FOLLOWING JOHN TO EASTER


        February 18th is Ash Wednesday.  It marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent. I know that because I remember it clearly from when I was a child at St. Alphonsus school.  It wasn't until I was well into middle adulthood when I realized there are many more days than 40 from Ash Wednesday to Easter--and that the only way to make it come out to be 40 is to not count the Sundays!

        It seems that long ago, religious people setting traditions and practices in the Church wanted this season before Easter to "fit in" to the larger Christian story.  There were 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.  Jesus experienced 40 days of temptation in the desert.  So with some slight of hand mathematics, they devised 40 days of Lent.  They were doing the best they could! 

       Several years ago, for my own devotional time I decided to read and journal through the Gospel of John.  It was a depth experience in my favorite Gospel.  A few years later, a friend entered my journal into the computer so that I could begin editing it for a print devotional to share. This year, we have created a daily 5 minute video devotional, different each day, and I want to invite you to join me in exploring John's Gospel this year.

      Keeping with the tradition of a 40 day Lenten cycle... each week Monday through Saturday you will receive an email with a video link in your inbox.  You can listen to it, reflect on it, save it, share it or delete it!  Each one will have a Gospel reading, a very short reflection on the text, two minutes of silence for your own meditation and an intention for you to take with you into your day. 

      For those of you near Sarasota... if you are available to join us we will gather each Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m.on the campus of Pine Shores Presbyterian Church to discuss the prior weeks readings and work on documenting our 40-day adventure by making a hand-made book which will unify this discipline as an effort of spirit and art.  (No prior experience necessary). The groups meeting at 10:00 and 7:00 are the same, we just want to open them up to meet varying schedules.

      Whether you join in by simply reading through John's Gospel with us or are able to embody this devotion by participating on Tuesday's in Sarasota--my hope is that you'll experience the community of believers making this Lenten journey with you. And since a link to each of the daily devotions will be posted on the Peace River Spirituality Facebook page... I especially hope you will feel free to participate by sharing a sentence or two there for the rest us to benefit from your thoughts.

     To join us whether from near or far, all I need is your email address.  Send an email to: thecelticmonk@att.net  and simply put John's Gospel in the subject line.  That's all you have to do. Your emails will begin coming to you on Thursday, February 19th and continue through Holy Saturday.

    All of us who have been working on this devotional journey are excited by its potential to reach out beyond Peace River Spirituality Center and Pine Shores Presbyterian Church. If you have family or friends who you think might enjoy it, please pass along this email to them.  There is room in this ever widening circle of God's love for all.  

     Thanks for being a part of my continuing exploration of the contemplative Christian tradition.

With joy and in peace,

Kathleen Bronagh Weller  THE CELTIC MONK     

         

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Giving Up the Farm or Farewell to Farmville

An Invitation

CLICK ! CLICK ! CLICK!