6th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Grace Favors the Bold

Back in the day, it was dangerous to take the kids with me when I would go shopping, because when they would ask me to buy this and that, I would usually give in. Sometimes, I would say no. But more often than not, I would make the purchase. The items in question weren't bad. They were just things I was not otherwise planning to buy. But when asked, I did so.

My shopping outings have some parallels with prayer.

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Godzilla Minus One: A Profound Exploration of the Human Condition

Many potential viewers might pass on Godzilla Minus One because they have no interest in a monster spectacle. But doing so would be an unfortunate mistake. Don't think of Godzilla Minus One as a movie about monsters but as a profound exploration of various aspects of the human condition, where the character of Godzilla is merely the catalyst that provides a frame for a poignant, gripping, and heart-rending narrative.

The story is set in post-World War II Japan, as the survivors seek to rebuild from the rubble. As the title, which no doubt got lost in translation somewhat, suggests, Japan is at its lowest point and couldn't possibly fall lower. But wait. There is Godzilla. As the monster begins to ravage the already shattered nation, we are drawn into the lives of some genuinely engaging characters, whose struggles offer us some deep insights into the workings of the human psyche.

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5th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Embracing the Cross Gives Us Joy

In today’s Old Testament reading, Job sounds very depressed. He does not know how to process his suffering. In my own life, I struggled for many years to come to terms with the suffering I was experiencing. I would distract myself with useless or self-defeating pursuits. I would also get bitter and blame God. The enemy was very successful at using my suffering to put a wedge between me and God.

The turning point came after my first trip to Medjugorje. One of the key insights I received there was to accept my suffering. Of course, some suffering we can prevent through prudent action. Some suffering we can alleviate through simple remedies. Some forms of suffering, like injustice, we should work to oppose. But we will all be visited by suffering that we cannot change. We can allow such suffering to destroy us or we can use it to grow and become more loving.

After my first trip to Medjugorje, I started saying the following prayer:

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7 Ways to Prepare for Lent during the Septuagesima Season

Traditionally, the third Sunday before Lent started a period of preparation for the Lenten season, called the Septuagesima season. The current, post-Vatican II calendar of the Catholic Church no longer recognizes this pre-Lenten period, but there is nothing to stop rank-and-file Catholics from observing it as a private devotion in order to gain a greater sense of focus in time for the start of Lent.

The three Sundays before Lent were traditionally called Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sundays, respectively, from the Latin words for 70th, 60th, and 50th. I will not go into details of the history of this naming convention here, but I will provide some links to further reading at the end. Suffice it to say that in the past the pre-Lenten period took its name from the first of these Sundays, Septuagesima.

So what should we do differently during these three pre-Lenten weeks? Let us explore seven ways that we can prepare for Lent during the Septuagesima season:

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