Time in Times of Confinement – A Problem for All Ages
A problem for all ages
It is hard to wrap my head around the many tentacles of the Coronavirus crisis. Some parts of the crisis are more obvious than others. Some parts require responses from government and various institutions.
One of tentacles we may need to pay more attention to is the issue of how we use our time in times of confinement. With time on our hands it is easy to plunge into panic and pessimism.
Earlier today I read a practical piece by the film critic of the National Catholic Reporter: “A DIY edifying film festival for the social distanced and quarantined.” Sr. Rose Pacatte addressees the issue of time. Not the length of time it will take to get through this crisis, but how we handle the time of our unexpected confinement.
Sr. Rose Pacatte, a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, is the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles. She brings practical insights from her specialization.
She writes that young and old, parents and children:
“…might consider making a home cinema divina retreat in these days, seeing and reflecting on a film and the day’s Scripture reading. With so much access to technology these days, we can benefit spiritually and as members of the human family from watching stories on the screen.”
I am not a film critic by any stretch of the imagination. However, I have become very familiar with Marian resources online. Far and away the Marian Library is the most extensive resource.
Marian resources for DIY inspirational film festivals or retreats
Of course, there are the resources of the video library of the Miraculous Medal Shrine.
For the visually oriented, the website “FreeBibleImages.org” has an extensive collection of graphic resources related to Mary
Finally, the are the resources on YouTube tagged for the Miraculous Medal.
Sr. Rose also offers a list of discussion starters for kids (and all of us). For example, What’s the story about? (The younger they are, the more willing they will be to retell the story.)
P.S.: She also suggests considering involving the family in a project of making a home movie.
Making movies at home
Write a story and plan to make it into a film by making a story board for it. (Google it; there are short instruction videos on YouTube for different age groups.)
If your computer doesn’t already have a program, download open-source software and make your own movie using a smartphone. Then upload the file to your computer and edit it, adding in copyright-free music.
Some kids will already know how to film and edit on their smartphones, so choose a topic and make a film that shows care for the Earth, especially as Earth Day approaches on April 1.
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