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“God will honor humility, and the devil will hate it” {Q&A with Father Mike Driscoll, author of “Demons, Deliverance, and Discernment”}

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My May column for The Catholic Post features a local author, Father Mike Driscoll, and his popular new book Demons, Deliverance, and Discernment: Separating Fact from Fiction about the Spirit World.  You can read my review of the book here.  Following is a longer version of my Q&A with Fr. Driscoll in the print edition of The Catholic Post.

Fr. Driscoll is chaplain and director of pastoral care at OSF St. Elizabeth Hospital in Ottawa. He’s been a priest of the Peoria diocese since 1992, and a licensed clinical counselor since 2012 .

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Q. How did you come to write a book about demons and exorcism?

I received a MA in Counseling from Bradley University in 2009. About that time, a friend of mine—a priest with a background in psychology—had been asked by his bishop to look into some cases of possible demonic possession.

We had several conversations about how to distinguish between possession and mental disorders. I then went to Regent University and received a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision. It included more counseling courses, but also involved studying counselors: how and why they do what they do. I thought it would be interesting to look at exorcists in the same way.

Q. Your work in counseling and health care informed your work on this book. Has writing the book at all changed your work in counseling and health care ministry?

Actual cases of demonic possession are extremely rare. On the other hand, it is relatively common for people to struggle with problems that are a combination of both mental/emotional problems and spiritual problems that do not involve possession.

The hospital where I am chaplain (St. Elizabeth’s, Ottawa) has an inpatient mental health unit. so on daily basis I talk to people who are struggling with these problems. Writing the book and serving these people have reinforced for me the need to address both aspects, the mental/emotional and the spiritual. If we neglect either one, we are not helping as much as we could.

Q. What are two or three things the “average Catholic” should know about demons?

One thing people should know is that demonic possession is extremely rare. There is a good reason why the vast majority of us have never seen a person possessed by a demon: it rarely happens. As one exorcist said, it does not happen randomly; you don’t wake up one day and suddenly find yourself possessed. It comes from building a relationship with evil.

That leads to the second thing: we should be much more concerned about temptations, whether from the flesh, the world, or the devil. Going to hell for committing mortal sins and not repenting of them should be more frightening to us than possession.

Third and most important, remember God’s infinite love for us, and keep in mind that the things we need to do to get to heaven are not complicated. We must say our prayers, receive the Sacraments, practice the virtues, and avoid the occasions of sin.

Q. Who is your target audience for the book? Is there a type of person you’d really like to read the book, and what would you most want them to take away from the book?

The primary audience is adult Catholics. The wider audience would include Christians and others interested in the Catholic view of the topic of demon possession.

Certainly some teenagers could understand the book, and there is nothing inappropriate in it. The caution I would give to that age group is that some of them are already too interested in the subject, and I don’t want to inflame that. Of course, the same could be said of many adults!

There has been an inherent dilemma in writing this book and getting it published. On the one hand, I am glad that Catholic Answers thought it worth publishing. On the other hand, I don’t want to encourage people to spend too much time on this topic.

Make sure you next spiritual reading is a book about God’s love, or a saint, or the angels.

Q. You write in the book about the connections (and often, lack of connection) between mental illness and demon possession. How do non-Catholics or even Catholics misconstrue these, and how does your book help to clear up those misunderstandings?

Movies that claim to be based on true stories always have inaccuracies; there is always an element of sensationalism. One of the main goals of this book is to provide the actual Church teaching on devils, possession, and exorcism.

One Catholic told me he heard that most people in psychiatric hospital care are actually suffering from demonic attacks, rather than mental health problems. That’s nonsense.

While the devil tempts all of us, especially in our weak points, the people I visit every day in our mental health unit are struggling with real mental and emotional problems. To say these are just demonic attacks is wrong, just as wrong as saying physical problems are just demonic attacks.

Does the devil try to aggravate all of our problems? Of course. That is why we pray for God’s protection and strength and healing for all disorders, whether physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or any combination of those.

