Pacem in Terris: Anchoress Comboxes Closed for Lent

What I am already discovering in this first day of Lent is that I am being drawn out, into the desert. The first word in the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict is “Listen” and I am being asked to rediscover silence and learn to listen again. To slow down and look at beautiful things, too.

Because this is so, I have already let folks in social media know that — while I will still be posting Patheos work and interesting headlines to Facebook and Twitter — I will not be participating in FB discussion threads, or engaging in friendly virtual Twitter-fisticuffs (Twisticuffs?).

I will still be posting-at-will, of course. But no comboxes, during Lent. Too much buzz. Too much time spent moderating when I should be praying.

I need to get quiet. I need to have less noise about me; I need to not only subdue my own monkey-chatter but to walk away from the constant conversations with the world, so I can better hear what is meant for me, alone.

In the desert, we will all hear what is meant for our hearts and souls. But first we have to move away from the chatter, and the need to be part of it.

To that end, I have made an executive decision: the comboxes at this blog will close at 9PM tonight — directly after I pull the winner of the free Magnificat App**. They will reopen after the Easter Vigil.

Perhaps instead of reading something and then putting it through the wringer of what often becomes a circular human discourse, we might spend this season reading something, and asking God for an understanding heart, as we think about it.

I’ve never closed my comboxes before during Lent, but I’m feeling fully called to do so, this year.

Happy Lent, ya’ll. I hope it’s fruitful for everyone.

UPDATE:
One More Resource that got by me when I was posting them, here. Fr. Dwight will be doing a daily blog post exploring the Gospel of Mark.. Consider subscribing to his blog, so you don’t miss it.

UPDATE II:
Congrats to reader Abbey, who won the free Magnificat app! I’ll send you an email with the code!

**Oh, and there is still time to enter to win an entire library of Lenten reading from the Catholic Book Blogger, Pete Socks. That’s an enviable collection. Go for it!