My quick takes are a bit weak/lazy this week- just a collection of writing from the blog I think fit the liturgical season. I bit off a little more than I can chew with a different writing project (turns out if you submit two pitches to a site, it's completely possible that they'll want both of them...! Exciting, but a lot of work), and we're all still pretty much still recovering from the mega freeze last week.
Please do keep praying for Texas. I passed by a line of cars waiting for emergency food packages from the food bank yesterday, and it was nearly two miles long. People are still hurting, and grocery stores are still struggling to get food back on the shelves.
Most plants are brown, dead, and kind of melted looking, and it's 80 something degrees outside. It's just occurred to me that this is a pretty good Lenten visual- dreary, barren, and out of the ordinary.
Anyway. Posts I've written that might be good for Lent!
1.) Lent and Scruples: A Survival Guide
The only thing I've ever written specifically about Lenten observance. I've suffered from severe scruples in the past, and this is what I've learned about how to observe Lent in a healthy way while dealing with them.
2.) A Eulogy for Judas
A reflection that I wrote on the aftermath of Judas's betrayal of Jesus. God did good with it, the best possible good that could ever be, but it didn't erase the consequences of what Judas did to Jesus, himself, or to the other Apostles. There were things that remained broken even after the Resurrection, and there was still grief there.
3.) Let's Talk About (Somewhat Retro) Jesus Movies!
Lent is the time of year that people start watching Jesus movies. This is my take on some of the more well-known ones-- the good, the artistically sound but heretical, the cheesy, and the just plain weird.
4.) Differences in Story Telling: A Quick Study
In a similar vein to the last take, I got bored one day and decided to compare/contrast three depictions of the same story/scene in three different Jesus movies. It's actually really interesting seeing the different agendas and visions of the directors based on what details they emphasized or omitted from their depiction.
Not my strongest writing, but it was fun to do.
5.) Confessions of a Cynical Catholic
I always think about spiritual desolation during Lent, even if I'm not particularly going through a period of it at the time. Last Sunday, the prayers of the faithful included, "That all in our parish might experience a time in the desert this Lent". I thought, "Um...I'm not sure that means what you think it means."
This was written to reflect some of the disillusionment I've felt with the Church and reflects some of the desolation that can come with that. Sometimes, when you're in the thick of things, you have to take a moment and clarify why you're doing this whole Catholic thing in the first place.
6.) Why Accepting Imperfection in Family Prayer is Important
Some thoughts on how to have a healthy prayer life as a family. There is a lot of pressure in some circles (though their prevalence seems to be waning, thank God) for families to look and pray a certain way in order to be considered "really Catholic". This is my rebuttal, and why I think that mentality does more harm than good.
Understanding why family prayer is important, and what our role as parents really is, is at the root of our ability to bring our kids to Christ and make a relationship between Him and our children possible. Getting to the root of things is definitely something we do during Lent.
7.) Whitewashed Tombs and Clanging Cymbals
A reflection on exterior observance of religion when it comes at the expense of loving your neighbor. A lesson that I had to learn the hard way and repent of (something I'm sure I still need to do in some respects). We must never compromise the truths in our faith, but we can't ever be proud of following them, or fail to recognize the ever present call to love our neighbors. We must love them in truth, not use the truth as an excuse to beat them to a bloody pulp.
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