Having said that, I should mention that it is not unusual for people with serious mental disorders (such as schizophrenia) to tell me they hear devils, see devils, or dream about devils. This does not mean they are possessed, but it could really be the devil bothering them.

I have had therapists ask me about this. My guess is that demons torment people with serious mental problems because others won’t believe them. Others might think it is just the mental disorder, but it could be both metal and spiritual. It is important to address both struggles: we provide counseling and medication to help with the mental problems, and we must be sure to pray for them and encourage a good spiritual life in order to help with the spiritual struggles.

Q. You caution sincere Catholics against over-reliance on what you call “deliverance professionals.” Could you explain a little more about that, and what your concerns are in that area?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not define deliverance; there is no Church book or ritual on deliverance; and there is no official title or office of “deliverance minister.”

If a person says they are involved in deliverance, and they further explain that they listen to people’s spiritual struggles and then pray for them, that’s great. But some claim to have special deliverance abilities or gifts, special deliverance methods, and special deliverance prayers. I would stay away from that whole scene.

Some of the saints had great power in driving away demons, but they always tried to avoid attracting attention. I mistrust those who publicize their claims of spiritual gifts.

Q. You write in the helpful appendix of prayers for protection against demons that “these are not imperative formulas that address demons directly. They are prayers asking God, his angels, and his saints to protect us against the attacks of evil spirits.” Why is that distinction important?

The generic definition of exorcism is words directed to devils. It is the opposite side of the coin of prayer, which is directed to God.

For example, in the extraordinary form of blessing water, the priest is directing prayers to God, but then the ritual has him say, “I cast out you, the devil and adversary of mankind, along with all your evil influence and cunning wickedness…” That is called a minor exorcism.

The only Church rituals in which demons are directly addressed are in the Rite of Exorcism, and the extraordinary form of Baptism and some blessings. Outside of a priest following a Church ritual, I don’t see any reason to address demons.

The prayers I have in the appendix are directed to God or the angels or saints, asking for their help and protection. When I hear people directing commands toward devils, saying things like, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to be gone!” it strikes me as overly dramatic, and maybe even prideful.

It’s just my opinion, but it seems more humble to ask God or the angels or saints for help. I think God will honor that humility, and the devil will hate it.

Q. Realizing the book is just being released, how has the early interest been from the publisher and others who have read it or are anticipating it?

I have been amazed at how much Catholic Answers has done to promote interest in it. They have arranged for me to be on a number of Catholic radio shows, which is something I have never done before.

I did the first on May 1, the Drew Mariani show—and it was great. People are definitely interested in this topic, as I am, but again, we all need to make sure that we don’t pay too much attention to demons. Jesus certainly did exorcisms, but the Gospel show him spending much more time teaching and healing.

We need to devote most of our spiritual energy toward prayer, the works of mercy, and spiritual reading that does not involve demons.

Q. You’ve written a fiction book called The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange and Supernatural along the lines of the Father Brown mysteries, but with a modern twist. Can you share about its unique perspective, and what inspired you to write that book?

I love G. K. Chesterton’s “Fr. Brown Mysteries,” based in England in the early 1900s. He was the first to write stories about a priest investigator.

In order to take breaks from writing the “Demons” book, I started writing stories about a priest who investigates mysteries. Unlike Fr. Brown, who usually solved murders and robberies, Fr. Capranica solves mysteries involving the supernatural: angels, demons, creatures from mythology and folklore.

I don’t like it when a movie is almost purely fictional, and has a line at the beginning saying “Based on a true story.” They should just make up the scary story and have fun with it, not try to pass it off as true! The Father Capranica Mysteries are definitely not based on true stories.
If you are wondering, Capranica is my mom’s maiden name; my grandfather was born and raised in the Abruzzi region in Italy.

Q. What is your next writing project?

I don’t know. I have written some thoughts on the topic of forgiveness. We all know how important it is to forgive, but it is also difficult. The more someone has been hurt, the more difficult it is to forgive the offender. But lack of forgiveness is bad for us, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

I would like to write a book of spiritual practices and counseling suggestions on what to do on a daily basis to forgive others. Like other virtues, forgiveness is never finished.

