Some web browsing.......

A quick round up of various items on the Internet that caught our eye over the last week and a bit..........

Lent related:

• Ash Wednesday and Lent: Beginning Again Always.
• No anxieties: Confronting our Dust in Faith - Long before death there are seasonal, weekly, and even daily opportunities to grow in the grace of recalling not only that we will die, but that we will live. The seed of eternity is found in our very souls.
• To be humbled before God
• A short history of Lent - As we each find our own ways to mark the season of Lent, we follow in the footsteps of centuries of Christians who have spent time preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. How did the Church’s understanding of the forty days of Lent change between the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century and the Second Vatican Council?
• The Virtue of Asceticism - Giving up chocolate? Deleting your Facebook account? We all choose to mark Lent in different ways and more often than not focus on abstaining from something we enjoy, but is this always good for us? Nicholas Austin SJ explores how our attempts at an ascetic way of life for forty days each year can go wrong if our motivations are not rooted in the wisdom of the Christian tradition. How can we rediscover the virtue of asceticism?
• Jennifer over at Conversion Diary is currently doing a series on the "Our Father" word by word, excellent, go have a look!
• Lent: Hungering for the Spirit.
• Remembering that no matter what we do, "God always offers re-do's".

• Japans religious response to tragedy
• God and Tsunamis - What if tsunamis are a reminder that human beings really must recognise that our lives are part of a trans-historical narrative, and that our part is to bring about its final end?
• St Patrick is traditionally associated with Ireland, considering he is our patron saint and all, but the day is also a reminder of the place of immigration and the role of immigrants in our society - Why St Patrick's Day matters for everybody.
• The Irish Times has some letters to St Patrick.
• Can the new translation be transcendent? - As the Church prepares for a new English translation of the Mass, thoughts on language that goes beyond superficial words, and where they can lead us.
• Max Lindeman notes how Subprime Speaks to the Priesthood - "The subprime catastrophe may sound a cautionary note to the Catholic priesthood: once you polarize hard and soft types of men, and label them "good" and "bad" you risk distorting your whole value system. And more".
• Rabbi Alan Lurie asks "What does it mean to be religious?"
• During the week, the largest Stations of the Cross in the world were unveiled at their new temporary home in Rome, reports here and here.
• Deacon Greg writes in search of the Lost Sacrament.
• John Waters writes in The Tablet about Ireland and the Celtic Tiger (RIP) - Round Towers into square holes.
• Christians have a habit of trying to harmonize the discrepancies found in the Bible. Yet this practice contributes to stripping the Bible of what makes it interesting, and what can make it speak powerfully - Reading the Four Gospels: The Power of Different Perspectives.
• David Quinn discusses what the International Eucharistic Congress in 2012 has to offer the modern, secular city of Dublin.