Ash Wednesday - A Little Fun

Because this makes me laugh every time, I repost ...

Ash Wednesday is the chance for single Catholics to identify other singles who are, as my friends would say, really eligible! In aid of that, we present:

PATRICK MADRID'S TOP 10 LIST
Catholic Pickup Lines
(originally appeared in the now defunct Envoy magazine)

10. May I offer you a light for that votive candle?

9. Hi there. My buddy and I were wondering if you would settle a dispute we're having. Do you think the word should be pronounced HOMEschooling, or homeSCHOOLing?

8. Sorry, but I couldn't help but noticing how cute you look in that ankle-length, shapeless, plaid jumper.

7. What's a nice girl like you doing at a First Saturday Rosary Cenacle like this?

6. You don't like the culture of death either? Wow! We have so much in common!

5. Let's get out of here. I know a much cozier little Catholic bookstore downtown.

4. I bet I can guess your confirmation name.

3. You've got stunning scapular-brown eyes.

2. Did you feel what I felt when we reached into the holy water font at the same time?

1. Confess here often?

Ash Wednesday: All other loves will enslave us if they are not ordered to Him

Rerun because I need to read this every year.

Painful though the process may prove to be, I ask God for the transformation I need to become closer to the person He created me to be.

Let's begin with the collect for today.

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

I like this for several reasons, but foremost  it calls to mind that we are in a spiritual battle. It never does to forget that, especially with Satan's wilderness tempting of Christ as prominent as it is during this season.

Daniele Crespi (1597 - 1630)
Il Digiuno di San Carlo Borromeo / The fasting of St Charles Borromeo (c. 1625)
(Read more about the painting and the saint at Idle Speculations where I found the painting)

I always need help having the proper perspective to prepare for Easter.

The Liberating Power of Serving God

"No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Mt 6:24)

God did not save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt so that they might become slaves again by bowing down to the golden calf in the desert. Nor has he freed us from the slavery of our sin so that we might bow down to the work of our own hands or to any other creature, including ourselves and our own desires. Strange as it might seem, we are not really free when we consider ourselves the masters of our own lives. From precisely that standpoint, we quickly fall into the trap of serving someone or something else: our self-images, our bosses, our spouses, our corporations, our tyrannical two-year-olds or teenagers, our homes, our cards, our portfolios, our social statuses, our egos, and the list goes on and on.

When, however, we seek to serve God, we soon learn that we thereby allow God to serve us. He wants our hearts precisely so that he might reign there: more as servant than as king. It is he who sets the table before us, who washes our feet, waits upon us, and invites us to eat of his own body. As servant, he not only nourishes us, however; but he also liberates us fro inordinate attachments that both weigh us down and enslave us. He does not merely liberate us from without, by removing obstacles that would hinder his coming into our hearts. He also and more profoundly liberates us from within; for once we have received him, he begins making order within us, freeing us from all that prohibits us from the interior freedom that characterizes the children of God. He will not allow any competition for his love; for all other loves will enslave us if they are not ordered to him, who alone can render us free.

Taken in this way, we can see how it is actually a relief to have done self-examination to see what has enslaved us, usually without our having been aware of it at all. What a relief to set that down. Even when we miss it, when we long for it, when we are annoyed because we can't have it, there is still a sense of relief in being forced to see with open eyes just what our addictions really are. To see how they have become so much more important to us than the harder path that leads us to a more loving relationship with God. Clarity matters. We have to know what rocks are in the way in order to avoid them.

The Putting on of Ashes
From the Initial "M" in the Introit of the Mass of Ashes on Ash Wednesday
From the Missal à l'usage de Saint-Didier d'Avignon c. 1370
Via Idle Speculations which has information about the tradition of ashes

We surely can see why the readings for today included this from Joel which speaks to my heart.

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

And this from Psalm 51, also part of today's readings, which is surely what we all crave.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise

I do praise him for giving us this season of Lent ... which is something that I never, ever feel until it has begun. But now that I am face to face with Lent, having considered this morning that "Remember, man you are dust and to dust you shall return" ... which means, get serious because you never know when this life will end ... I remember how good it is to consider priorities, to leave behind the transitory, and strive upwards toward the immortal life we were made to have.

Yes, Lent is good.

Bread and Water by Duane Keiser

RESOURCES
Catholic Culture has a wonderful page about Lent with many links to activities, prayers, recipes, and readings.

They also offer free e-books which have daily reflections on the readings and saints for the liturgical year. I have used these for several years now and cannot recommend them highly enough.

