Posts with the tag “lent”

Mary Magdalene on Christ’s Tomb (circa 1900) by Giuseppe CaliExhibited by the Malta Art Association. In this year’s Lenten Meditations, we have contemplated together many aspects of suffering:  what it is and isn’t, what we can do with it, what it calls out in us.  We are beginning to get a sense that, when we have suffered something profound, it inevitably changes us.  Suffering causes us to bec...  Read More

We have explored previously in the Lenten Meditations the idea that suffering, in itself, is not inherently good. And yet, remarkably, when a thing is suffered well, it often inspires goodness; not only in ourselves, but in those who bear witness to our suffering. In his book The Problem of Pain author C.S. Lewis writes...  Read More

Everyone knows by experience the frustration of being inconvenienced. An appointment is canceled at the last minute, the store doesn’t have the item we need, a home renovation takes longer than expected. Inconvenience is a part of life, and admittedly, not a fun one. We do not like intrusions into the smooth efficiency of our routine...  Read More

In everyday conversation we often tend to use the words “pain” and “suffering” interchangeably. We may say, “My arthritis is causing me pain”, but just as likely we might also say, “I’ve been really suffering with my arthritis lately”. And we would mean much the same thing. In both instances, when we are talking about pain and suffering, we are attempting to express the inward reality that something is hurting us...  Read More

A fundamental precept of the creed of our Christian faith is the belief that Jesus Christ suffered for our sake. And Lent is the time when we offer our disciplined attention, with particular clarity and purpose, to this suffering, and what was accomplished by it. And yet, though suffering is so central to our theology, it seems to me that sometimes we don’t quite know exactly what we mean when we talk about it...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig As Lent comes to a close, and we look forward to Easter, we cling to the promise of the Resurrection, and Jesus’ message of hope for all people. And yet, when many of us look at the world we actually live in, things seem distinctly hope-less; one could spend hardly 5 minutes watching the news before deciding that the most rational thing to do is to just give up all together. I have ...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig Judas Iscariot (1878) by Eilif Peterssen As Lent comes to a close, and we look forward to Easter, we cling to the promise of the Resurrection, and Jesus’ message of hope for all people. And yet, when many of us look at the world we actually live in, things seem distinctly hope-less; one could spend hardly 5 minutes watching the news before deciding that the most rational thing to do...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig The Parable of the Rich Fool (1627) by Rembrandt In the world of social media, it is common for people to post photos of themselves traveling to exotic locations, eating a lavish meal, or doing something exciting along with the hashtag, “Living My Best Life”. This catchphrase, “Living My Best Life”, as I understand it, means getting the most out of life by filling it with as much pl...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig Christ and the Rich Young Ruler (1889) by Heinrich Hofmann If we were asked to envision in our minds an image of someone who was hopeless, most of us would picture a person with slumped shoulders, a sad frown, and a tear-stained face. Few, if any of us, would imagine someone smiling on a tropical beach, a diamond-laden celebrity on the red carpet, or a rich CEO driving his yacht. An...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig The Storm on the Sea (1633) by Rembrandt van RijnOriginal Stolen from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA in 1990 Somewhere along the road, our culture’s understanding of the concept of “hope” has gotten badly muddled. If you do a Google search of the word “hope” you’ll find many inspirational sayings and quotes that are operating on a definition of hope that sounds someth...  Read More

by Tara Ludwig Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1655) by Johannes VermeerHangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh The English Cardinal Basil Hume once famously said, “the great gift of Easter is hope.” But as we enter the Easter season of 2023, hope can feel difficult to access, as many of us are weary of a world that has seemingly just been limping along from one calamity to the...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: I really enjoyed our opportunity to go to the Peetʼs Coffee Shop recently and, while enjoying the robust coffee for which they are known, being able to talk about many things. That we got eventually to Lenten musings makes sense, because you and I have regularly helped each other pay closer attention to sacred “seasons” of the Christian year – the season of Advent and Christmastide ...  Read More

Dear Peregrinus: You asked me why the liturgical season of Lent lasts for “forty days.” You thought this a terribly random length of time. You considered how the “seasons” – Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter – are never forty days long, but rather each one is some three months long. You then noticed how we talk of months – anywhere from twenty-nine to thirty-one days. Even sports seasons are never forty days ...  Read More