises. Specifically, I’m

praying for these miracles:

Third, I’m fasting for the Light of Jesus Family:

Day 1 Pray that we become become disciple-makers that disciples with

love and humility.

Day 2 Pray that we receive God’s healing for our marriages and families.

Day 3 Pray that we receive God’s freedom from all addictions that steal
our destiny.

Day 4 Pray that we grow in financial abundance; That we become

faithful tithers; That we grow in our commitment to love the poor.

Day 5 Pray for the special intention of your local Feast.

I claim victory. Thank you for anointing me.

Thank you for blessing me.

Amen.

Printed Name & Signature

3
 Introduction
Miracles Happen When People Fast

Friends, I’m inviting you to our 5-Day Fast.

During Holy Week, from April 10-14, as an entire Light of Jesus Family, we want
to empty ourselves from lesser things so that God can fill us with greater things.

I’m excited at the amazing things that God will do among us!

Because from my experience, miracles happen when people fast.

For some reason, fasting makes us more expectant, more open, more trusting,
more focused, more determined, and more sensitive to the Spirit—that more
miracles happen when we fast.

I’ve seen how people have received healing, guidance, financial blessing, and
family blessing in their lives when they fast.

And entire communities get revived when they fast.

In the next few pages, I’ll explain to you how we’ll do the Fast together…

4
 Chapter 1
5 Big Blessings
Of Prayer & Fasting

Blessing #1
Fasting Brings You Closer to God
When you fast, you’re telling God that He’s more important than food.
So instead of eating, you spend it in prayer, reading Scripture, writing your jour-
nal, before the Blessed Sacrament, reading Spiritual books…
It declares that you’re dead serious about pursuing Him because you’re crazy
enough to say No to something so basic as food.
If you can say No to a very basic need, what else can you not do for the Lord?
You also gain discipline—something crucial for any type of success in the world.
By learning to say No to small things, you’re able to say Yes to bigger things.

Friends, there are many, many blessings when we fast. But at the end of the day,
God Himself is the greatest blessing of your fast.

Remember: If after you fasted, you experienced miracles and healing, but you
didn’t grow closer to God—then your fasting would have been a failure.

Blessing #2:
Fasting Unites You With The Poor
Every time I fast, I remind myself that this is the daily experience of 12% of the
world’s population. Not because they’re fasting. But because they’re poor.
740 million people will sleep tonight hungry.
And out of those 740 million hungry people, 30,000 will die of starvation. Half of
those 30,000 will be children.

Fasting shouldn’t just make me more spiritual.

Fasting shouldn’t just open me up for more blessings and miracles. Fasting
should also move me to love the poor in a more passionate way.

When I fast, I’m also committing my life to end their hunger and poverty. After
our 7-Day Prayer and Fasting, we should be more resolved as a people to love
the poor of the Lord in whatever way we can.

5
 Blessing #3:
Fasting Opens You To God’s Power
Years ago, I met an elderly man who was suffering from emphysema.
I noticed the symptoms. Even if we walked for just a few meters, I saw him
catching his breath.
“Because of smoking?” I asked him gently.
“I stopped twenty years ago,” he said, “so partly, yes. But also because of my
lazy breathing.”
I raised my eyebrow. It was the first time I heard of such a thing.
He knew I didn’t understand, so he went on, “My doctor isn’t your normal doc-
tor. He’s an expert in alternative medicine. So he says that all these years, my
breathing has been very shallow.”

After our conversation, I did some research. Obviously, it NEVER said that shal-
low breathing causes emphysema. But I learned one thing: It’s very important to
regularly take deep breaths. Through regular aerobic exercise. Through breath-
ing exercises. Through meditation that uses breathing. And just by your usual
morning stretches and inhaling a few times. Deep breathing removes the toxins
from your lungs. It also releases tension which affects your health.

Think about it. Just like you and me, this man had oxygen all around him 24
hours day. But he smoked, clogging his lungs so that it can’t absorb 20% of what
he was inhaling. And to top it off, he breathed in a lazy way, decreasing again his
oxygen intake.

Friends, that’s what happens with God’s Power.

God’s power is all over us, around us, above us, beneath us, and inside us. But
we do exactly the same thing: We clog our spiritual lungs and we’re lazy when
we breathe in God’s power in our lives.

But Fasting is like “Deep Breathing”. When you pray and fast, you’re inhaling a
greater amount of God’s power into your life.

Fasting isn’t a bribe. “Lord, I’m fasting, so you better give me what I’m asking
for!” That’s not how it works.

When you fast, God doesn’t change. You do.

