{"id":84705,"date":"2015-02-20T16:30:40","date_gmt":"2015-02-21T00:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=84705"},"modified":"2016-02-19T14:41:03","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T22:41:03","slug":"lenten-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Lenten Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pile<\/a>
\nI<\/span>n years passed, I’ve generally adopted a reading program<\/a> as part of my Lenten observance. <\/p>\n

For several years, I read<\/a> the Desert Fathers<\/a>. This year, despite a friend bequeathing me a copy of the Philokalia<\/a>, I’m looking for something else.<\/p>\n

I’ve started a thin little volume by Bishop Athanasius Schneider called Dominus Est -\u0096 It is the Lord!<\/a>\"\" I’m about halfway through, and it’s a both delightful and deep meditation on the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

But as I said, it’s short. I was noodling with reading some Merton, and perhaps I still am, but I was looking for something more, I don’t know, robust<\/em>. Immersive, maybe. <\/p>\n

Fiction perhaps? Chesterton? Lewis? O’Connor? Waugh?<\/p>\n

And then I read a review of Kristin Lavransdatter<\/a>\"\" on the Catholic Gentleman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

As men, we are called to live lives of self-oblation, prayer, and cruciform ministry. Sigrid Undset\u2019s tale is a rebuke and a summons. …. Do not fail to battle sin and Satan and sabotage. Do not fail to bring glory to God in the ordinary.<\/p>\n

Nordic, Catholic, gothic\u2014the men in Kristin Lavransdatter are characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, gargoyles, and flying buttresses. It\u2019s the kind of world that reminds a man of his own beating Catholic heart. It\u2019s as terrible as it is beautiful. Like the setting sun, Undset\u2019s tale throws the snow-covered peaks of a man\u2019s heart into relief. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yep. That was exactly what I was looking for.<\/p>\n

There’s a discussion in the comments about the two translations available, which led me to a captivating article by David Warren<\/a> on the same books.<\/p>\n

\n

The failures of men, and at the most painful, the failure of men to be men, is presented in light that is often excoriating. Indeed, the manner of a woman’s judgement must come as a revelation to men: not only the grown women but the girl children. Through that prism of motherhood, things are seen that men might not want to see, including centrally the scandal of being loved not for our virtues but in spite of our appalling weaknesses. And in this sense, women are stand-ins for God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He favours the earlier translation, untouched as it is by post-modernism.<\/p>\n

Oddly enough, I actually have a copy of the book, which I purchased in a used bookstore sometime in the dim and misty past.<\/p>\n

\"Some<\/a>

Some Books for Lent, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n

Perhaps when I finish these, I’ll be ready for Merton or the Desert Fathers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In years passed, I’ve generally adopted a reading program as part of my Lenten observance. For several years, I read the Desert Fathers. This year, despite a friend bequeathing me a copy of the Philokalia, I’m looking for something else. I’ve started a thin little volume by Bishop Athanasius Schneider called Dominus Est -\u0096 It is the Lord! I’m about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun","category-seasons"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-m2d","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":86840,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-reading-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":84705,"position":0},"title":"Lenten Reading","author":"Thom","date":"24 February 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In years passed, I've generally adopted a reading program as part of my Lenten observance. This year, I am (re)reading the great spiritual masterpiece of Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. The version I'm reading is published by the Confraternity of the Precious Blood, and it rather oddly bears\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fun"","block_context":{"text":"Fun","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/fun\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/books-1.jpg?fit=363%2C471&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":107630,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lent-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":84705,"position":1},"title":"Lent!","author":"Thom","date":"21 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Where has the time gone? It seems like Christmas just ended. In previous years, my home Archdiocese of Seattle has published \"Lenten Regulations\" to remind us what is expected of every Christian during Lent. Since last year, however, they have taken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archbishop Paul Etienne"","block_context":{"text":"Archbishop Paul Etienne","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/archbishop-paul-etienne\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AshWedGuide_Social_1080x1080_Eng-3-min-2048x2048-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AshWedGuide_Social_1080x1080_Eng-3-min-2048x2048-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AshWedGuide_Social_1080x1080_Eng-3-min-2048x2048-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AshWedGuide_Social_1080x1080_Eng-3-min-2048x2048-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/AshWedGuide_Social_1080x1080_Eng-3-min-2048x2048-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110303,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lent-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":84705,"position":2},"title":"Lent!","author":"Thom","date":"17 February 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Where has the time gone? It seems like Christmas just ended. In previous years, my home Archdiocese of Seattle published \"Lenten Regulations\" to remind us what is expected of every Christian during Lent. In recent years, however, they have taken a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018-02-19-07.09.57.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018-02-19-07.09.57.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018-02-19-07.09.57.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018-02-19-07.09.57.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018-02-19-07.09.57.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109469,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lent-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":84705,"position":3},"title":"Lent!","author":"Thom","date":"04 March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Where has the time gone? It seems like Christmas just ended. In previous years, my home Archdiocese of Seattle published \"Lenten Regulations\" to remind us what is expected of every Christian during Lent. In recent years, however, they have taken a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Lent-fasting-and-abstinence-2025_I2-min.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Lent-fasting-and-abstinence-2025_I2-min.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Lent-fasting-and-abstinence-2025_I2-min.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2231,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/lenten-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":84705,"position":4},"title":"Lenten Books","author":"Thom","date":"06 March 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Since Lent began, I've been praying the hours using an old 1963 Monastic Diurnal. The history of the Divine Office is complicated enough that I'm not going to go into it here. Suffice to say that there were some serious changes following the reforms of 1970. One of the big\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Divine Office"","block_context":{"text":"Divine Office","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/sacred-liturgy\/divine-office\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/books-1-231x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89348,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/parish-lenten-calendar-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":84705,"position":5},"title":"Parish Lenten Calendar, 2018","author":"Thom","date":"14 February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Come join us for some of these liturgies and devotions this Lent! This Lenten Calendar is obviously in addition to our normal Mass schedule at Holy Rosary: Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM (preceded by Adoration, Rosary, Benediction) Sunday: 12:00 PM (with asperges and Angelus) Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 7:15 AM (followed by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Divine Office"","block_context":{"text":"Divine Office","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/sacred-liturgy\/divine-office\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/HRV-lent-2018v2.jpg?fit=816%2C1056&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/HRV-lent-2018v2.jpg?fit=816%2C1056&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/HRV-lent-2018v2.jpg?fit=816%2C1056&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/HRV-lent-2018v2.jpg?fit=816%2C1056&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84705"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86828,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84705\/revisions\/86828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}