We didn’t watch the Super Bowl. We’re not really into football. But, oh, boy, I saw the reactions online the next day to the Christian ads. People disagreed with the messaging, and people disagreed with the price (though, notably, I saw no one complaining about how much non-religious companies paid for their Super Bowl ads).
So many people were sharing not just their opinion but Jesus’ opinion—because, yes, they thought they knew exactly what Jesus would say about these ads. Funnily enough, people seemed equally convinced that Jesus would love them or that Jesus would hate them.
I didn’t see the ads—like I said, we didn’t watch the Super Bowl. But here’s what I do know: The best place to hear Jesus’ voice isn’t your favorite (or least favorite) Instagram influencer. It’s in Scripture. It’s in the Mass. And it’s in prayer.
This Lent, I’m giving up non-work-related social media. My plan is to save five to 10 minutes at the end of each day to do any social media tasks that I need to do—and that’s it. I really need to reallocate the time I’ve been spending on Instagram (especially) with time with Jesus and my family.
What I’ve Been up to:
Publishing this article on St. Thérèse and ambition for Radiant Magazine. (If you like it, you may also like the book I wrote with my co-president Elise, coming this fall from Ave Maria Press! Sign up here to be the first to know when pre-orders are available!)
Recording this Catholic Women Lead episode with Cassie Schmidt of Ascension (the publishing company behind the “Bible in a Year “podcast) about pro-family leave policies and this one with Heather Murphy of Couple to Couple League about Lent and integration.
Content I’ve Liked:
This Vox article was kind of depressing but a good read about how artists (musicians, writers, etc.) need to be influencers as well.
This HBR article by Rachel Simmons and Adrienne Kortas is a call to both managers of both genders as well as women to redefine ambition to accommodate the many seasons and roles that women have throughout our career.
This episode of Lisa Canning’s podcast The Possibility Mom was a beautiful conversation with Stephanie Gray Conners, author of the new book My Body for You: A Pro-Life Message for a Post-Roe World (which I added to my TBR!). They talk about motherhood, submitting to God’s will, and how to help build a culture of life if you’re not called to directly working in pro-life advocacy or ministry.
I really liked this Gospel reflection by Bishop Baron, which talks about the universal call to holiness.
This Atlantic article by Elliot Haspel was a great discussion of so-called “stay-at-home” parents and the lack of support for them (us!).
Finally, I enjoyed this fun Valentine’s Day episode of the History Extra podcast, about love and romance in Jane Austen’s England, featuring historian Rory Muir. I submitted a purchase request for her book from our local library.
Books I’ve Enjoyed:
Our February read for Well-Read Mom was True Grit, by Charles Portis. I felt only “so-so” about it and was honestly confused about why WRM picked the book for us to read, but it led to a great discussion, and I really want to watch the film adaptations now.
Have You Seen My Duckling?, by Nancy Tafuri, is a beautiful almost-wordless picture book that my daughter has been enjoying from our library.