The Three-Year Experiment

Remember when I crossed over to the dark side? Well, this weekend I deleted my Facebook account. And I got several warnings about how all my data will be gone--lol, cat pictures :) They seem so dire! I have a whole month to change my mind. Haha! I doubt it. I've done the experiment, tried it for a reasonable length of time (3 yrs!) and have found it wanting.   

Hard to believe she's away at college. At 3 pm I still look out the window.

I've been cleaning house, decluttering, so it's natural to do so on the computer as well. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided that the few things I will miss on FB--lovely pictures, private groups, etc.--do not justify being on a platform that hasn't actually made communication easier. The format doesn't lend itself to a thorough conversation as a public forum would. There are far too many advertisements and too much chatter (and I confess I've contributed to it as well). I must be the only person who doesn't like the "like" button. I question the value of an emoji without anything else for nuance. Cal Newport made a great case for not using it even if you use the platform. This summer, I took a hiatus for several weeks and then added back only a few things, as recommended in Digital Minimalism, but even so they weren't worth it. All the people whom I sincerely care for I already connect with via other means. And I'm available to anybody who wants to find me.

My children are grown and use all kinds of other social media. I'm not following them there; they know where to find me. I think I'll stay old-fashioned. Now, if only the rest of my house could be decluttered with a few clicks! As it is, I'll be doing a lot more writing, I mean cat-watching. They always come to my desk the minute I'm ready for some serious work, sit on my papers, and demand to be petted.

 

Holy Week Reading

Apparently, blogging is dead. I will miss Blogging for Books as it moves to other platforms, which I'm loath to join. In any case, I am grateful to Blogging for Books to have snagged a last book: a copy of Scott Hahn's The Fourth Cup: Unveiling the Mystery of the Last Supper and the Cross. He digs deep into our Jewish roots of the Passover and applies them to the Paschal Mystery. Our redemption has been thought of from the "very foundations of time." I raced through this book even though deadlines are pressing me from all sides. As always, Dr. Hahn makes history and Scripture accessible for the layman and does so in a highly entertaining manner. Here's a sampling of his sub-heads: Pasch, Presence, and Future; Sealed with a Curse; Seder Rite Words; The Roast is History; Ready, Willing, Abel; Cups and Downs; Faith Up to the FAQS; Marquette Value. He keeps this up, folks. But it's in no way shallow. There's a LOT of theology in this book and it's presented in the order that Dr. Hahn himself studied on his own, based on a little question: What exactly is finished when Jesus says those words from the Cross? Read this book to understand the most central belief of our faith: Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. 

Dr. Hahn also shares his own history of his conversion. He practically re-invents Catholic rites in his Presbyterian Church the more he studied the Church Fathers. The Bread of Life discourse (John 6) frightened him; he could no longer continue to be a pastor; he couldn't accept the position of Academic Dean even though this was what he'd dreamed about. He writes, "I was not yet ready to take up the cup with Catholics. But I was more than ready to read the Bible with them."
Hahn became a doctoral student at Marquette. "There comes a time when a critic must turn his criticism upon himself." He consulted the Baltimore Catechism about the nature of Mass. "If Catholics were right about the meaning of Mass, mere attendance was a potentially seismic event in the spiritual order. Was I ready for that? If the Catholics were wrong, of course, then their Mass was the greatest blasphemy possible--and I wanted no part of that. In thinking about the Mass, there was no safe middle ground." When he went to his first Mass he wept. "I realized it was really Jesus, and he was offering his own flesh to me as "living bread come down from heaven.""  

If you don't have time to read the book, do get the 1-hour lecture on this on Formed or from Lighthouse Media. You will not be disappointed.

ETA: a short article by Scott Hahn that explains the parallels between Passover and Easter.

I'm also enjoying Hahn's The First Society: the Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order. Again, he explains simply and clearly how if we get marriage right, society flourishes. He recalls a lecture in which a priest mused, "If Catholics would simply live the Sacrament of Matrimony for one generation, we would witness a transformation of society and have a Christian culture." Wow! It's both that easy and that difficult. It's a must read given how confused modern society is about marriage. Get your free copy from the St. Paul Center.

The Friday morning men's group is reading Flannery O'Connor so Michael is bringing lovely insights from Msgr. McInerney about the stories. I'm re-reading some of my favorites in light of them. One thing that struck us both is how we see ourselves in those stories. We are so aware of our sinful nature, yet where sin abounds, so does grace, and Flannery captures those moments so eloquently. By the way, if you are a writer, I highly recommend Mystery and Manners. It's a book I have to read periodically to get my head straightened out, given that I write for the educational market.

Great books are our best teachers. I am thankful for them. Happy Reading!!! Please share some of your besties. And have a very happy and holy week. God bless you.  
NB: Paul, Apostle of Christ is a fantastic movie! It's about the early Christians in Rome and centers around the last days of St. Paul. Much of what we know about him comes from St. Luke and vice versa. It was so lovely to see their bond of love. And the filmmakers bring to life Priscilla and Aquilla from Acts, how the Christian community loves each other, how they are martyred. We had a chance to see it last week at the Citadel Mall and it's playing there still. Don't miss it.


And please come see me at Mt. Pleasant Barnes & Noble on Sat. 11 am. I'd love to see you. 

Liked: whose approval are you living for?

Liked:Whose approval are you living for? by Kari Kampakis sounds like a book for teen girls that’s about using social media responsibly but it is so much more than that. Kampakis guides the reader to go to the root of how and why we interact online. Are we longing for attention? Love? Approval? She tackles different scenarios with Biblically based answers. It isn’t easy being a teenager nowadays where the pressure to present a perfect life to the world makes them feel like a fraud, where the number of “likes” determines their self-worth, and where a moment of poor judgment is recorded forever. Kampakis gives practical advice on navigating the online world, which can be horribly unforgiving, and asks her readers to dig deeper, to the truth of who they are, and why they are here, with a series of reflection questions at the end of each chapter. She reminds them continually that God loves them dearly, passionately, wholly, and to strive for Godly relationships at all times. I highly recommend this book for all teenagers (and grownups too – we suffer from some of the same problems in the quest to be liked online). This book is organized so that it’s suitable for use in teen youth groups. I will be giving a copy to our own. Thanks to HarperCollins BookLook for providing me with a review copy. Crossposted to Amazon.