Ash Wednesday

Carl Spitzweg, Ash Wednesday
via Wikimedia Commons

Venezia Carnivale

Venezia Carnivale
taken by Wanlee, CCL3.0

The Carnival of Venice is world famous for elaborate masks which, as you can see, often call for equally elaborate costumes to match.

Mardi Gras Prayer

It is good for me to have this reminder in prayer, which I have posted for the last few years. We tend to think of the feasting of Mardi Gras as being totally opposite to the fasting of Lent. But they don't have to be. If we turn our eyes toward God the entire time, feasting and fasting can be seen as sides of the same coin.

In these or similar words, we can pray in the spirit of this day. 

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for it is from your goodness that we have this day
to celebrate on the threshold of the Season of Lent.

Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat.
Today we feast.
We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us.
We thank you especially for one another.
As we give you thanks,
we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do.
As we share these wonderful gifts together,
we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those
who need our support.

Prepare us for tomorrow.
Tasting the fullness of what we have today,
let us experience some hunger tomorrow.
May our fasting make us more alert
and may it heighten our consciousness
so that we might be ready to hear your Word
and respond to your call.

As our feasting fills us with gratitude
so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us
a place for deeper desires
and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor.
May our self-denial turn our hearts to you
and give us a new freedom for
generous service to others.

We ask you these graces
with our hearts full of delight
and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead.
We ask them with confidence
in the name of Jesus the Lord.

It's Warmer Together

It's Warmer Together, Remo Savisaar

From my favorite wildlife photographer, a wonderful photo of how to survive an Estonian winter.

Lent Prep: Are You Ready to Rumble? (With a link for meatless recipes)

Every year I have to psych myself up for the Ash Wednesday fast. Rereading this helps.

Are you looking for good meatless meals for Lenten Fridays? Try these at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Fasting. No one likes it. Even people who don't care about food too much don't like it. And no wonder. We get hungry, we get cranky, we're uncomfortable ... darned uncomfortable.

I rarely remember to think about it more deeply than than to offer it up for someone in grave need.

This from my quote journal reminded me to think about fasting in a very different way. I thought I'd share it.

Lenten Fasting

Jesus fasted simply because he wanted to, as the gospel clearly says. But why? Because hunger never comes alone; hunger usually touches us very deeply, not just physically but deep in our heart. Hunger in a sense wounds us; it undermines something in us which up to that moment had been inviolable. It causes a kind of vaccuum, tears open an old wound, and even at times leads to dizziness. Precisely for that reason fasting and hunger can change something in us, can even bring about a genuine transformation.

Whatever is thus touched or kindled is not always honorable or satisfying ... In order to be able to test us the devil has to take advantage of our weaknesses, both our physical and spiritual weakness, the hunger which torments us and makes us afraid of losing our life.

For along with hunger other desires and temptations immediately surface as well, even in the case of Jesus: the seductive challenge of easy success, the desire for earthly fame, the hunger for power in this world, sensuality in all its forms. Fasting half opens the door we so often want to keep shut, even with a double lock. For immediately after the first hunger and the first desire, the other hunger and those other desires surface as well, desires which seek -- with equal bitterness and equal power to disturb us -- to take possession of our heart. No one ever fasts with impunity ...

However, Jesus had come for this very purpose. Not to crush all desires and temptations, nor to conquer them honorably. The contrary is true ... Our fasting even today risks opening the door to the excitement of the desires it threatens to unleash, a door which looks out on the other shore of our desires, not on their dark but on their light side: God within us; God who desires to be loved; God who hungers for us and we for him, passionately.

Father Andre Louf, O.C.S.O. (Magnificat)

I do have one practical piece of advice to offer ... hunger comes in "waves" so if you suddenly feel those pangs, quite often you can remember that and when you come to think of it again then the hunger has receded. That helps me anyway.

Holy Martyrs of Libya, pray for us

21 Martyrs of Libya
by Tony Rezk (with permission)
(See more about this icon below)

The martyrs of Libya are the 21 young men who withstood imprisonment by ISIS for 40 days and then were murdered when they refused to renounce Jesus Christ.

They died with Jesus' name on their lips, saying "Jesus help us" and "My Lord Jesus."

They were martyred on this day in 2015.

The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ. As we recall these brothers who died only because they confessed Christ, I ask that we encourage each another to go forward with this ecumenism which is giving us strength, the ecumenism of blood. The martyrs belong to all Christians.