Just as we have to be loving and faithful and patient every day, we also have to forgive every day.

People get frustrated because they want to forgive others, but the negative thoughts and emotional pain keep coming back. I reassure them that doesn’t mean they have failed to forgive. We just have to stay with it every day.

Q. You are a lifelong and winning long-time long-distance runner.  I’ve read and reviewed numerous Catholic running memoirs, (including Alberto Salazar’s 14 Minutes;  Sister Madonna Buder’s The Grace to Race, and Jeff Grabosky’s Running with God Across America) and I’m fascinated with the connection between running and spirituality. What is your perspective on that? Can you share how running is part of your faith life?

I think it is physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy for us to get outside and be physically active on a regular basis, if we can. Of course there are many reasons why some people cannot. God gives us different things we enjoy and that are good for us, so I think it shows gratitude to do those things.

In moderation, of course: I’m injured right now, from putting in more miles than I knew I should, training for the Starved Rock Marathon. Now I have to miss it! Maybe I’ll be ready for the Peoria marathon in the fall.
I won the Morton Pumpkin Festival 10K twice, and the Metamora Lincoln-Douglas 8 mile several times. I won the Wildlife Prairie Park 5k once. But I never won Steamboat, darn it!

I don’t know how many marathons I have run. I’ve run one or two, sometimes three, almost every year since the late 1970s. I’ve probably run about 60 or 70 of them, maybe 75.

To put it another way: when I ran my first marathon, Paul VI was the pope!

You might also be interested to know:

*my husband Joseph Piccione took the photo of Father Mike Driscoll above several years ago.  I remembered seeing it among our digital photos, and searched for because I remember it being a really good one.

*I was glad to ask Fr. Driscoll the question about running, but I always feel a little intimidated because he’s such a speedy runner (as in, winning races or his age group a fair amount of the time). But he has always been gracious and encouraging about my “finishing is winning” approach to running.

Just a Little Bit Fitbit Obsessive {Christmas is Coming}

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How do I love my Fitbit One? Let me count the ways:

*I’m a numbers gal, and love having the feedback of knowing what I’ve accomplished step-wise.

*the Fitbit One tracks your floors as well as your steps. Our laundry is in the basement, so I get a lot of floors.

*Some of my stats in my year and nearly five months of Fitbit use:

*More than 6,000,000 steps.

*More than 10,000 floors (that’s a lot of laundry!)

*It’s just plain fun and geeky for me to know all these things about my activity.

If you’re obsessive about your Fitbit or other tracking device (like the UP by Jawbone), you know why I love mine so much. If you’re not, you can make fun of us, until you get one for a gift and become one of us. Christmas is coming, after all!

The Fitbit one tracks the quality of you sleep as well, but you need to remember to turn in on sleep mode during sleep, and then wake it up again in the morning.  I forgot a few times, and my morning run didn’t get counted, so of course I learned never to do that again.  But I wish it would recognize it automatically, since I do like how it recognizes how often you stir or get up in the night.

What about the new Fitbit Surge? Is it worth waiting for?  I’m not interested in it, since I feel like I have a good thing going with the One. What are your thoughts?

My husband’s first Fitbit was a Zip (pictured below), but it was a little too simple, and also a little glitchy in synchronizing with your phone. So when he lost it, I got him a Fitbit One and he’s been very happy with it.
We are huge fans of the comic strip Zits at our house, and I loved how earlier this month that the comic strip had a weeklong series about the Fitbit. Here’s the first in the series:

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So,  you may be wondering what Fitbit has to do with all things Catholic and books.   You know I gave up my Fitbit for Lent?  I didn’t get much sympathy among normal folk, but fellow Fitbit obsessives were really impressed with my sacrifice.  It made for an interesting Lent (it wasn’t the only thing I gave up, but, all joking aside, it was really difficult.).

