@brittarnhild
En gang i året besøker jeg Turvey Abbey, et benediktinerkloster i England. Sr. Miriam er en av nonnene i klosteret, og i dag er det hun som blogger om fastetiden her i Vandring gjennom året. Sr. Miriam er halvt dansk, men engelsk er morsmålet hennes og det språket hun har skrevet på. Jeg hadde først tenkt å oversette det hun har skrevet til norsk, men etter å ha lest gjennom teksten ser jeg at den er ganske lett å forstå, så jeg lar den rett og slett være akkurat slik Sr. Miriam har skrevet den:
The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.
Rule of St Benedict Chapter 49
I’ve been living according to the Rule of St Benedict for more than 20 years and each year these words both challenge and inspire me. They are tough words. These words were written with a particular community in mind, a community of ordinary human beings who were trying their best to seek God in a monastery. In the rest of the chapter St Benedict explains how he understands the season of Lent, he says; ‘we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times.’
During Lent, one of the ways in which we are helped to ‘wash away the negligences’ is by listening with our whole hearts to God’s word in communal and personal prayer. During Lent we listen to the Book of Exodus. I always look forward to this. I find myself in the story and I am challenged to allow God to provide ‘the manna, the water and the quails’ that I need for my monastic journey.
St Benedict recommended that his monks should be given a book to read during Lent. We still keep this practice in the monastery. This year I am reading The Didache by Tom O’Loughlin. (The Didache is an early Christian text, thought to be written in the First Century. It is like a ‘handbook’ for Christian living. I am enjoying the academic style and am finding much to think about. Another book that is proving to be a great spiritual tool for me is: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo is an expert in de-cluttering and her method is potentially life changing. During Lent I have tackled various areas in my room and the results are wonderful!
During Lent we also have a little extra time for prayer and creative activities. I like to try a new craft or to work on an on-going project. This year I have been inspired by ideas I have found on Pinterest for using old magazines.
I made a cross to send to a friend who works as a teacher in London.
It is traditional to fast during Lent. In practice, this can be rather hard to arrange in a monastery. We are of varying ages and have very different metabolisms. We try to eat simply and to enjoy what we have. Of course, there are several feast days in our calendar and so we really appreciate something special on those days.
At the heart of Lent is the desire to have God at the centre of our lives. Our time spent in prayer, or trying to fast, or in doing some small act of kindness brings us closer to the God we seek and to the new light of Easter. At the end of the journey of Lent we are ready to sing with St Augustine, ‘We are an EASTER people and ALLELUIA is our song.’
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I 2007 gav jeg ut boken "40 dager - fra karneval til oppstandelse" via IKO - Forlaget
(den er nå utsolgt, men om mange nok henvender seg til forlaget vil de kanskje trykke den opp igjen.......) I løpet av fastetiden blogger jeg fra boka, fortellinger fra da jeg jobbet med den, og om hvordan jeg, og andre, bruker materialet. Dessuten kommer jeg hver dag til å utfordre meg og deg til å gi en gave til Kirkens Nødhjelp og/eller andre.
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Diverse info til hvordan du kan gi til Kirkens Nødhjelp og til Himalpartner:
Giverinfo:
Send en SMS med kodeord GAVE til 2426. Da gir du 200 kroner til Kirkens Nødhjelps arbeid.Gi et valgfritt beløp med VIPPS eller MOBILEPAYtil 2426.
Du kan også gi på gavekonto 1594 22 87248
Du kan lese mer om fasteaksjonen her:
www.fasteaksjonen.no
Info om hvordan du kan gi til Himalpartner (kopiert fra hjemmesiden deres www.himalpartner.no
En gave til HimalPartner gir mennesker i Himalaya fremtid og håp.
Bankkonto 3000 15 47107 – Vipps: HIMALPARTNER (eller 15521)
SMS; HIMAL100 til 2160 (kr. 100) eller HIMAL150 til 2160 (kr. 150)
Givertelefon: 822 04 181 (kr. 200)
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