Welcome to the second week of Lent. Last week, we stepped into the “wilderness” to look at Prayer. This week, we look at the second great Lenten discipline: Fasting. For many, fasting just means giving up chocolate or crisps until Easter. But in the Christian tradition, fasting is not a religious diet. It is a tool for freedom. It is a way of testing what actually controls our lives, and stripping away the things that distract us from God.

Section 1: The Wilderness

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

The Gospel of the Lord

R./ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was in the desert for forty days without food. He was completely physically exhausted and starving. In that moment of absolute weakness, the temptation is simple: Just eat. Use your power to make yourself comfortable. But Jesus refuses. He points out a deep truth about human beings: we have two needs. We have a physical need that needs bread, but we have a spiritual need that needs meaning, purpose, and God. We often try to satisfy our spiritual hunger with physical things. When we feel lonely, we scroll on our phones. When we feel stressed, we eat junk food. When we feel insecure, we buy things. Fasting is the brave decision to stop feeding ourselves with distractions, so we can finally figure out what we are really hungry for.

Discussion Questions:

• If you had to give up your phone for an entire week, how would your behaviour or mood change?
  
• “We try to stuff our spiritual hunger with physical things.” What is the most common “distraction” you use when you are stressed or bored?
  

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Section 2: The Stillness

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Fasting isn’t an endurance test; it’s a diagnostic tool. If you want to know what controls you, try giving it up for a few days. If you become angry, anxious, or obsessed without it, then you are not its master—it is your master. The Catholic word for this is an “attachment.” Fasting is how we break the chains of our attachments.

As the music plays, we are going to use the silence to do a mental audit. Rest your eyes, sit still, and listen to the repetitive, gentle rhythm of the piano.

If you have someone in the form who can read out these questions, leaving pause for thought in between each one then give it a go.

Also if you find you Holding Cross in your box you can pass that around as you pray and reflect.

• What is my biggest attachment right now? Is it the need for other people’s approval? Is it my phone screen? Is it laziness? Is it a toxic friendship?
• If someone took that thing away from me today, would I still have peace?
• Fasting is about freedom. What do I need to fast from this week to win back my freedom?

Section 3: The Pause Button

We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.

Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

A true fast should be something that costs you a little bit of effort, but it doesn’t always have to be about food. Sometimes the most difficult thing to fast from is our own internal noise. The negative things we tell ourselves, or the constant complaining we do in our heads, can become toxic attachments. Today, we are going to commit to a “Thought Fast.”

The Activity: The Thought Bubble You have been given a Thought Bubble Post-it note.

1. Identify the Noise: Think of one negative thought, habit, or attitude that takes up too much space in your head right now.
   • Examples: “Worrying about what people think of me,” “Complaining about homework,” “Saying ‘I can’t do this’,” or “Holding onto a grudge.”
2. Write it Down: Write that specific thought or attitude inside the thought bubble.
3. The Fast: Take your pen and draw a bold line right through the text. Cross it out.
4. Stick it: Stick this post-it note on the inside cover of your planner or on this week’s diary page.

This is your “Do Not Think” list for the week. Every time you open your planner and see that crossed-out thought bubble, remember that you are fasting from it. When that negative thought pops into your head this week, catch it, and actively choose to change the subject in your mind.