Thoughts to carry us into the weekend ...

... at the midpoint of our Lenten journey:

Do you live moment-to-moment, listening to God?  How do you do that?  

 

Lenten Retreat on a DVD ....

If you're like me, Lent kind of sneaks up on you.  I'm never as prepared as I should be ... with offerings/sacrifices, spiritual reading, and/or Lenten retreats scheduled.  Or, if I am prepared, I realize that Lent is longer than I thought, and I need something more to read, listen to, or sacrifice (and, yes, I know that Lent is always 40 days ... but some years it just seems longer!).

If you are like me, have I got a great suggestion for you:  Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues is a retreat in a box, all ready for you to watch and listen and meditate upon.  Fr. Robert Barron (whose Conversion cd/study guide set I reviewed recently) takes the seven capital sins of pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony and lust and explains why they are present in our lives and how to eradicate them.  He gives great practical advice on how to turn these sins into the seven virtues of humility, admiration, forgiveness, zeal, generosity, asceticism and chastity.  A recurring theme is that sin is caused by our own fear (thus, pride is the root of all sin) that can only be conquered by true love, the love that God shows us all round (see the meaning of faith) and that Christ showed us when he died on the Cross.

This DVD is great!  In just under two hours, the viewer understands how Dante's Purgatorio is peopled with sinners and why he assigns them the punishments he assigns (for instance, those who are in purgatory because they were gluttons in life are shown as repeating ad infinitum Psalm 51:17: Lord, open my lips and I will sing your praises).  Barron does a wonderful job of giving practical advice on how to begin to counteract these sins in our own lives.  It's interesting to hear him mention such folks as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. when giving examples of how to be a better person!

I recommend Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues to all Catholics, particularly middle-school and above.    In the video, Fr. Barron is speaking to adults, but there is no reason why tweens and teens shouldn't hear Barron's advice, especially if you need some Lenten retreat material!

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This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues CD Bundle . They are also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

 

Lenten Thoughts ...

... from Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade:

Holiness is produced in us by the will of God and our acceptance of it.  It is not produced by intellectual speculation about it.  If we are thirsty we must have a drink and not worry about books which explain what thirst is.  If we waste time seeking an explanation about thirst, all that will happen is that we shall get thirstier.  It is the same when we thirst after holiness.  The desire to know more about it will only drive it further away.  We must put all speculation aside and, with childlike willingness, accept all that God presents to us.  What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the best and holiest thing that could happen to us.                                Chap 1: 4

Hmmm ... "speculation aside" ... "childlike
willingness"  .. I'm not so good at that.  What would you suggest?

Lent 2011: another desktop background ...

... based on today's responsorial psalm ...

 

My Lenten desktop background ...

... from Ash Wednesday's First Reading (Joel 2):

 

Lent 2011: here's how we'll do Stations of the Cross ...

ETA (3/10/11): Yes, Paula is right, it was Ruth at Just Another Day in Paradise where I got this idea.  I really love that it is all connected so I don't have to re-set it every Friday, but instead can leave the votives/cross on our family altar in the dining room all week!  THANKS Ruth for this brilliant idea.

On Fridays during Lent, we always try and do the Stations of the Cross ... either at home or in our parish or wherever.  This year, to ensure that we DO the Stations each Friday, we borrowed an idea from one of my lovely online lady-friends (but since I'm pushing 50, I just can't remember who -- if it's you, PLEASE post to the comments!) and did the following:

14 votive candle cups hot-glued to a board (I actually had to string some boards together (thus the gaps underneath) that I painted purple.  Each of the cups represents a Station of the Cross.  The wooden cross backing up the candles (and attached by using a square block instead of the rectangles for the rest of the "board") was painted by LegoManiac -- which accounts for the "blood" dripping down where the wounds of Christ would be.

The idea is that when we get ready to do the Stations, we light each of the candles.  As we read the Station, we blow out the candle, until all 14 are blown out.  In the darkness, we will then quietly (well, that's the plan) head to bed.

Cool, huh?

How is your Lent progressing?
 

Ash Wednesday 2011 OR why I'll still be posting thru the next 40+ days ...

Today, our Lenten journey begins -- a journey toward the Resurrection which we can't have until we walk our own Calvary, leaving all our sins and ugliness behind to be refreshed, renewed, reborn on Easter Sunday morning. 

What a great time of year!  A great chance to rebuild our relationship with the Holy Trinity ... to sacrifice what we hold dear in order to put Him first.  These next 40+ days are our chance to walk our own Calvary -- to fall occasionally ... to be ridiculed and mocked ... to endure the crosses we have created ... in order to be renewed.

Many of the folks I know are giving up the Internet for Lent ... this is quite commendable and works for them.  I will still be online, posting and chatting, primarily because my knitting work requires that I stay in touch.  But also, because I think if I share my Lenten journey with you, it might help you on yours.  I will be increasing my spritiual reading with:  Abandonment to Divine Providence, The Way of the Cross, and Fr. Barron's Conversion: Following the Call of Christ.

May you all have a holy and healthy Lenten journey -- please pray for me as I will do for you!