The word for "A Word in Season" is mercy: A guest post by Maria Morera Johnson

Maria Morera Johnson is a friend in real life and in my online writing and podcasting world. Since she lives in the South and I live in the Northeast, our virtual communications are punctuated by occasional road trips. It doesn't matter who is doing the driving or riding shotgun, half the fun is getting there!

We both do a fair amount of writing each week, and it's a pleasure when we can buckle up and share the road together... like she is today, guesting at my column at Patheos. Half the joy of the Easter-to-come is magnified in the getting there. Maria challenges us to consider a merciful road map for Lent, so let us be off!

Maria writes:                    

In today’s busy world – where we are pulled by our responsibilities to family, work, friends, and all the extra things we find piled on our plates, it’s probably not a bad idea to prayerfully discern a particular course for Lent. Why not get ideas from people who’ve managed to make it work, or managed to articulate it in a manner we can comprehend and apply.

So here I am jumping on the bandwagon and sharing an idea...  In fact, it’s one of those things that pushes the boundaries of my comfort zone. When that happens, I think maybe I’ve hit the right course of action for myself.

You see, the nature of my day job, as a professor, and the nature of my other job, in new media both give me a platform to run my mouth. I talk all day to a captive audience in my classroom, and then, I get on my soapbox on my blog and behind a microphone on my podcast and talk some more.

With all that talking, I figure it’s time I put my money where my mouth is…um…where my hands and feet are…as the hands and feet of Christ.

I’m going to embrace the Corporal Works of Mercy. It’s daunting.

Don't be daunted, read the rest.