Several weeks back, I was at a Friday evening soccer game for my 11-year-old, which involved walking a fair amount  to and from the parking lot.  I realized only part way through the game that I had left my Fitbit home to charge up, and the following text exchange ensued: (just before this, my husband Joseph had asked if he should bring me the Fitbit):

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Now, in case anyone is thinking we were being serious, we weren’t.  It was all in good fun, and shows we can laugh at ourselves.  Or mostly, laugh at me.

But I don’t mind, because I have many, many steps to go before I sleep.

(Note: I’m not sponsored in any way by Fitbit–how I wish I were!–but the links in this post click through to my affiliate link at Amazon.  That means if you order your Fitbit or Jawbone or three or five for your loved ones, your price is the same, but I receive a small amount back. Christmas is coming, after all!)

Random Thoughts, Volume 6: Animal Spirits Edition

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I wonder how I can get any more random, but I do want to capture various links of online reading/listening/etc. as I come across them.

Also linking with Jen’s  7 Quick Takes since I have 7 of these.

1.  “How to Live a Happy Life: Louis CK Explains the Science” TIME magazine

“Taking an inventory about where you’re spending your time is revealing. And then once you identify the activities and people with whom you want to spend more time, calendaring your time thoughtfully becomes critical. When you put something on a calendar, you’re more likely to actually do that activity – partly because you’re less likely to have to make an active decision whether you should do it – because it’s already on your calendar.”

2.  “Keeping a Time Diary Can Identify Patterns That Affect Your Productivity” — LifeHacker

Also in the time management field.  I am (again) trying to keep track of my time and figure out what makes me more or less productive in different areas.  I do notice some of these things, but I found it fascinating that the person who kept this time diary found how a bad night sleep affected him several days later, and other quirks. I need to be better about doing this.

3,  “The Bride Didn’t Always Wear White” –The New York Times

This looks like an amazing exhibit on wedding wear through recent history.  In 2010, our family took a wonderful trip to England & Ireland.  The apartment we rented was a short walk from the V&A Museum, so we used to call it our “neighborhood museum” (the same way Brompton Oratory was our neighborhood church).  When I saw this article, I immediately thought, “time for a trip to our neighborhood museum.” I wish.

4. I just love my Fitbit.

Can I get an Amen from anyone else who enjoys the Fitbit?  After I gave it up for Lent (and oh, that was hard! I did two half-marathons during Lent, and, as we true believers like to half-jokingly say, it’s like they didn’t even count).

I’ve just entered the world of friends on Fitbit.  So far I’m Fitbit friends with several people, one of them a world-famous (if she’s not, she should be) author, Colleen Swaim.  I do really enjoy getting to compare stats and swap messages.  I’m also part of a private group that Katie at Runs for Cookies started several months back.  I enjoy getting to see my stats versus others.  My goal for July is to hit 12,000 every day.  I’ve only missed one day so far, and we have some upcoming car travel days, so I may miss a few more, but I’m sure my average will be well above the 12,000 mark.

Do you make Fitbit (or even just general fitness) goals?

5.  “Why Kids Fidget and What to Do About It” The Washington Post

“Ironically, many children are walking around with an underdeveloped vestibular (balance) system today–due to restricted movement. In order to develop a strong balance system, children need to move their body in all directions, for hours at a time. ”

So worth reading, and now I feel justified in how much I make my kids be active.  Also, now I feel reassured that my very active 11-year-old is just working his vestibular system.

6. Amazon, A Friendly Giant as Long as It’s Fed— The New York Times

I’m somewhat conflicted about Amazon.  I order from it all the time, I love Amazon Prime for watching movies and TV shows, as well as the free two-day shipping for most items.  It’s just super convenient for so many things, books included.

But I’ve read with interest articles like this one, and I must say I still like Amazon after reading this.  In many ways, Amazon has democratized the publishing process.  What do you think?

