Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing

Pangolins and polar bears, olms, lemurs, and leopards. We share the world with creatures magnificent, delicate, intricate--and now vanishing at a faster rate than at any other time in Earth's history. Spend Lent with twenty-five of these nearly extinct animals, embracing the frail mystery of ecological balance. Vivid descriptions of the miracle and peril faced by each critter will fill readers with wonder--and grief at what they suffer on a planet shaped by human choices. Their stories, while tragic and uncomfortable, will wake each reader to greater compassion and hope--which is what Lent, meaning "springtime," has always been for. These stories also wake in us a wild hope that from all this death and ruin, something new could rise. The promise of Lent is that something new will rise. In fact, as these stories attest, our hope, though wild, is not impossible and is already loose in the world.

How to use this book:

For each week of Lent there are stories of four animals. In weeks one through five, the stories can be read on any days of the week. In week six, Holy Week, the reading days are specified.