Third Station: Jesus Falls for The First Time It’s hard to imagine that almost as soon as Jesus carries the cross, he falls down straight out of the gate. Then again, it’s a miracle that he didn’t die during the scourging. It brings Jesus’s human nature to mind. I think that people tend towards two extremes when it comes to Jesus. One extreme is just to see Jesus as just a human person (our current heresy) while the other extreme... Read more
Once again, I am going to do my best to keep my fangirl squee for this episode to a minimum. In fact, I’ll save it for a few particular moments in this episode. The episode starts with Captain Malcolm Reynolds naked as a baby in the middle of a desert. The episode then goes back to some time ago when our beloved captain meets up with an old friend of his named Monty for a smuggling job. Monty tells Mal... Read more
During my college days, a retreat leader introduced me and my friends to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. It was a very emotional experience for me because I found myself literally feeling pain. I was hyperventilating and shaking and gasped as I opened my eyes and broke out of the meditation. The Spiritual Exercises are not for the faint of heart and it still baffles me that Our Holy Father did these Exercises twice. (And mind you, he has only one... Read more
The episode opens with Book and Simon debating on who the people that experimented on River were in terms of ethics. Book wonders if they wanted to see what kind of person River was by constantly tortuing her while Simon thinks they were being more specific. Meanwhile, on a distant planet, Niska (villain of the week from The Train Job) gets word that Serenity is in the vicinity. He’s torturing someone who neglected a payment. The works of a warrior... Read more
One of my favorite quotes from CS Lewis is “There are far, far better things ahead than anything we leave behind.” I keep going back to that quote whenever I face a setback. I know you guys are probably gonna laugh at the idea of a twentysomething having a quarter-life crisis, but the fact is that it happens. I apply for jobs and don’t hear back or I get the interview, but not the job itself. I fall for guys... Read more
I started out this year with the oneword365 challenge in which I would focus and contemplate on one word for the whole year. The word I chose was “patience” since I always struggled with having patience in my life. Then God laughed and gave me some other words to contemplate during Lent. Patience I chose “patience” as my word for the year because, as stated before, I struggled with waiting. Whenever I anticipate something, time seems to go by even... Read more
Although I loved Beauty and the Beast growing up and enjoy watching Once Upon a Time every now and then, I find myself identifying with the character of Cinderella lately. And it’s not because I want a Prince Charming. It’s more that I think a lot of people (including myself) can identify with this idea of eventually being rewarded for all the hard work we do. In spite of what some Protestant denominations say, salvation isn’t gained by Faith Alone... Read more
This is going to compare the Disney Animated version of Cinderella to the 2015 live-action retelling. For the sake of convenience, I’ll refer to the animated character of Cinderella as Cinderella and her live action version as Ella. Spoilers ensue. You were warned. The entire first act of the live-action Cinderella develops the characters of Ella and her biological parents as opposed to just telling them in exposition form like in the animated version. We see that Ella’s optimism comes from her mother... Read more
A Found Poem of Lyrics from Taylor Swift, Michelle Branch, and Anna Nalick 2AM In my room I’m still awake The lingering question kept me up Can you help me unravel my latest mistake? I think of you Feeling like I just lost a friend Remember that fight in your car The memories start You say I’ve been driving you crazy I see your face in my mind as you drive straight ahead Away from the wreck of... Read more
The episode starts out with a typical day on the ship. The crew is on their way to a core planet called Ariel, where Inara is going to get a checkup as part of the requirements of her Companion guild. Shepherd Book is absent from this episode, spending time with his monastery. All of a sudden, River grabs a knife slashes at Jayne’s chest. Once again, Blue Sun Corporation is to blame here (Jayne was wearing a Blue Sun t-shirt),... Read more
Monique Ocampo Writes
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