06/08/2026
The Apostles’ Fast begins today, and it is worth pausing to remember what fasting is actually for. Because it is possible to fast perfectly and miss the point entirely.
Fasting is not a performance. It is not a test of willpower. It is not a spiritual diet. Fasting is the practice of creating space, of saying no to one thing so that we can say yes to something deeper. When we fast from food, we are not punishing the body. We are quieting the noise of our appetites so that we can hear something more essential.
As we have shared before, God is after something much deeper than our externals, the things we promote on the outside that don’t necessarily reflect a change on the inside. It’s easier to control a behavior than to surrender a posture of the heart. It’s easier to abstain from certain foods than it is to earnestly pray for our enemies or to forgive others, looking upon those who hurt us with compassion.
Isaiah makes this explicit: "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free?" (Isaiah 58:6). God’s fast turns outward. It produces compassion, generosity, and freedom, not just discipline.
St. John Chrysostom writes, "Fasting of the body is food for the soul." But that food only nourishes if the soul is oriented toward God. A fast without prayer is a diet. A fast without love is self-improvement. A fast without humility is performance.
Today, as the Apostles’ Fast begins, set your intention. Not just what you will abstain from, but what you will lean toward. More prayer. More patience. More honesty with God about the places in your heart that resist His touch. Because the fast isn’t about the food. It never was.
-The Louhs