7. “Planet Money Makes a T-Shirt” — NPR’s Planet Money

I  supported this Kickstarter campaign, because (as I’ve written about before) I’m a big fan of Planet Money and listen to the  podcast often.  The series of podcasts reporting how a t-shirt gets made (based on this book: The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy:
, which I’ve not read, but looks really interesting),

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Because I supported the Kickstarter, I recently received this t-shirt in the mail.  It fits really well, it is comfortable and a really flattering color.  I decided that because the graphic is so strange (a squirrel holding up a martini!), I wouldn’t start wearing it until I could comfortably explain the economics term “animal spirits.” (The t-shirt is a visual pun of that concept).  I actually hadn’t remembered what that was all about, since it’s been a long time since I listened to the series.

So I went back to the Planet Money site and just briefly went through the great multi-media site they put together.  Do take a look if you get a chance–here’s that link.

What are “animal spirits?”  Basically, it’s the concept that economic decisions are made by people, not just markets.  Sometimes that means emotions or spontaneous ideas take place, but ultimately shows economics is about humans, not just things or money.

This might be kind of mischievous, but my thought is to wear it often, and especially during the 40 Days for Life in October, to freak out and befuddle (in a good way) my fellow NPR listeners.

What are you reading or listening to online lately?

Haphazard Random Thoughts

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We have a family joke that whenever Mom (that would be me) says, “I have a random thought,” everyone runs screaming, because it’s usually followed by, “… we should clean out the garage” or ” or some other maybe-not-too-pleasant thing that will happen since I am Mom and moms are all-powerful.  That’s not really how it works, but I love that my husband and kids enjoy making fun of me in a cute way.

So, I keep sharing articles and various other links on Facebook or (less often) Twitter, and then when I want to find them, I have to scroll back through my own feed to find them.  And my husband often (very often) shares articles via e-mail with me, and sometimes I get to them, and share them.  But it’s all haphazard.

The “haphazard” way I read and share online isn’t going to change, but there will be a post here every so often with a random assortment of links that have had me thinking and pondering, or that moved me in some way.

I don’t have a catchy name for this yet–thus, the “Haphazard Random Thoughts.”  But I want to get this started.   Any thoughts for a good name are welcome here.

So burdened last week with the news out of Harvard, and I was unbelievably glad when it was all over, saying prayers of thanksgiving at Mass & Adoration on Tuesday:

“Holy Hour in Reparation for Acts Committed Against the Eucharist”

and some follow-up:

“Describer of Planned Black Mass-Guess How He Died?” Elizabeth Scalia at The Anchoress. I was all set for this to be sad, and then it wasn’t.  Praise God.

“Satan: A Small Skirmish Won, but the Battle Goes On.” –Thomas MacDonald. “And while we do this, we must remember that the battleground of Satan is within us as well. As Solzhenitsyn wrote, the line separating good and evil passes right through every human heart. I’d rather not lose a single soul to Hell. Not one. Not even the soul of my worst enemy.”

“The Problem with Confidence” –David Brooks, The New York Times. Sometimes my husband e-mails me articles, and then when he tells me about them in person, and sends me back to my neglected in-box to read them, I know it must be very good.  This one was, and there is almost too much good to quote. “The person with the confidence mind-set is like the painfully self-conscious person at a dinner party who asks, “How am I coming across?” The person with an instrumentalist mind-set is serving a craft and asks “What does this specific job require?”

 

“Tolstoy and Miss Daisy,” Frank Bruni, The New York Times.  I cried at this one, and this was one I shared with my husband first, and then I forgot to share on Facebook and Twitter and to tag all my siblings and their kids.  “They were proof, these two, that a family can pass its painstakingly nurtured closeness down through the generations, and that there comes a moment when the values impressed on the youngest members of the brood — the values imposed on them, really — become the values they actually elect.”

“Running  Back from Hell” by Christine Fennessy, Runner’s World.  I read this in the paper version back when it arrived in our mailbox–Runner’s World is one of my favorite magazine subscriptions.  Many (not all) of the long articles in Runner’s World are top-notch.  This was one recent standout.  How running is helping soldiers manage and overcome PTSD.

