Fasting, Taking, Loving and Living.

Ash Wednesday had three very different impacts this year:

(1) The community was split into different groups, as we often are at major Festivals.

It is sad that we are apart, but we do connect with the wider Christian community, and all of us seemed to have some liturgical role last night, from music, to ashes giving, to liturgy preparation.

(2) I had a phone call from a friend of the community asking what I knew about eating Kosher food. After bring stumped, she revealed that she was keen to give something up for Lent and thought that might be a way to go. We had a marvellous chat about how Lent should be a time of taking up (more prayer, balance, exercise) and making space for God in a realignment sense, rather than giving up in an arbitrary way (like chocolate). It was a Kairos moment, and I hope that I helped!

(3) Both with my class, and the St Philips community, we celebrated the beginning of Lent with ashes, silence, and song. It was amazing to see all of my kids, some Protestant, some no faith, two catholic, come forward and receive crosses and pray for each other. In the evening, the prayer of the people was powerful, the lighting of candles and Taize Chants awesome. God was truly present!

I hope your Ash Wednesday was as full of Depth as ours!

The Silent Life by Thomas Merton - Part 1.

A series of quotes (and possibly reflections) as we pursue this text.



From the Prologue:


The monk is one who leaves behind the fictions and illusions of a merely human spirituality in order to plunge himself into the faith of Christ. Faith is the light which seizes upon the inner depths of his soul na delivers him up to the action of the Spirit, the Spirit of liberty, the Spirit of Love. Faith takes him, as the power of God took the ancient prophets, and "Stands him on his feet (Ezch. 2:2) befor the Lord. The monastic life is a life in the Spirit of Christ, a life in which the Christian gives themselves entirely to the love of God which transforms him in the light of Christ.

Can we be killed by the hero's we love? Authentic Spiritual life and finding our own way...

Right folks. January seems a good time for this sort of reflection as we ponder the year ahead as individuals and as a community...

No one is a Christian in isolation. We are all instructed in the way of Christ in someway. For some, it is a personal contact, for others it is growing up in a family of faith where many points of contacts are made. Others may pick up a book which changes their life and want to find more, or an Internet page, or radio broadcast or an mp3 or in fact anything where we dialogue with someones experience in some way and allow it to speak. whatever the medium, somehow we here the message of Gods love from another and it changes us. And we keep on this road until we take our final breath...

This is all wonderful and appropriate and absolutely necessary (as we all know). And a Christian community like ours, where questions are the bread and butter of our life together, are essential. But there is a danger, and it worries me from time to time when i come across certain web pages, or articles, or books. It is the matter of Adoration. Let me explain. It is way to easy too read about the "Giants " of the faith (whatever that means to us - whether it be Augustine, Frances de Sales, Merton or John Paul 2, our minister or priest, or even another Christian...) and think to ourselves "They did x, y and z and that led them to holiness. by copying them i will too...".

Now imitation is the most sincere more of flattery, and of great use as we start our journey, but at some point we have to say "I am me. This is my way. God is with me. So be it" and use the skills and lessons we have learnt from others. Now, please don't get me wrong, I am not against the church setting up guidelines which point out what is helpful - eg the Eucharist, Reading the Bible, the Liturgical year - but all of these things need to take place within the context of our own slow and steady "working out our salvation in fear the trembling". None of this is an excuse to not do our homework theologically speaking. All of our thinking needss to be a balance of head and heart, with a good pinch of risk taking!

I suppose I am thinking about this year ahead as a community. We need not be anything other than we are, and part of that is a discovery! We have a wonderful set of ecumenical menotrs to guide and love us. We need to see what is us, and what isn't, who we are, and above all, pray and trust, and move forward.

Lets Dialogue.