Lent Beyond the Madness

February 22, 2015
Scott Gunn

This morning at 8 a.m., we learned that Molly Brant had defeated Swithun to earn a spot in the Saintly Sixteen. This will be the only Sunday morning voting result of Lent Madness 2015. For many Lent Madness fans, today will be hard, because this is the first day in Lent without any voting. People will be twiddling their thumbs, constantly refreshing their web browsers, or scouring their homes for something purple. This unsettled feeling is familiar to veterans here, and it's called Lent Madness Withdrawal (LMW). This one day won't be so bad, but future weekends will involve two days without voting. So to help with LMW, and even more important, to suggest some other ways to engage Lenten practices, we thought we'd share a few ideas.

lentAlthough the Supreme Executive Committee commends Lent Madness to every man, woman, child, dog, and ferret, we also acknowledge that the saintly smackdown is only part of a well-rounded diet of Lenten discipline. As we wrote on Ash Wednesday, "This Lenten season, we invite you to draw closer to our Lord Jesus. Give up those things which keep you away from Jesus. Take on those things that bring you closer to Jesus."

Here are a few ideas for Lenten practices that might bring you closer to Jesus.

  • Episcopal Relief & Development has produced some excellent daily devotions for the Lenten season. You can read these online for free, although the SEC encourages you to make a donation to support their work.
  • Our official sponsor, Forward Movement, has an entire section of their vast online store devoted to Lenten and Easter resources. Check them out. Because Lent has already begun, you might especially check out their collection of ebooks, available for Kindle, Nook, and iBook.
  • The brothers at the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE) are releasing daily videos on the theme "It’s time to...Stop, Pray, Work, Play & Love. There's also a free workbook for download.
  • Anglicans Online lists an array of resources for this season from around the Anglican Communion.
  • Check out #LivingLent from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
  • Make sure you learn about the offerings at your local church. Online activities are great, but even the SEC encourages Christians to be part of an in-person worshipping community and a small group for study.

There are lots more resources. Please leave your favorites in the comments. And set your alarms, because the voting resumes tomorrow morning as Hadewijch takes on Juan Diego starting at 8 a.m. EST.

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65 comments on “Lent Beyond the Madness”

  1. Feb. 13 had 'go vote now' in text. Feb. 14 does not have a clue where to go vote. What to do?
    Marjorie

    1. Voting resumes tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. EST. As others said, yesterday was the only Saturday vote. After this, you'll be struggling with Lent Madness Withdrawal over the weekends with no voting.

      Tune in tomorrow morning to cast your next vote!

  2. Well. good morning! I really don't have a thing about which to write.....I just like to add my 2 cents and comment on strange opinions from other folk. I'm going to a Valentine luncheon in the early afternoon and a church member will pick me up....that means to give me a ride in her car for non-Southerners who think she's going to bodily lift me up and haul me somewhere. That will be her Lenten contribution for today and mine will be accepting it without complaining since I can't drive anymore. It's hard being gracious and un-grumpy.....really! Good Bloggers for the brothers..disregard complaints.

  3. The more I thought about yesterday's matchup between two brothers, I realize that maybe I over-reacted. I understand when people were bothered by two siblings set against each other. I understand the difficulty in voting for one over the other. But maybe it was a good thing in the long run for these brothers. If they had been put up together against another saint, they could both have been eliminated. By separating them and "pitting them against each other," one would definitely move on and continue to inform us lowly people more about their ministry. I didn't need the Ten Commandments. I just needed some time to reflect away from the comments that seemed to indicate displeasure at the SEC. In the separation, in a way, both live on to continue their story this Lent.

  4. I enjoyed the sibling "contest." Cyril and Methodius might have liked it, too, because so often they are referred to in the same breath as if they had one name: CyrilMethodius. Who would have thought that Lent Madness would have had the bonus blessing of individuation for the brothers that have been denied them lo these many centuries? With Lent Madness many things are possible.