I do want to say that I have really benefited so much from the fast and more recently the special forces fast. Your site is challenging and encouraging. E5 men are having a great effect all around the Country. God is definitely using your ministry to help many, many families.

I wanted to tell you my personal story of thanks and of how the e5men fast has helped my family... My wife and I home school our children, use Natural Family Planning,  and have a growing faith together and a good marriage. Of course we have our problems and our issues. We are all sinners. We have constantly tried to get closer to God's will for us but progress seemed to be very slow for a while. I had been doing the e5 fast for her for about a year. I had kind of gone back and forth on really focusing on it some months and other months I would not really have my heart into the fast. I guess I'm still learning and growing. One of our issues was my wife's drinking. It had been getting worse without my knowing it. She said that she was finally able to call AA one Wed night that I had fasted for her. She said she felt like she had just enough extra strength, from my fast, to make the first call. That was when I joined the special forces. She now has 2+ months of sobriety. The other very tangible effect in our lives as a result of the fast has been my own issues with lust and pornography. In the past few months I have really learned for the first time ever that my spirit actually is in fact stronger than my flesh - thanks in no small part to the weekly fast. I remember in one of your early messages you said something like this is a great deal for guys who are always wanting to "do" something. It is hard to really grow when it is just in your head and mind. This has been a very concrete thing that I can "do" that has really helped my faith.

So, your ideas and efforts have changed my family's life for the better. I always tell my friends about the fast when ever I get a chance.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate all you have done and I know my wife does as well.

Your Brother In Christ,

e5 Man, USA

Thank you. Your prayers do have their effect. My own heart has changed for the better toward my own husband and am very grateful for your efforts. The changes aren't dramatic. It's a very gentle, little bit at a time change that I wouldn't notice except for the Holy Spirit opening my eyes. But there is a very big and definite change over time.

 e5 Woman, California, USA

I wanted to share a story with you after reading your reminder email and tips for fasting. I started fasting with e5 about five or six months ago, and the first three months I was having a VERY difficult time. The problem was my wife, the person I was praying for as I fasted. Those first three Wednesdays I would go to work and fast and pray throughout the day on behalf of my wife and when I returned home she would be in a terrible mood. She was angry and short tempered with me and our children. After the third month I thought this fasting and praying is NOT worth it if my wife is in a bad mood every time I do it. On the fourth Wednesday, I decided to try one more time and if I got the same result I was going to give up. The day was a little better, but not much and I was feeling like a failure when my wife said to me "thanks for fasting and praying for me today, and boy the devil must really HATE that you are doing this because I have a terrible time and treat you and kids poorly every time you fast." That one sentence hardened my resolve and my fasting and prayer on the first Wednesday has been much better ever since. I felt I needed to share my story after reading in your email about Satan putting blocks in our way. Thanks for your help and devotion to this wonderful spiritual cause.

 God Bless,

e5 Man, Indiana, USA

Thank you and bless you for your ministry! My husband and I were on the verge of a divorce. But we are now getting counseling and are actually loving each other more than we ever have - in a mature way because we are putting Christ at the center of our marriage. It will be 20 years, March 17th, that we have been married! My husband and I have come out of violence, sickness, adultery and God has made us both whole again. So Praise Him!

 I had requested prayer and fasting for a friend of mine as well, who is a Christian that has backslidden. She's starting to come around as I see much improvement in her life! And I know that I know that she will fully come back to the Lord... Once again, thank you so very much for this beautiful ministry that the Lord has ordained to you. And bless you and everyone who are a part of this wonderful work of God.

 In Jesus Name, Amen.

E5 Woman, Florida, USA

Please also know that I joined e5 about a year and a half ago and that soon around that time I experienced a deep conversion and the comfort and strength and inner peace and joy that comes along with it to help me get through my problems. At the time I didn't want to live anymore.

 Thank you again for your prayers and fasting. Know how amazingly powerful this is.

e5 Woman, NJ, USA

I Just wanted to thank you for the e5 men group. I joined about a year ago from an email forward my wife sent to me. In the beginning it was hard, but knowing what Jesus did on the cross for us it is easier to make the sacrifice for my bride as He did for His bride the Church. My wife doesn't always remember when it is I fast, but on a couple of occasions she remembered and has told me it helps her out. Since last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday I decided I would fast on all Wednesdays during Lent this year. I also in recent months have opted to do a stricter fast. I read a suggestion about fasting from the evening meal on Tuesday to the evening meal on Wednesday. This method has worked well for me. As I mentioned I have made the fast even stricter by allowing myself only to have water on the days which I fast. It really puts me in touch with our Lord and why I am doing this for my bride. I was surprised that I actually made it through the first time, but I realize I am drawing my strength from the Holy Spirit. I realize that the spirit can be stronger than the flesh when we ask for His help. This past month I realized another important reason for fasting. My wife is now pregnant with our 5th child. I will use these months between now and October to fast for her health and the health of our new baby. Thanks again for your group. I have grown very much in my spiritual life in this last year.

 e5 Man, Florida, USA

I don't remember when I enrolled as a member of e5men, but it was more than a year ago. Having never married, I have been fasting for my female relatives who have fallen away from the practice of their faith in particular and for all women of my family in general. Just recently, a niece, the daughter of my youngest brother, has informed me that she has extricated herself from a 'civil marriage' and has returned to practicing her faith. Alleluia! She is in the process of an annulment! This month I am fasting in thanksgiving for this grace from Our Father. May He continue to bless us! 

 e5 Man, Cincinnati, USA

As an e5 woman, I have experienced graces won for me from complete strangers, men who are fasting for women they love and others like me! I do not have a big story to tell. The first Tuesday of one month, I was hurt by a man I cared for very much. As I cried in front of the Blessed Sacrament the next day, I realized what day it was, and that there were 7000 men fasting that day! I know I received grace from your sacrifices. You helped me to accept God's will with an open heart and even love it as the best thing for me. I found joy in suffering. You reminded me of what kind of man I want to marry one day, and that men like that do exist. May God strengthen you and your loved ones in this tangible witness of self-denial and self-giving love. Never be discouraged or tempted if you cannot see the effects of your prayers and fasts; they may be hidden from you, but they are visible to many others. Thank you!