And let’s throw in a recipe for good measure:

“Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp Bars” Deb Perlman, The Smitten Kitchen. Our garden is producing lots of rhubarb this years from ancient plants we inherited when we bought our old house 20 years ago. I am looking for new recipes to try. I adapted this from another recipe of hers (I didn’t want “crispy” bars in any way–just yummy) and we cannot stop eating this one.

7 Quick Takes: Bloggers I’d Love to Meet at Behold

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Day 5 of 7 posts in 7 days…is exhausting, and so glad to hear others are having similar struggles getting through this blogging challenge.

Since I did blog twice this week (Tuesday and Thursday) in advance of the Behold Conference in honor of two of the far-away bloggers who will be there, I thought it would be fun to list seven other bloggers I wish I could meet at Behold.  I know I will be seeing lots of bloggers I know in real life already, like Marcia, and Marie, and Bonnie, and Katie, and Kelly, and I’m sure more that I’m forgetting. I don’t think of these women at all as “bloggers,” just as people I know and love who happen to have blogs.

Like many people, I have a like/love/hate relationship with all things online.  But I’m really struck by how connected I’ve become with women online that I’ve never met.  And while I know a few of them from yahoo -e-group days when there was a lot of conversation, I don’t really “connect” much with them, as I’m not a very-often commenter.  But I like getting to see what people are up to.

These are women (all women, it turns out) I’d love to have coffee with, mostly because they are just normal women with blogs, rather than Big Name Bloggers®  (not that there is anything wrong with that). I know there are more than seven, but I’m just going to quickly list until I get to seven, and maybe do this again.   They are not blogs one must follow, or even visit, they are just several of my particular online people.  There’s no particular order here.

1. Faith of Household Diary.

Faith is one of the earliest people I met online, on several now-defunct yahoo groups on children’s literature and homeschooling.  She is just real, and a kindred spirit.

2. Melissa Wiley.

Thinking of how I first “met” Faith, reminded me that Melissa should be listed here.

Well, okay, Melissa is a Big Name Author®), but I am adding her here because I also knew her through some old yahoo groups from years back (and a Maud Hart Lovelace e-list we’re both still on). I love the ways she writes, and I find her blog and all her writing, whether about tidal homeschooling, poetry, internet life, or books, so encouraging, uplifting and funny.

Back when we had a girls book group at our house, Melissa was slated to be a “virtual” guest author (we had several in-person visits and several “virtual” visits over the years), but it had to be cancelled at the last moment because my father was hospitalized and I headed to Ohio.  We never were able to reschedule and it’s a big regret.

3. Katie of Runs for Cookies.

Okay, maybe she is a Big Name Blogger® (I’m not sure what the criteria is), but Katie is really real.  I don’t even know if she’s Catholic or not, but she’d certainly be welcome at Behold.  I cannot recall how I stumbled across Katie’s blog, but I love her weight loss journey, her writings about running, writing about a family friend’s cancer treatment, and just her real-ness.

4. Nancy of And the Rough Places Plain.

I discovered Nancy shortly after I joined Twitter, when Dorian Speed (for my next list?) said, “Just realized that NancyO and Nancy Piccione are not the same person.”  We are both gray-haired, but she is more refined.

I am I keep forgetting about Nancy’s blog because I can’t figure out how to follow someone on tumblr or get e-mail updates without figuring out tumblr, and I can barely blog for seven days straight, much less figure out.  And I do see her comments around the Internet on different Catholic blogs.   Her photos and reflections on European architecture, travel and Catholic life make me feel smarter even when I only have a moment to skim.

5.  Mary Lenaburg of Passionate Perseverance.

I’m actually Facebook friends (one of a few I’ve never met)  with Mary, and I’m not really sure how that happened.  I think it may be because we have DC friends in common–my friends from way back when we lived there.  I really, really enjoy her both on Facebook and on the rare times when I can check in with her blog.   Her recipes look terrific, she’s really real about her life in general.  She’d be a fun coffee date.

6.  Colleen Swaim of Duel to the Death.

I “know” Colleen and Matt Swaim because I’ve reviewed books by both of them (and one, Your College Faith, written by both of them).  Matt is the new host of the SonRise Morning Show on EWTN, which I understand is terrific.