You become more expectant, more open, more sensitive, more attentive. So
when you fast, you can pray for something specific in your life.
• wisdom for an important decision you need to make;
• freedom from a particular bondage;
• healing from any sickness;
• family restoration;
• financial blessing;
• any miracle that you need

6
 Blessing #4:
Fasting Cleanses Your Body
God wants us to take care of our physical bodies.
One way of caring for it is by fasting.

Fasting has amazing health benefits. If you can’t fast food for a day, you could
give up a food that you love, like chocolates, ice cream, pastries, coffee, milk tea
and others.

Take a tummy rest. By relieving the body from the hard work of digestion, it
focuses its energies on regenerating the lining of the stomach and intestines,
and the liver, gall bladder, and pancreas takes a recovery period. By fasting, it
also helps our digestive system to getting rid of the toxins we’ve piled up in
our tummy from all the wrong food we’ve eaten. Fasting allows your tummy to
process and get rid of the entire gunk, the chemicals, and the stuff that shouldn’t
be in our bodies in the first place. These toxins weaken our immune system and
make us more susceptible to disease.

Fasting enhances your body’s detoxification process.

When you fast, you’ll do some “house cleaning” for your own body, removing
the toxins and diseased cells naturally—while blessing your soul at the same
time.

However, let me warn you: fasting isn’t a weight reduction program.

If you want to lose weight permanently, you need to change from an unhealthy
diet to a healthy diet permanently. A 5-day diet won’t work. A lifetime change of
diet, yes. Use this fasting time to transition to healthy eating after Holy Week.

Blessing #5:
Fasting Empowers Our Ministry
In the Bible, people fasted before they started their ministry or before a big
change in their ministry. Moses did it. Elijah did it. Daniel did it. Esther did it.
And Jesus did it.

Fasting will release God’s power in our ministry.

You can pray for the following:

1. Pray for the leaders of the community. That they may be guided by the Holy
Spirit at all times, and remain faithful to their calling.

2. Pray for all community servants, that we serve with love and humility, and that
all will be empowered with the spiritual gifts.

3. Pray for expansion of territories for our ministries, that we break barriers and
breakthrough new ground in reaching the unchurched.

7
 Chapter 2
Choose Your Fast

There are some people who can’t fast from food.

To name a few: Underweight individuals; those suffering from anorexia or bu-

limia; persons with bleeding stomach ulcers, cancer, blood diseases, and heart
disease; Pregnant and nursing mothers; Individuals with diabetes taking insulin.
The elderly and the very young are also not required to do fasting. For the rest
of you who are unsure, I encourage you to ask your doctor before you fast. If you
can fast, this is how we’ll do it as a spiritual family.

Here’s a brief explanation of different kinds of fasts…

Option #1:
Liquid Fast
Jesus fasted for 40 days with a “water only” fast.

Once, I tried a “water only” fast for 5 days—and it’s great—but can be too ex-
hausting for some people. In”water only” fast, toxins are released too abruptly
and maybe too hard on the body. Saying all that, I know lots of people who do a
“water only” fast and did so successfully. The key is to drink lots of water.

But I prefer a Juice Fast.

This, I believe, is the best kind of fast—from a physical health perspective. You
only drink fresh vegetable juices and fresh fruit juices—to aid in flushing out all
toxins and regenerate your body. Please get real vegetables and fruits that you
mash and shred in “juicers” and “blenders”—not those you already get inside a
can or box. As much as possible, get local fruits and vegetables—because they
didn’t have to travel far to get to you, plus it helps our local farmers. To give
you an idea, you could do a coconut (buko) fast. The juice is rich in water and
electrolytes and good sugar, plus the buko meat has good protein and oils. You
could also mix and blend fruits together like banana, mango, watermelon, pine-
apple, avocado, papaya and others. You could also juice carrots, celery, tomato,
and lettuce. You could add honey, or even turmeric to boost the drinks.

8
 Option # 2:
Other Kinds Of Fasts
I know many people who fast by taking bread and water only. (Uh, not donuts,
I’m sure.) In the Bible, Daniel fasted this way.

The Catholic Fast is a one-full meal a day. That may mean eating only once a
day. Or eating a small breakfast, a full lunch, and a small dinner—with no snacks
in between. Some people who can’t do the liquid fast could do a no meat fast.
Or a restaurant food fast. Any food habit you could give up for the Holy Week
intentions.

Option #3:
Fasting For Your Freedom
If you can’t do Option 1 or 2, that’s okay.

Fast from all that’s harmful to your life.

Fast from the news, you don’t need to know everything.

Fast from your addictions such as smoking and alcoholism.
Fast from gossip, criticism, and negative talk.
Fast from social media, internet, gadgets, movies, and take a tech break.

Pope Francis said we should fast from “indifference”; Let’s pray for a more com-
passionate heart for the poorest of the poor.

Let this Lenten season be your season of freedom! Claim it!