Pope Francis

In these uncertain times, I am strengthened by their witness, faithful unto death. I pray that I may likewise bear faithful witness in whatever circumstances I find myself.

Let us pray for those persecuted for their faith, for the persecutors to recognize the truth they strive to silence, and that we will be as faithful our love and witness.

Holy martyrs, pray for us and for the whole world. Amen.

+Milad Makeen Zaky
+Abanub Ayad Atiya
+Maged Solaimain Shehata
+Yusuf Shukry Yunan
+Kirollos Shokry Fawzy
+Bishoy Astafanus Kamel
+Somaily Astafanus Kamel
+Malak Ibrahim Sinweet
+Tawadros Yusuf Tawadros
+Girgis Milad Sinweet
+Mina Fayez Aziz
+Hany Abdelmesih Salib
+Bishoy Adel Khalaf
+Samuel Alham Wilson
+Ezat Bishri Naseef
+Loqa Nagaty
+Gaber Munir Adly
+Esam Badir Samir
+Malak Farag Abram
+Sameh Salah Faruq
+Matthew Ayairga, originally non-Christian, who was captured with the others and witnessed their faith. When terrorists asked if he rejected Jesus, despite knowing he would be killed, he said, "Their God is my God."

ICON NOTE

21 Martyrs of Libya icon
I discovered this icon at New Liturgical Movement which shared insights about the symbolism, always important for any icon.

[Matthew Ayairga is] represented here in the middle of the group. Note also that the rest of them are shown with the same face as Jesus, whose Holy Name they spoke as they were killed; the sea behind them is shown reddened by their blood. The red stoles and crowns above them symbolize their martyrdom; the stoles are arranged like those of Coptic deacons during the liturgy. ... The red stoles worn by Christ and the martyrs symbolize the cross identifying them as Christlike Cross bearers, (staurophoroi).

Here is an interview with Tony Rezk where he talks about his faith and the Coptic Church.

Holy Martyrs of Libya icon

Holy Martyrs of Libya
by Nikola Sarić (with permission)

Notice how the waves of the sea stained with the martyrs’ blood are shown around the edge of the image; Matthew Arayiga is distinct among the group on the top right. The men were killed wearing orange prisoners’ jumpsuits; all them are looking at Christ except for the one at the bottom, who is looking out at us.

New Liturgical Movement

3rd Sunday of St. Joseph

Reflecting on St. Joseph on the seven Sundays leading up to his solemnity is an old tradition. 

 

Lorenzo Lotto. Madonna and Child with St. Jerome, St. Joseph and St. Anne.

Joseph, Husband of Mary

Painters have traditionally depicted Joseph as an elderly man in order to emphasize the perpetual virginity of Mary. Yet it is more likely that Joseph was not much older than Mary. You don't have to wait to be old or lifeless to practice the virtue of chastity. Purity comes from love; and the strength and joy of youth are no obstacle to a noble love. Joseph had a young heart and a young body when he married Mary, when he learned of the mystery of her divine motherhood, when he lived in her company, respecting the integrity God wished to give the world as one more sign that he had come to share the life of his creatures. (St. Escriva, Christ is passing by)


Let us ask the Holy Patriarch to teach us how to live this kind of love in the circumstances to which God has called us. We want this love that lights up the heart (St. Thomas, On Charity) so that we may perform our ordinary work with joy.

In Conversation with God, Vol. 6: Special Feasts: January to June

Lenten Listening: Podcasts

Here are some of my favorite faith podcasts which can prove helpful at Lent. To be fair, I tend to listen to most of them year-round.

Daily Mass Readings (Augustine Institute)

Just what it says — the daily Mass readings. The readings are followed by silence with occasional questions asked to prompt meditation and reflection.

The website is here.

Sing the Hours

This is a sung version of the Liturgy of the Hours for morning and evening. Paul Rose does a really lovely job of making the music sound both timeless and modern. It is perfect for prayer or for having on as a peaceful chant in the background as I sometimes do.

The website is here.

