A Different Kind of Fast
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? ---Isaiah 58:6-7 (NRSV)
Fasting and Feasting
Lent should be more than a time of fasting. It should also be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season to turn to God: Fast from judging others; feast on the goodness in them. Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on unity of all life. Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light. Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God. Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify. Fast from discontent: feast on gratitude. Fast from anger; feast on patience. Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism. Fast from worry; feast on divine order. Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation. Fast from negatives: feast on affirmatives. Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer. Fast from hostility; feast on non-resistance. Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness. Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others. Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal Truth. Fast from discouragement; feast on hope. Fast from facts that depress; feasts on truths that uplift. Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm. Fast from suspicion; feast on truth. Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire. Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity. Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence. Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that supports. ~William Arthur Ward What will you fast from this Lent in order to more fully turn to God? What will you feast on this Lent in order to more fully turn to God? |
Clarify your true hungers--and nourish your soul.
Fasting is not just the physical practice of giving up food. Fasting can also be a way to combat our culture of endless distractions and busyness. Fasting is an act of letting go, of making more internal space to listen to the sacred whispers of our lives. Join Christine Valters Paintner, online abbess of Abbey of the Arts, on a spiritual journey through seven different kinds of fasts, including fasting from control, from our attachments, from our grasping, and more. When we practice these fasts, we can discover unexpected spiritual gifts, as well as answers to deeper questions, leading us to ask: "What is my true hunger?" Perfect for Lent, or any period when a deeper intention to clarify your true hunger is needed, A Different Kind of Fast helps us enter our hearts, stripping away old patterns and habits. Featuring striking woodcuts from artist Kreg Yingst, the book draws on the wisdom of the desert elders, Paintner offers practical contemplative practices like lectio divina, breath prayer, visio divina, meditation with desert wisdom, contemplative walks, and creative rituals. As we fast from rushing, planning, being strong, holding it all together, seeking certainty, and control, we can softly reorient ourselves toward that which nourishes and fulfills us, for the reflective Lenten season and beyond. |
A Different Kind of Fast: Lent Retreat 2024 ~
February 14 – March 30, 2024 An Online Companion Retreat to the Book with Christine & John Valters Paintner, Amanda Dillon, and Jamie Marich Forum facilitators: Amber Andreasen and Polly Paton-Brown |
A Different Kind of Fast Parish Program
Battenkill Catholic Network of Parishes will enter into a Different Kind of Fast this season, based on the book by Christine Valters Paintner. Each week, we will share an invitation to a fast, accompanied by a scripture passage to explore and a breath prayer to try. For a fuller experience, you may wish to purchase the book or participate in the retreat offered by Abbey of the Arts. See above for information on both.
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Week of Ash Wednesday
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4: 1-4) |
“God of light and life, help me to focus on what’s most important today. Turn my heart away from things and towards your grace and newness of life.”
Week 1:
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
The Anointing at Bethany: Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table. (Matthew 26: 6-7) |
“God of life, help us change our lives. Soften our hearts. Help us to repent, and to believe in your good news of wild love and grace. Amen.”
Week 2:
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood. (Mark 12: 41-44)
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Week 3:
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
During the day, Jesus was teaching in the temple area, but at night he would leave and stay at the place called the Mount of Olives. And all the people would get up early each morning to listen to him in the temple area. (Luke 21: 37-38)
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"Holy One, you call us to the lavish gift of rest. Support us as we lay aside our tasks, our plans, our worries, and turn to you with open hearts."
Week 4:
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed* and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. (John 11: 32-35)
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Week 5:
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. (John 15: 1-5)
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Week 6:
As you read the text below, you are invited into the practice of Lectio Divina, or Sacred Reading.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by. (John 19: 41-42)
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