A new way for men to truly love their wives is exploding around the US and Australia
AN organisation that encourages Christian men to fast for their brides or future brides is rapidly gaining momentum across the globe. “e5 Men”, founded by US Catholic Steve Habisohn in 2002, now has many thousands of registered members in over 80 countries who have committed themselves to fasting on bread and water at least one day a month.
In a 2003 interview, Habisohn told Zenit news service that he had spent years looking for a way to assist people in applying Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body to every level of their faith life and he eventually realised that the best place to begin was at the heart of the domestic church – the Sacrament of Marriage.
Habisohn recognised that the most effective way to apply the former Pope’s teaching was to target men, as he believed that wives and children naturally followed the example set by their husband and father.
It was this understanding that inspired e5, named after Chapter 5 of St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, in which St Paul, amongst many other exhortations, urges husbands to “love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her” (5:25).
Habisohn understood that fasting, a practice utilised by holy men of both the Old and New Testaments, including Jesus, was a powerful spiritual gift that modern day husbands could offer up as a bodily sacrifice for their wives. “The idea of a groom giving his body for his bride is a basic tenet of married love”, he said.
The idea quickly spread and within a year over 5,500 men were committed to fasting for a 24 hour period, preferably the first Wednesday of every month, although specifics are entirely up to the individual. The concept is also open to men who are not yet married, who can fast for their fiancée or even future, unknown brides. Those who are celibate can fast for Christ’s bride, the Church.
The e5 movement also encourages men to fast and pray not only for the spiritual growth and healing of women currently in their lives but also for past girlfriends they may have hurt, abused or sinned against. They can also include the intentions of other e5 men’s brides as well as those of e5 Women, an associated group which supports and receives the healing and growth that is gained through the fasts.
Perth Catholic John Stanley has been a member of e5 Men since 2007. Mr Stanley told The Record that he first heard of the movement during a talk about the Theology of the Body and the call to Christian masculinity and saw it as a wonderful act of self-sacrifice and humility.
“I offer up the (fasting) day for my wife, praying throughout the day for her spiritual growth and healing”, he said, “I also pray for all women sinned against by men”.
His wife, Lydia, is a member of e5 Women and they typically attend Mass and Eucharistic Adoration on the day, which allows them to put aside the busyness of life and grow in awareness of the importance of self-sacrifice and self-giving love.
Mr Stanley sees his involvement as a practical act of love as it reminds him of his call to lay down his life for his bride. “Fasting taps into this part of our masculine hearts”, he says. “It is a fantastic commitment for men at any stage of life.”
Olivia Lavis, 30, of Mt Hawthorn, has been an e5 woman since 2005 and says she is uplifted each month by the knowledge that there are thousands of men across the world who are fasting and praying for her spiritual needs. Miss Lavis told The Record that she also uses the opportunity to pray for her own vocation and future husband and for discovering the plan that God has for her.
e5 Women, according to Habisohn, are welcome to join the men in their fasting but they are particularly encouraged to attend Mass on the first Wednesday of each month and receive Jesus in the Eucharist. e5 Men, he says, will be praying at that time for them to receive the grace they need in their lives at that time.
Habisohn is convinced of the spiritual power of fasting, not only for the good of the intended women, but also for the spiritual orientation of the men who participate. He believes that the sacrificial motivation behind denying oneself allows a man to move from self-love to a genuine love of others and this is a gift that will benefit his family or future family.
Habisohn believes that many women have been hurt by the selfish bodily acts of men and says that fasting for women becomes the exact opposite of such sexual indulgence. Fasting, he says, allows a man to make a more selfless bodily gift of himself, a gift that can be given in silence and over a great distance, and even outside time because of its mystical union with Christ’s bodily gift on the cross.
The e5 founder is adamant that men are the key to the new evangelisation, of which the late Pope John Paul II spoke. “The fastest way to convert the world”, he says, “is to convert fathers”.
Habisohn is full of hope for the future of the Church. He says that although the destruction of marriage can be seen all around, “underneath the ashes are fresh green sprouts of truly extraordinary marriages”.
Young Catholics today, he believes, have at their disposal a greater understanding of the true nature of marriage than their parents ever did. Habisohn hopes that e5 Men will be able to nurture these strong marriages, because, he believes, they will become the brightest lights in the darkness of the 21st century.