There are a handful of authors who I would love to meet some day, and I’ve even arranged to do that a few times (hi, Robin Davis!). Colleen is one of them.  She feels like a (much) younger sister to me, we are that similar, and yet different, in the way sisters are–does that make sense?  It does to me.

7.  Katie of NFP & Me. 

I featured Katie back when I reviewed Adam & Eve after the pill.  Again, I don’t keep up with Katie or her blog that much, but I thought of her when I was considering people I’d love to see at Behold.  This close-to -graduation med student is now expecting her first child and getting ready for residency.  She just seems like fun.

As I finish this, I am thinking of so many more people I’ve come to know online and would love to meet in real life. I definitely want to do this again!

Also linking up here with Jen’s 7 Quick Takes.

Five Things … for Lent

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Lent begins a week from today,  and I wanted to share five things.

1.  I’m giving up my Fitbit for Lent.

Ack. Part of the reason I’m doing this is that I love it too much, and I’m afraid I won’t actually do it unless I announce in public that I’m giving it up.

I first joined the Fitbit world when my husband got one at a work gathering about two years ago. I said, “Let me get that set up for you” and never gave it back.  I did buy him another one after about six months of using it, but within a week I had lost mine, so I took that one.  He since decided to get a Fitbit Zip, but I think he should really upgrade to a Fitbit One since it tells the number of floors you climb.

It seems to me that you either get Fitbit or you’re not interested, and there’s no in-between.

Case in point: I have four sisters, and a sister-in-law, and we were all in Belgium and France last fall visiting one sister who lives in Europe, and doing the Paris-Versailles Grand Classique.   One sister and I were obsessed with our Fitbit numbers each day (the day of the Grand Classique I had almost 40,000 steps. 40,000!  We liked to say to each other, “It’s like it doesn’t count unless your Fitbit shows the numbers.” The other four just laughed at us for being so obsessive.

Anyway, if you are among the Fitbit faithful or have a similar device, you’ll know how hard this will be for me.  I also realized after I made  the decision that I’m signed up to do not one but two half-marathons during Lent.  Sob.

2.  Silence.

The younger kids and I were reading in our history earlier this week about monks in the Middle Ages having meals (and much of the rest of their lives) in silence.  Of course we knew this already, but hearing about it in that unusual context made it stand out.  So we’ve been batting around the idea of trying for some silence during our busy days.

We decided we would start with lunch in silence on Fridays.  We can always add on extra days, but it seemed prudent to start small.

3.   Lent Book Series.

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I’m trying a first-ever series at Reading Catholic.  I, and a fairly large group of guest authors, will be writing about books all Lent long.  I invited the bloggers listed on Local, Catholic and Online, as well as other local-ish people, to write about a book related to Lent in some ways. I hope you’ll follow along and share your favorite Lenten reads.

This year it’s a bit of an experiment, but with the positive response I am thinking of making it an annual series.

4.  Pondering . . .

“He became poor,  so that by his poverty you might become rich.”

The Holy Father’s theme for Lent 2014.  Did you know each year the Holy Father has a message for Lent, and picks a Scripture verse for meditation?

Here is a link to Pope Francis’ Message for Lent 2014.  I have skimmed it, but I will also print out and read during Lent.  I want to be rich;  how about you?

5.   Rich Mullins

I’ve loved Rich Mullins before he was cool, after he was cool,  and after he was dead.  He died in a car accident, actually pretty near where we live in Illinois, and I recall it vividly because I was very pregnant with my oldest child.    So when a friend shared on Facebook that she enjoyed this tribute special to him, I bookmarked it.   I’m sad I haven’t made time to listen to it yet.  His music and his writings (many of his columns and writings for various Christian magazines are still available on the Internet) are remarkable. In many ways, he was a modern-day St. Francis.

How is your preparation for Lent going? Are you ready for it to start?

Linking up with both Jen’s 7 Posts, 7 Days and Hallie’s Five Favorites.