A 2024 Wisdom Years Lenten Study

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6)

For what do you hunger? Can you even name it? Peace, yes, and freedom from fear. Safety for our children. A sense of spiritual well-being.

And yet, our very daily practices undermine what we claim as our desires. In her book A Different Kind of Fast, author Christine Valters Paintner invites us into a Lenten fast from the old patterns and habits that deplete us and obstruct our full access to the divine image into which we were created. Patterns like our need to be in control of every aspect of our lives. Habits like living in an attitude of scarcity rather than accepting God’s promise of abundance.

And as we fast from those things that are life-depleting, we are invited to identify and feast upon spiritual nourishment that is life-giving.

As we fast from those things that are life-depleting, we are invited to identify and feast upon spiritual nourishment that is life-giving.

The Wisdom Years community will draw upon Paintner’s words and invitation for our Lenten fast. We begin the day after Ash Wednesday – February 15 – and journey until March 21 when we turn ourselves over to the disciplines of Holy Week and  then celebrate the great feast of Easter.

Our six-week study will include

• Fasting from multi-tasking and inattention
  while embracing full presence to the moment

• Fasting from scarcity anxiety
  and embracing radical trust in abundance

• Fasting from speed and rushing
  as we embrace slowness and pausing

• Fasting from holding it all together
  and embracing tenderness and vulnerability

• Fasting from planning and deadlines
  so we can embrace unfolding and ripening

• Fasting from certainty
  and embracing mystery and waiting

Each week will include a short reading, questions for reflection, and practices to implement our intentions.

We will read A Different Kind of Fast on our own, then gather online by Zoom for conversation Thursdays at 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. (CDT) on February 15, 22, 29, Mar 7, 14, and 21.

You are also welcome to use the material on your own without attending the Zoom gatherings.

If you want to participate in this Wisdom Years study, or want more information, send an email to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com. There is no charge, but you will need to purchase your own book.

The Wisdom Years is a community committed to connection, companionship and spiritual growth as we journey together in our older years.

Learn more about us at wisdomyears.org.