Striving to be like Mary,

e5 Woman, Washington, DC, USA

I thought about joining e5men for a long time without ever doing anything. I never really understood the purpose of fasting. I told myself (and others) I'd join when my fiancé and I got married last May. Our engagement was very difficult emotionally. We ended up postponing, rescheduling, and then canceling. Turned out I had a lot of baggage lurking around under the surface both from my own personal past (including porn, promiscuity, etc...) and my family history. I happened to fast one day spontaneously because I hadn't brought my lunch with me to work as I normally do. I offered it as a fast and at the end of the day I felt a little purified. I joined e5 Men and started fasting every Wednesday. Fasting combined with frequent confession, have helped free me. Porn is out of my life and my finace and I are re-engaged and waiting for our priest to OK a date. I'm learning what love really is, thanks to God's mercy and grace. Thank God for our church and the sacraments!

 I work as a Courier whilc takes me into many different businesses. A couple of weeks ago I happened to be in a nursing home and the thought occurred to me to offer my fast each Wednesday for a different "cause." The first Wednesday is for my fiancé, the second for prostitutes, (a sin I committed almost 20 years ago), the third for all the elderly in nursing homes, and the fourth Wednesday I offer as reparation for my own sins. I guess I was part of the Special Forces without knowing it. May God continue to bless the e5 Men/Women and their families. Your testimonials have all been inspiring to me.

e5 Man, Arizona

When I asked my wife what she would like for Christmas this past year, she said "that you would become an e5 Man". I gave her that gift. When I first started the fasting, I kept thinking this is difficult - just a little snack. Then I called my wife from work and she said that the kids were "getting restless". I still fight the temptation to snack, but it is much easier to resist. She even tells me that she can sense and feel what this is doing for her.

 E5 Man, VA, USA

I want the e5guys to know I think what they are doing is really helping me. I signed up for this when I got it from a friend and then really forgot about it. I wasn't saying the prayers or going to mass (sorry) but I think now I'm going to start. There has been something in my life that I have struggled with, bad thoughts that lead to sin, that I have traced back to a time in my life when, as a teenager in college, my boss sexually harassed me. I left the job, had to move back in with my parents and had to delay going back to school for almost a year. At the same time this was going on, women were being pulled out of the parking lot at my school at knifepoint or gunpoint, were beaten, raped, robbed and abandoned in deserted areas where they could have died. The president of the college didn't tell the students at first because he didn't want to cause a 'panic' or make the school look bad. More women were kidnapped, beaten and raped. The police finally had to go to the media to get the word out. I was angry for a long time that the man responsible for protecting us failed so miserably. I was angry he left us in harms way in an effort to save his reputation. I was angry I had to rearrange my life because my boss was a jerk. I was convinced that men hated us and I was very scared of them. I became a feminist.

 It has been a long road back. (I am now a recovering feminist.) I won't even go into some of the personal relationships I've had with men, but you can imagine what kind of a guy you end up with when you are scared of men and incapable of healthy relationships. Part of my road back took me to a great parish where I sorted out a lot of who I am as a child of God and how to love and be loved. But the residue of what happened to me and my reaction to it continued to affect my spirituality and I continued to fall into the same sin. Even many hours of therapy and tons of money helped my brain but not my heart. I have prayed to St. Joseph, my guardian angel, went to Rome in 2000 and maybe its all finally catching up to me. Something has changed for me recently, just in the past few months. I've been amazed at the strength I've had and my bad thoughts don't return . . . they don't even stand a chance in my brain . . . I must say when I first noticed this, I knew it wasn't me. I wasn't doing anything differently. It hit me like a ton of bricks when I got the last email from you. That's what is different. No one is beyond the striking distance of God and his 'special forces'. Not even a stubborn, not paying attention, recovering feminist like myself. Please let the guys know God is using their efforts in a very powerful way.

 e5 Woman, IL, USA

I can't say enough about the power of your fasts in my life. Without going into lengthy detail I have to say that you have produced much fruit for the Kingdom of Christ. I feel the strength from your sacrifice and prayer and I am even getting up at 7am and offering sacrifices for others! I am seeing how fast God works when you pray and sacrifice (fasting). Thank you and please remember me when you fast!

 e5 Woman, IN, USA

I joined your group a couple of years ago when I was at the end of my rope searching for a partner in life. I had been married and then divorced and since then, I dedicated my life to my children. Well, it came a time where my kids hit their teens and I realized that they didn't need me as much anymore. So I began to search for a partner to no avail. I gave up and then came across your website and began to pray and in the beginning I went to mass on Wednesdays.

To make a long story short, I've found my life partner, my soul mate according to God's will. And to my surprise it ended up being my ex-husband. We re-married and have a special love and appreciation for each other that we didn't have before. The saying that you never know what you had until you loose it is so true! I am glad my husband came around. I thank God that he reunited us, making my family whole again. I thank you e5men for your prayers and fasting and sacrifice.

 An e5 Woman, New York, USA