Every Knee Shall Bow

This is a podcast about how to evangelize, which always brings up memories of Hyde Park. No thank you. Then my daughter Rose, who listens to such things to help with RCIA conversations, recommended it. And she was right! The hosts have good chemistry and are fun to listen to. They understand the things that make most of us cringe away from evangelizing and have a lot of helpful tips — some of which I've actually used. Their current series is about suffering and has been really insightful. Definitely give this one a try. (website link)

 

 

The Bible, Catechism, or Rosary in a Year

A series of stellar podcasts that feature their subjects read (or prayed) aloud with commentary which informs while it inspires. Get them anywhere.  (Ascension Press links for Bible, Catechism, Rosary)

Word on Fire — show

Half an hour with Bishop Robert Barron discussing everything from current movies to evangelization to pilgrimage, iPhones, and much more. They'll also feature audio from some of his talks, including those given at Facebook, Amazon, etc. Always interesting. (iTunes link, website link)

For Bishop Barron's homilies go here: iTunes link, website link

The Symbolic World

Jonathan Pageau looks at symbolism in our culture (ancient and current) and shows us meanings that we had long forgotten but that make real sense. Any reader of Scripture will recognize the way he dives through layers of meaning and pulls out the essence for us to consider. He's Orthodox and loves to show us the places faith shines through in regular symbolism. He'll also do interviews ranging from Jonathan Peterson, Bishop Barron and many more. Simply fascinating. He does both videos and podcasts.

A Good Story is Hard to Find

Two Catholic friends talk about the books and movies they love and the traces of the One Reality that lie below the surface.

Yes, this is the podcast that Scott Danielson and I do every couple of weeks. Looking for God in the stories that entertain us might be just the Lenten inspiration you need to see God interacting in your life in a whole new way. (iTunes link, website link)

The Big List of Lenten Movies

I'm never as interested in "Jesus" movies as I am in mainstream films with food for thought about sin, reparation, and redemption.

These movies run the gamut from humor to wrenching drama, from a science fiction journey to the depth of dreams to an Israeli couple hosting an unlikely duo for holidays. Dive in and see where these take you.

 

If you haven't heard of them be sure to check reviews for ratings. There are some excellent ones that use bad language and violence to make their point. For that matter, The Passion of the Christ was not for wimps. Just as Jesus' real story wasn't.

Links in movie titles go to my reviews. A number of these have been discussed by Scott Danielson and me on our A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Those links follow the descriptions.

• Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (A Match Made By God) - A solid comedy and a funny, sweet look at true love. It delivers the strong theme of “seeing God in your beloved.” and has an overwhelming example of covenantal love when Suri humbly doesn't expect anything in return for his love. [Good Story episode 209]
  
  
• Ushpizin ... a tale of love and living your faith to the fullest. As well as a template for how marriage should work. Simply charming. [Good Story episode 66]
  
  
• Departures ... by turns funny, moving, and inspirational. Each character, no matter how small, is important in the big story which is something like an orchestra playing a symphony in this story.

• The Intouchables ... Wealthy quadriplegic Philippe needs an assistant to help him with all the functions of daily life. He hires immigrant, ex-con Driss because the regular applicants are missing one important quality and the lives of both men are changed. Sounds predictable. Isn't. [Good Story episode 146]
  
  
• In Bruges ... for me, this is the perfect Lenten movie. Redemption, sacrifice, humanity in it's worst and best are all mingled and shown here. [Good Story episode 29]
  
  
• Gone Baby Gone ... A private investigator and his partner agree to search for a kidnapped girl because he has connections to the locals that the police do not. This can be tough to watch but you won't find a stronger examination of free will, the difference choices make in our lives, and personal responsibility in the face of evil. [Good Story episode 126]

• Stranger Than Fiction ... I'm continually amazed at how well this story is told and what a wallop it packs. Redemptive and life affirming. [Good Story episode 8]
  
  
• Of Gods and Men ...  a group of Trappist monks in Algeria must choose between the practical choice to abandon their monastery when extremist Muslims terrorize the area ... or following spiritual calling even when there doesn't seem to be any reason to do so.  [Good Story episode 58]
  
  
• Les Miserables (2012) ... as Scott Danielson said, "This film makes me want to be a better person. Could there be higher praise for a movie? [Good Story episode 117]
  

• The Women's Balcony ... Friendships are broken, marriages are stressed, and budding romances are tested as the moderate-extreme, male-female lines are drawn in this battle over something very dear to the hearts of all: how to practice their faith. However, it is all handled lightly and with good-natured humor. [Good Story episode 175]
  
  
• Lars and the Real Girl ... this sweet film shows unconditional love and complete acceptance, in the family, in the town, and in the most unusual love triangle you can imagine. [Good Story episode 27]
  
  
• Babette's Feast ... huge underlying message about God's unexpected and overflowing generosity and Jesus' complete self-sacrifice ... all wrapped up in a woman who gives all her lottery winnings to cook a perfect meal for a village. [Good Story episode 221]
  

