Anime Lectio: Record of Ragnarok

                                                             1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me.  

I still don't know what to do with my anime club this year. I'm still figuring things out with it and trying to get a sense of what we want to do instead of just doing what I want to do, even though I might do a panel at an upcoming convention on my own (I haven't heard back about it yet). Anyway, an anime that came up in conversation recently was Record of Ragnarök, so I decided to watch it recently, including finishing it with my club at one of our meetings one day.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

The Netflix original anime series Record of Ragnarök starts off with a meeting of various gods and goddesses from various mythologies, mainly Greek, Norse, and Hindu, about whether or not they should destroy humanity. All of the gods and goddesses agree that humanity should be destroyed, but before the decision can be made, one of the Valkyries, a group of female demigods who help human in battle from Norse mythology, intercedes for humanity and thinks humanity should have a chance to prove themselves worthy of escaping the wrath of the gods. The gods decide to put humanity to the test to see how humanity would do in a fighting tournament where humans, with help from the Valkyries, fight gods with the fighting still continuing as of this writing/post.

7.  Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime shed any light on what's been on your minds?  The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

Record of Ragnarök is an example of an anime that shows what could happen, as well as what could've happened in some cases. For example, there is always a reason for seeing fighting tournaments in anime and it's not just because anime likes to do that. It's something that could happen as a way to settle things. People tend to forget that when watching fights in a tournament since they are more interested in the fights themselves than the reason for the fighting, as well as what motivates the fighters. Fighting tournaments, whether in anime or in anything else, have a reason, or reasons, for them. The same is true for anything else. There is always at least one reason. Finding it requires thought, as well as prayer.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime.  The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray that we can find, as well as understand after finding it or them, the reason(s) behind what happens and why.