5 mars 2025
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12:16
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This is a day to remember the reason that Christ had to come to die on the cross. Lent begins with a direct focus on the end the crucifixion - and the need for our reconcillation with God because of sin in life.
Ash Wednesday focuses on the punishment God gave to Adam and Eve in the Judaic/Christian creation story, and the statement from Genesis 3:19 that we, as humans, came from dust (or ashes) and will return to the same.
In an ancient Irish story of the creation of Adam, which survived as part of 'imaginative reworkings and complementary additions to the canon of scripture, Adam is made not just from the dust of the earth, but from seven different components; earth, sea, sun, clouds, wind, stones and the light of the world.
In an ancient Irish story of the creation of Adam, which survived as part of 'imaginative reworkings and complementary additions to the canon of scripture, Adam is made not just from the dust of the earth, but from seven different components; earth, sea, sun, clouds, wind, stones and the light of the world.
These correspond, in the same order, to: his body, blood, countenance, thoughts, breath, bones and soul (also connected to the Holy Spirit, or the divine image within us). These, in turn, relate to personality traits within human beings.
If in someone the part that is the earth is dominant, then that person will be indolent.
If in someone the part that is the earth is dominant, then that person will be indolent.
If it be the sun, they will be attractive and vivacious.
If it be clouds, they will be irresponsible and lustful.
If the wind dominates, they will be fiery and irascible.
If it be the stones, they will be severe, both thieving and grasping.
If it be the sea, they will be likable and placid, and will be beautiful.
If it is the light that is the strongest, they will know their own mind, and will be filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and divine scripture.
This imaginative expression of different aspects of creation being a part of who we each are, and that we will possibly have one which is more dominant, is typical of the beautiful creative mind of the Celtic Christians.
This imaginative expression of different aspects of creation being a part of who we each are, and that we will possibly have one which is more dominant, is typical of the beautiful creative mind of the Celtic Christians.
This particular imaginative expression gives us an even closer connection to the whole of creation. It isn't just the dust or earth that we are created from, but different elements found in the whole of creation, each interwoven within us, plus the inclusion of the Holy Spirit, that is, the divine image within our being.
This gives us a much deeper, more interconnected relationship with creation -another very Celtic understanding. All of this, of course, was marred by the incoming of sin into the beautifully, perfectly created cosmos which God had formed with love, which humanity was a part of.
So we begin Lent by reminding ourselves that we were created from part (or parts) of the physical creation, and that our bodies will return to the creation at their end.
Contemplation
Close your eyes and visualise the creation of Adam. But imagine it as described in the Irish retelling of the story, from those seven different aspects of the natural world: not only the dust of the ground, but earth, sea, sun, clouds, wind, stones and the light of the world as the divine image placed within us.
So we begin Lent by reminding ourselves that we were created from part (or parts) of the physical creation, and that our bodies will return to the creation at their end.
Contemplation
Close your eyes and visualise the creation of Adam. But imagine it as described in the Irish retelling of the story, from those seven different aspects of the natural world: not only the dust of the ground, but earth, sea, sun, clouds, wind, stones and the light of the world as the divine image placed within us.
How might this description, if these seven components are metaphorically a part of us, help us feel more connected to the natural world which surrounds us? How much more might we mourn for the coming of sin into creation which separates all things from its Creator?
Reading
[Adam and Eve] hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'
He replied, 'I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.!
'Who told you that you were naked? the Lord God asked.
"Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?'
The man replied, 'It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.'
Then the Lord God asked the woman, 'What have you done?"
'The serpent deceived me, she replied. 'That's why I ate it!
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, grovelling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.'
Then he said to the woman, 'I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.
And to the man he said, 'Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.' GENESIS 3:8-19 (NLT)
Prayer
Great Creator of life, the universe and everything, who fashioned humanity from the created world, I repent of the sin in my life, both those things known to me and unknown. I repent of any actions which have harmed the world from which I am made. I ask your forgiveness, and am reminded, by the ash of this day, that my body will one day cease to function. But I praise you also that, because of your grace and mercy, the essence of who I am shall continue forever. Amen
Celtique Lent
David Cole
Reading
[Adam and Eve] hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'
He replied, 'I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.!
'Who told you that you were naked? the Lord God asked.
"Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?'
The man replied, 'It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.'
Then the Lord God asked the woman, 'What have you done?"
'The serpent deceived me, she replied. 'That's why I ate it!
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, grovelling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.'
Then he said to the woman, 'I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.
And to the man he said, 'Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.' GENESIS 3:8-19 (NLT)
Prayer
Great Creator of life, the universe and everything, who fashioned humanity from the created world, I repent of the sin in my life, both those things known to me and unknown. I repent of any actions which have harmed the world from which I am made. I ask your forgiveness, and am reminded, by the ash of this day, that my body will one day cease to function. But I praise you also that, because of your grace and mercy, the essence of who I am shall continue forever. Amen
Celtique Lent
David Cole
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A 40 day devotional guiding you through Lent. This inspirational book takes the reader through the 40 days of Lent to the celebration of Easter through the eyes and beliefs of Celtic Christianity....
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