• Mary & Max ... a rich story for those who are not afraid to explore the heights and depths that imperfection humanity bring to our lives and the lives of those we touch. [Good Story episode 43]
  
  
• Calvary - Not for the faint-of-heart. But simply astounding. A real masterpiece that provides food for thought for everyone from Catholics to atheists. [Good Story episode 101]
  
  
• Pan's Labyrinth ...  as Joi reminded me in years past, "the imagery is amazing, the language beautiful, and the story mythic, AND it honors self-sacrifice as the truest expression of love. [It shows] the road to virtue is not easy, and it's about doing what's right, even if you don't always know why, and even when it hurts.  [Good Story episode 70]

  

• Inception - perhaps the perfect heist movie doubling as a thriller, as well as being a wonderful look at truth and love. [Good Story episode 16]
  
  
• Amadeus - A rich meditation on the way that God chooses to give his gifts and how we respond to the measure that has been given to us. Superb. [Good Story episode 328]


• Wake Up Dead Man - A good priest, a bad priest, and an atheist wrestle with God. Also there's a mystery. It's a blockbuster so there is bad language and some crude sexual material.  [Good Story episode 371]

• Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot - a true story of heroic struggle and redemption as small town inhabitants adopt foster kids no one else will take. [Good Story episode 362]
  

Lenten Reading: The Big List of Fiction

This is a huge list to be sure. But it has some of the most thought provoking books I know They both entertain and inspire. It ranges from science fiction to mystery to Uncle Tom's Cabin. I've run the list before but have updated it.

The last two years I read The Lord of the Rings beginning on Ash Wednesday and finishing on Holy Saturday. It was intense, both in my daily reading requirements and spiritually. It was the perfect accompaniment to Lent both times. So I'm doing it again this year.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This was so much more than I realized it would be. Within this simply told tale are the stories of four people who go to a special cafe in order to time travel. The rules are strict, the time is very limited, and it seems impossible that they could accomplish much. However, each is surprised by what they find. And therein lies a wonderful, charming tale. 

My full review is here. Scott and I discussed this is episode 331 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast,

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

Four women who need to get away from their regular lives and get their heads together rent an Italian castle with the promise of sunshine and wisteria. They don't realize why they so desperately need a change when they flee gray, raining London for sunny San Salvatore Castello in Italy. However, as they are surrounded by beauty their eyes are gradually opened.

This is one of those books that has a seemingly simple story but presents a lot in the layers of the story. My full review is here. Scott and I discussed this in Episode 350 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

 The Feast by Margaret Kennedy

This book starts out with a clergyman at a loss for how to write a eulogy for seven people who died in a hotel when a cliff fell on it and crushed it. We're then taken back to life in the hotel a week before the disaster. We get to know everyone and watch how their interactions change them (or don't). This book is not just about the mystery of who will live and who will die. It is also about spiritual realities by which these people live their lives.

My full review is here. Scott and I discussed this in episode 321 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

In the late 1800s two French priests are assigned to the New Mexico territory to minister to the neglected Catholic churches there. One is intellectual, the other is the salt of the earth. Both are friends and both are good Catholic priests. This is what one might call an episodic telling, much as are the Gospels. We see the lives of the priests, those they minister to, and the country itself which is as much of a character as any of the people. Cather wasn't Catholic but you'd never know it simply by reading this account which gets everything right — and gives a lot of food for thought along the way. Scott and I discussed this in episode 274 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Black Bottle Man by Craig Russell

Rembrandt, his father, and uncle are trying to undo a deal with the devil made by their loved ones. As they seek a champion, they must cope with a tricky requirement that they not stay in any place longer than 12 days.

Considerations of faith are handled both honestly and delicately in this book. The insights and observations throughout the book underlie the main story in a way that lends itself to considerations of gratitude, mercy, selfishness, sacrifice, and much more — all without being heavy handed.

My full review is here. It is is marketed to teens but I'm not the first reviewer to mention that label is too limiting because it is also a great read for adults.

Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.

I've been jaded by the plethora of recent apocalyptic novels but this one is different. Perhaps the highest tribute I can give this novel is that when I finished I didn't want to read another book. To do so would sully what I'd just read before I'd finished thinking about it, as well as be unfair to anything that followed because it wouldn't be able to compare.

