In my Christianity in Mass Media class later this semester we have a session I’m calling “Christian Movies and the Menace of Mediocrity.” Nick Alexander, the Catholic weird Al, has a great new video that will NOT be part of that class session. It has everything that such projects from Catholics should have. It has quality production values. Quality sound, picture and visual ideas.  In other words, it doesn’t “create a vacuum,” as my dad used to say.

It in fact suffers from only one defect: My daughter isn’t in it! It is, by coinicidence, filmed at the parish we used to attend in New Haven, Conn., and Nick — whom I have never met and was surprised to see in film at my old parish — recruited girls the age of one of my daughters to be featured in it. There they all are, my daughter’s dear friends, as sweet as could be. Well ALMOST as sweet as could be, because a Hoopes would have upped the sweetness quotient immeasurably.

Enjoy ... and forward it to anyone who needs a gentle reminder that Lent is just around the corner (Feb. 17 is Ash Wednesday).

And if you haven’t yet discovered Nick Alexander, do so. The whole family loves him, but the kids especially. They still stop in the grocery store if they hear a song (such as “Time After Time”) that he has redone, and sing along, using the “right” words (“Tithe After Tithe”).