Wednesday, February 25, 2009

As Careme Begins

While I'm busy typing away on a paper that has distracted me from all else, the following was received from L'Arche in Compiegne as we enter tomorrow into the season of Lent, Careme in French. I am reminded of how this desert season began last year, with a final night of jubilation and dancing as the morrow brought a waking attentiveness to Christ's suffering and our call to enter in with him. May these words guide you as they guide me and others. Pray for the country of France as they enter into this season, for the devout Catholics and emerging charismatic movement to be a light for Christ in the desert of roteness and dead tradition.

« Seigneur avec Toi, nous irons au désert… Les paroles de ce chant, propre au temps de carême, nous invitent à vivre une nouvelle étape dans notre année liturgique. Nous sommes invités à aller au désert, à aller dans ce lieu aride, sans végétation et sans habitation. Un lieu qui, à première vue, est sans intérêt. Rien ne semble s’y passer, rien ne semble arrêter notre attention. Pourtant, je suis bien invité à regarder, non pas autour de moi, mais en moi. Car c’est dans le calme et le silence que je peux entendre Dieu me parler cœur à cœur, que je peux recevoir la lumière de Dieu pour faire la vérité en moi. »
Extrait du Vivre Ensemble, Abbé Denis Raffray.

"Lord, with you we will go into the desert...The words of this song appropriately invite us into Lent, into a new stage in our liturgical year. We are invited to go into the desert, to go into this dry place, without green growth and without life. It is a place that upon first glance holds no interest. Nothing seems to pass by this place, nothing seems to take our attention. And yet, I am clearly invited to watch and look, not at that which is around me, but at myself alone. It is in this peace and in this silence that I can hear God speak to my heart from his, that I can receive the light of God to live truth from my being."

Jennifer's translation

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Jen,
my name is vicky, im an english student but i just came to compiegne a wee ago to work in the baptist church and do whatever i can really!
I cant remember how i found your page but would love to chat to you about compiegne and your time here!
xxx

Jennifer Aycock said...

Hi Vicky,

I will be in Compiegne next week and will be at the church this coming Sunday, March 8. Can you meet up there and we can figure out if Sunday or some time during the week would work to hang out and chat? Sunday afternoon I think would be open for me if that could work for you. Peace to you and I look forward to hearing of your work there. Jenn