Friend, the choice is yours.

Pray to God what kind of fast He wants you to take.

Remember: From a spiritual perspective, your inner attitude is more important

than what kind of fast you choose. It’s not just the food, it’s the attitude.

9
 Chapter 3
How To Fast

If you decide to take a liquid fast for 5 days, please read the following five steps
to have a great fast. If you’re not taking a Liquid Fast, then just read Step #3.

Step #1
Physical Preparation
Preparation is the key. If you’ll do a liquid fast, I strongly recommend that you
prepare for it well. Start eating a softer diet on Sunday, one day before you
start. Stop eating meat and focus more on fruits and vegetables. Reduce sugar
intake—so you won’t crave for it during the fast. Lessen the quantity of your
meals and drink at 1-2 glasses of water every hour. Prepare your mind and focus
on the benefits of fasting and the intentions of the fast.

Step #2
Begin Your Fast
Get a good rhythm. The first two days of your fast will be the most difficult.
You’ll feel hungry. Some people have headaches (perhaps withdrawal effects of
not having sugar and caffeine), feel dizzy, or have low energy. Your body is ad-
justing to toxins coming out. On Day Three or Day Four, you begin to feel better
as your body finally shifts to cleansing mode—and stops complaining. You no
longer feel hungry as before. From Day Four to Day Five, you’ll feel stronger and
more alert.

I cannot emphasize this enough: Each day, drink 1-2 glasses of water every hour.
Frequency is better than volume. This prevents you from dehydration.
Throughout your 5 days of fasting, many people can maintain their regular
schedule of work and household chores. Others however need a lighter sched-
ule. Listen to your body. You can take stretching and moderate walks as your
exercise.

Step #3
Grow Closer To God
This is the main reason why you fast.
So instead of eating meals and snacks, pray.
Read spiritual books. Write your journal. Adore before the Blessed Sacrament.
Go to Mass more often. Go to confession.
I recommend that you gather with other members of Light of Jesus (who are also
fasting) during lunch and dinnertime—and pray together.
And pray also for the intentions of the Light of Jesus Family.

10
 Step #4
Break Your Fast
If you fasted for 5 days, take 1 day to adjust to real food.
For example, break your fast by eating salads and fruits on Saturday. As much
as possible, no oils, dairy products, and meats during the adjustment period.
Gradually transition to your usual diet. Your stomach is much smaller now, so
stop before you feel full.

I strongly recommend that you rethink your lifelong diet at this time. Use this fast
as a great platform to start your healthy eating. And if you have been able to
stop some bad habits through the fast, continue the rhythm of avoiding it.

Many have quit smoking when they fasted. Some people have been able to
stop their social media cravings. Many have experienced deep spiritual changes
because of the fast. That’s my prayer for you.

Step #5
Adapt The Best To Your Lifestyle
There are some things in the fast that I do as a lifestyle. They’re too good to limit
only during fasting days. So I do them everyday.

Like spending each day with prayer, journaling, and spiritual reading. Like read-
ing my vision statement each morning.

Like drinking lots of water everyday.

And drinking vegetable and fresh fruit juices, and eating more salads. And not
eating meat and focusing on fish for my protein needs.

Bless your body and bless your soul.

Have a great 5-Day Fast, my dear family.

You will be blessed.

11
 Chapter 4
Juice Recipes
by Chichi Barba

*A few pointers and instructions:

1. Clean fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Make a water-vinegar wash

and/or a water-salt wash where you can soak your vegetables be-
fore preparing it.

2. If you don’t have a juicer, you can use a blender. After blending
your ingredients, pour everything into a clean katsa or cheese cloth
and squeeze out the juice and strain out the pulp. You can even use
a fine wire-mesh strainer to strain out the pulp.

3. You can add buko juice or water to the juices if the juice tastes too
strong for you, and add a natural sweetener like honey or agave if
you prefer.

Relaxing Juice ingredients into your juicer or blender.

Serve (strain first if using a blender).
1 cucumber This will make approximately 1 glass.
2 celery stalks (trimmed)
3 lettuce leaves Tropical Flavors Juice

Prepare the vegetables (wash 2 inch wedge pineapple

thoroughly and slice/chop). Push the 1 medium-sized orange or 2 dalandan
ingredients into your juicer or blender. 1 tablespoon lemon or kalamansi
This gives 1-2 glasses.
Wash fruits, peel, combine fruits and
Cooling Juice juices in juicer. Serve (strain if using a
blender).
1 large cucumber This will make approximately 8 ounces
2 celery stalks (trimmed) (1 regular glass).
1cm ginger root
Watermelon Juice
Wash and clean ingredients before
pushing into your juicer or blender. 2 to 3 inch wedge watermelon
This juice is very good for your skin. (medium-size)
Good for 1-2 servings.
Push into juicer or blender. Serve
Grape-Apple Juice (strain first if using a blender).
This will make approximately 8 oz.
1 medium apple
1 small bunch of grapes Watermelon and Honey Melon Juice

