The Love Universe The Archives of Nate Gass

Lent (Revisiting Films For Renewal)

Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, a day that marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is the forty six days (forty not counting Sundays) of preparation for the Easter celebration. These forty days mirror the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness, where he was tempted and made ready for ministry. In the same way, Lent can be an extremely useful time of repentance and renewal for the believer. It has always struck me as beautiful that Lent overlaps with the start of spring, when the dead suddenly spring forth new life.

I have used this time in the past to be more intentional about meditating on the Word and coming back to the simplicity of the gospel that I confess. This year I hope to do this by entering into my own "wilderness journey". My goal is to revisit some films that I remember stirring within me a spirit of worship and a need for meditation after first viewing. I hope that through rewatching these films God will once again reveal Himself to me in powerful ways that will only draw me closer and change me once again. These are the films that I will be rewatching, and if you wish to join me in watching any of these, please leave a comment below and I will let you know when I plan on showing them.

Pasolini's Gospel Accoring to Matthew*
The Seventh Seal
The Silence Trilogy (Through A Glass Darkly, Winter Light, & The Silence)
Gandhi
The Passion of the Christ**
Gandhi
The Mission
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Apostle
The Last Temptation of Christ

*This film I watch every year during Holy Week.

**I have not watched this film since seeing it in the theater. Honestly, I'm a little anxious about watching it again, but I want to see if my opinion will change since reading James Carroll's "Constantine's Sword: The Church and The Jews".