My full review is here. We also discussed this book in Episode 110 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. And also on SFFaudio where a lot of interesting fruitful topics came up.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Or, since Lent is only 40 days, at least the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring. I was was blown away by how much the audio experience added to my understanding of the richness and depth of the story. Admittedly, it was also greatly helped by The Tolkien Professor's class sessions on this book. You will be hard put to find a better primer on sacrifice, redemption, and many other key lessons for Christian life. I think this may be the best book ever written. And you could do worse than to read The Hobbit for starters.

Joseph R's review is the best I've read if you'd like a more complete look at the novel.

Scott and I were joined by Seth Wilson in a two-part discussion of this novel at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast: part 1, part 2.

Christy by Catherine Marshall
I read this several times when I was in high school and college but hadn't encountered it for decades. It came to mind again when talking with my mother about books set in hardscrabble backgrounds.

I remembered it being really interesting about people in the Smoky Mountains in 1912 cut off from any outside civilization except for a few people who came in to try to help their poverty stricken situation. Including the 19-year-old young woman, Christy, who comes to teach the children. She is naive and from a well-to-do background so she's completely unprepared for what she finds.

I didn't recall it being so inspirational throughout. I wound up loving it so much that I could hardly bear to put it down. Scott and I discussed this in episode 355 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
A bedraggled, galley ship survivor, despite his best efforts to the contrary, finds himself in the middle of royal intrigue. If that weren't enough, he is also pulled into the the affairs of the divine as a result and this complicates his life as one might imagine. This is a land of various gods and strong, dark magic. It is, however, also a land where free will matters in the outcome of events.

Will Duquette calls this "theological science fiction" and I agree. The way that free will is intertwined with what the gods desire, as well as what is "right," is fascinating and a good way to examine our own motives the next time we turn away from what God may be asking of us. My full review is here. A Good Story discussion is at Episode 198.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry is an incredible Christ-figure as I discovered when I reread the series recently. Of course, this only works for those who have read the series before.

For more depth and as accompanying materials, readers may want to listen to Episode 26 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast where Scott Danielson and I discuss the book and the entire series from a Catholic point of view.

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. That's the official description but it doesn't begin to cover the richly woven tapestry Godden weaves with nuanced personalities, mysteries to solve so that the order may continue, Philippa's internal struggles, and much more.

Again, Joseph R. has a wonderful review of the book. We also discussed  episode 97 at A Good Story is Hard to Find

Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger
This beautifully written historical fiction tells of Andrea Orsini, who is one of Cesare Borgia's most trusted political manipulators during the Italian Renaissance. This is a swashbuckler that simultaneously shows Andrea's transition of a human heart from greed to love, selfishness to sacrifice, and power grubbing to nobility.

Discussed in episode 13 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
A real page-turner which many think they know because the cultural references are so embedded in our society. However, if you haven't read this book then you don't know it at all. First and foremost, Uncle Tom actually is a Christ-figure, a living saint. No wonder he is misunderstood by so many.

Stowe does a good job showing many different attitudes toward slavery and how people excused themselves under the flimsiest of excuses. What is unexpected is how well she examines the varying levels of Christianity proclaimed and threaded solidly throughout the story.

Discussed in episode 114 of A Good Story is Hard to Find.

I read this aloud on my Forgotten Classics podcast with commentary. Yes, that's how much I love it.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

We all think of this as a classic horror story but there is much more to it. Look below the surface and you find a classic tale of unselfishness and doing God's will in order to rid the world of a monster who is a perversion of Christ.

Discussed in episode 168 of A Good Story is Hard to Find. Mythgard Institute (founded by Corey Olsen, The Tolkien Professor) has a superb series of classes on Dracula.

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
These books seem an interesting blend of fiction and nonfiction to me. Lewis's imagination is vivid and fascinating. His tendency to have characters speechify leans to the nonfiction side. Taken as a meditative read, they would be very good for Lent, I'd think.

Out of the Silent Planet: Dr. Ransom is kidnapped by two men who take him to Mars as a sacrifice to the natives. Lewis was fantastically inventive about what the planet and living beings were like. I didn't know he had it in him.

Perelandra: Very different from Out of the Silent Planet while still showing C.S. Lewis's vivid and inspiring imagination. I am simply blown away by his vision of creation on Venus. Amazing insights as to battling evil, the dance of God's creation and plan, and our part in it.

That Hideous Strength: It is a testament to Lewis's imagination and writing skill as to how different all three of the books are in this trilogy, while simultaneously all carrying out the same basic theme. No wonder J.R.R. Tolkien loved them. This book left me striving to be a better person, to be truer to myself, as did the other two. Not many other books really leave one feeling that way.

Discussed in episodes 202, 204, and 206 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.