From the desk of Monica Summers Even though I was starting my job at PathCath, Cathedral sent me off on an unorthodox mission that started nine months ago. I was sent to keep an eye on a con artist and thief named the Gingerbread Man, who was known for his heist in Portland, Oregon, where he helped fence a collection of Swiss watches to help two fellow con artists codenamed FireThief and SwanPrincess. FireThief and SwanPrincess were last seen... Read more
Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross Something I saw while checking out the On-Demand programs from my cable was a special on how crucifixion was done. It’s brutal, to say the least. In fact, the word “excruciating” comes from the Latin word “excruciatus,” the word they used for crucifixion/crucifying. It’s horrible enough to know that Jesus underwent a severe whipping and public humiliation, but this was literally the final nail for his coffin. Every part of the process... Read more
I first met Linda back in my college days. She worked in the library and was part of my Bible study. After college, we met again at an Awakening retreat and a year later, she came to visit me and told me that she was entering the convent. I decided to ask her about her discernment process and the order she decided to join. Who are the Disciples of Christ and how did you meet them? Discipulas de Jesus (disciples... Read more
Eighth Station: Jesus falls for the third time. Once again, we see Jesus fall down. The first time was agony, the second time was just heartbreaking, and now, it just seems hopeless. As we come towards the end of Lent, I feel like it all hits us at some point that the forty days of fasting, prayer, and abstinence are almost over. For me, that feeling finally sunk in on Palm Sunday. What has Lent been to you so far?... Read more
Ladies and gentlemen and Browncoats of all ages, we have come to the end of my Firefly Month. And the only way I can properly end this is with a recap and analysis of the Big Damn Movie Serenity. I hadn’t seen this movie for a long time, so watching it again gave me thrills and chills. I think it’s a great way to bring newcomers into the fandom and it’s a sneak preview of what Joss had to give the... Read more
Seventh Station: Jesus falls the second time Once again, our Lord has fallen. Even with someone helping him carry the cross, he still falls down. If you’re imagining yourself as part of the crowd for this moment, what do you see in your mind? Are you seeing Jesus fall up close or do you see him from a distance? If you’re imagining yourself in Jesus’s place, how heavy is the cross or how deep are the wounds from the whip? Whomever... Read more
The episode starts out with River going through the ship, reading the minds of everyone on board. Kaylee and Simon are actually having a good time together, with Simon telling Kaylee about his days as a med student. River sees that Simon still wishes he was back with his friends, doing his job. The next people River sees are Jayne and Book. Jayne and Book are talking about the life of a Shepherd, with Book joking to Jayne that he... Read more
Monique’s intro: There are some episodes from the Whedonverse that I don’t think I want to watch again for a long time like “Seeing Red” from Buffy or “Belonging” from Dollhouse or any episode from Angel Season 4. “Heart of Gold” is my least favorite episode of Firefly. I hate it. So much so that I don’t want to watch it again, even for the purposes of analyzing it for this blog. Not convinced? Here’s a scene from the episode that shows the... Read more
Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross According to Wikipedia, Cyrene is a Greek city in Libya, located in northern Africa. It’s more than likely that Simon of Cyrene was black or Greek. He could’ve been a Jew on pilgrimage or a Gentile travelling through. Whatever the case may be, Simon was put into a situation not of his own choosing, being asked to help carry the cross of a supposed criminal. We don’t know if Simon... Read more
The crew of Serenity find themselves at a marketplace located on a space station. A carnival barker claims to have an alien. Inside, however, Simon and Kaylee recognize the so-called “alien” as a cow fetus. The two of them are out on a date and Simon shows that he really has no game whatsoever, the gorram moron! Mal and Inara are having problems fencing the Lassiter that they got from the previous episode. Inara offers to fence the Lassiter to one of her... Read more
Monique Ocampo Writes
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