Remove grapes from stem and 2 to 3 inch wedge watermelon

slice apple. Combine and push all (medium-size)
½ honey melon Cabbage and Orange Juice

Wash fruits and prepare. Combine 3 big wedges of cabbage

fruits and push into juicer. Serve (strain 1 orange or 2 dalandan
if using a blender). ½ green apple
This is good for 1 glass. 1 tablespoon kalamansi or lemon

Pineapple-Papaya Juice Slice and wash cabbage. Wash fruits,

peel. Combine cabbage, fruits and
2 inch wedge pineapple juices in juicer. Serve (strain if using a
½ papaya (medium size) blender).
This will make approximately 1 glass.
Combine ingredients and push into
juicer or blender. Serve (strain first Cantaloupe (melon) - Carrot drink
if using a blender). This will make
approximately 1 glass. 2 carrots
1/2 cantaloupe (melon)
1 lime or lemon
Carrot and Apple Juice 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger
(from the Gerson Therapy)
Peel the lemon or lime (leave as much
6-8 oz carrots of the white pith as you can) if you
6-8 oz apples (green) have a juicer.
Wash carrots well (you can peel it if
After making sure the carrots and you wish) and chop along with the
apples are clean, prepare the cantaloupe (melon).
ingredients (based on the kind of *Makes 1 glass.
juicer or blender you have). Place
these in your juicer or blender. Expect Apple-Ginger blend
to have at least 8 oz. (1 glass)
2 apples
Carrot Juice 1 lemon
1 to 2 inches ginger stem (adjust the
12 ounces to 1 pound of carrots amount according to your preference)

Prepare (wash, slice) then push all Wash and chop apples.
ingredients in your juicer or blender. If using a juicer, peel the lemon (leave
Serve (strain first if using a blender). as much white pith as possible). Juice
This quantity is enough for an 8 oz. (1 all ingredients together.
glass) glass of carrot juice. If using a blender, blend the apples
and ginger together. Squeeze the
Cucumber Green Juice lemon and mix it in. Strain, serve.
*Makes 1 glass.
2 large cucumbers
Handful of romaine or kangkong Watermelon-Ginger drink
4 stalks of celery
1 big broccoli stem 1/4 large watermelon
1 or 2 green apples (this is optional) 1/2 to 1 inch fresh ginger (adjust the
amount according to your preference)
Prepare (wash, slice) then push all
ingredients in your juicer or blender. Juice or blend the ingredients
Serve (strain first if using a blender). together.
This is enough to make 4 glasses of *Makes 1 glass.
juice.
Carrot-Apple drink Watermelon-Guava cleanse

1 green apple 1/4 large watermelon

3 carrots 1 large guava (or 2 to 3 small native
1/2 inch fresh ginger guavas)
1/2 to 1 inch ginger
Wash and chop carrots and apple first. 1/3 cup mint leaves
Then push all the ingredients in the
juicer or blender. Serve (strain first if Prepare (wash, slice) then push all
using a blender). ingredients in your juicer or blender.
*Makes 1 glass. Serve (strain first if using a blender).
*Makes 1 glass.
Pink Slush
Carrots-Spinach drink
a handful of strawberries
1/4 large watermelon 2 carrots
2 handfuls spinach
Juice or place the strawberries in the 1 handful broccoli (florets and stalks)
blender first. Add the watermelon 1 handful grapes
(remove the seeds first) next. Serve
(strain first if using a blender). Wash and chop carrots. Juice or blend
(Using a blender, to drink this as a all the ingredients together. Serve
slushie, you can freeze the strawberries (strain first if using a blender).
and chopped watermelon first.) *Makes 1 glass.
*Makes 1 glass.

Cucumber-watermelon cleanse

1/4 large watermelon

1 large cucumber
2 apples

Prepare (wash, slice) then push all

ingredients in your juicer or blender.
Serve (strain first if using a blender).
*Makes 1 to 2 glasses.
 Thank You So Much For Your Faith.

Thank you for joining the Light of Jesus Family in our 5-Day Fast. By
adding your faith to the faith of our spiritual family, we made mountains
move. We caused miracles to happen. We received an avalanche of
blessings. We grew closer to God.

I repeat: Your faith was important. Our collective faith wouldn’t be what
it is without your faith added to ours.

Till our next year’s Fast!

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

For more information about Bo’s work or the Light of Jesus Family,
you can call (632) 7259999 or log on to
www.feast.ph and www.bosanchez.ph.