Lunden Kloster

jun 26

Jesu hellige hjerte

On one occasion, praying even more fervently than usual, she used the words of the Prophet: «Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,» intending in this way to ask the Lord particularly to take from her completely her own heart and her own will. His answer was to fortify her resolution by a vision. Coming to her in the now accustomed way, he seemed to open her left side, take out her heart, and carry it away. the vision was so realistic, and so confirmed by the evidence of her own physical condition, that when she went to confession afterwards she told her confessor that she no longer had a heart within her breast. He only laughed at this, and then seriously took her to task for saying such a thing. But she emphatically repeated it, saying: «It is a fact, Father. As far as I can judge from what I feel in my body, I seem no longer to have any heart in it. Our Lord appeared to me, opened my left side, took out my heart, and went away with it.» But her confessor brusquely said she could not possibly live without her heart. To this she replied that «no thing is impossible with God,» and that she was herself convincd that her heart was now missing. And in the days that followed she said several times over that she was living now without her heart. Read more

jun 21

Corpus Christi

Our Saviour saw that we had fallen sick because of our excessive longing for transitory things. Bu these pass like the wind; either they get away from us or we take leave of them. So I Caterina, unworthy and useless servant, beg you to put your hope decisively in God and not in this mortal life. I beg you, as ransomed servants, to set your desire and your souls’ affection intently on your Saviour who has ransomed you. As Saint Peter says, ”he has ransomed you not with gold or silver but with his own sweet precious blood.” So I beg you, dearest brothers, to treasure this sweet ransom. Love it, and to show your love, always love and keep God’s commandments. Especially do I ask you, beg you in the name of Christ crucified, to keep God’s first and ultimate commandment, charity and union with God. I want to see you all fall in love with this charity; I want your souls to be filled with it.

(Katarina av Siena, brev LT14 til hennes tre brødre i Firenze)

jun 14

Treenighetssøndag

Oh Trinity, eternal, one God!
You Godhead,
One being and three persons,
Are one vine with three branches –
If I may be permitted to make such a comparison.
You made us in your image and likeness so that,
with our three powers in one soul,
we might image your trinity
and your unity.
And as we image,
so we find union.
Through our memory
we may image and be united with the Father,
to whom is attributed power.
Through our understanding
we may image and be united with the Son,
whom is attributed wisdom.
Through our will
we may image and be united with the Holy Spirit,
to whom is attributed mercy,
and who is the love
of the Father and the Son.

(Fra Katarina av Siena, bønn nr 4)

Pinseaften

Den jødiske Shavuot, ukefesten, som feires 50 dager etter Pesach, påsken, er rammen Lukas gir oss for den første kristne pinsen. Shavuot kombinerer feiringen av den første kornhøsten og feiringen av at Israel mottok Torahen på Sinai. Det er altså en feiring av Guds gode gaver i naturen og i religionen, det som gir næring fysisk og åndelig.

Den kristne pinsen får ny dybde mot denne bakgrunnen. Det vi feirer er også Guds gode gaver. Vi feirer de første fruktene av Jesu oppstandelse: innlemmelsen av hedningene i Guds folk, og vi feirer at Kirken mottok Den Hellige ånd.

Det var da israelittene tok imot Loven og sluttet en pakt med Herren at de virkelig ble et folk. Det er når de som fellesskap forplikter seg på å leve etter Guds Torah, Guds undervisning eller lære, at de også knyttes sammen i enhet.

Denne gaven betegnes med mange ord, se bare på Salme 119: Guds lov, lovbud, forskrifter, dommer, budord, ord… Ordet—Logos—og Visdommen—Sophia—blir også etter hvert sett som uttrykk for Torah. Og dette gir oss kristne et viktig perspektiv, som Johannes har benyttet seg av i prologen til sitt evangelium. Read more