Bible Study with Taizé
Bible study with Taizé
Monks of the Taizé Christian ecumenical monastery are visiting Trondheim in this time of Lent, and will be giving a Bible study session.
You are all welcome! The study will be given in English and will be held in the parish hall of St. Olav Catholic Church, Wednesday March 3rd, at 1915. Mass will be celebrated at 1830, you are welcome to join us.
The visit is organized by the Norwegian Church, who are graciously sharing the brothers with us. In the spirit of Taizé, all Christians of all denominations are welcome.
To read more about the Taizé movement, visit their website at www.taize.fr
For any questions, e-mail Pia Maria at post@albertmagnus.org
Please let me know you are coming, so we know how many to prepare a light meal for.
Our Tautra Retreat
It’s four o’clock in the morning as the alarm sounds this first Saturday of Lent. In a daze, I get dressed and brush my hair while trying to be silent, nevertheless making the floor creak, reminding me that even though I try not to, I am a sinner. It’s part of my identity. As I hasten to Church, I take no notice of the frozen vegetable patch or the icy road. Inside the sisters are ready, silently in their seats. The first words uttered since last night’s Salve Regina during Compline are Herre løs min tunge * så jeg kan forkynne din pris (O Lord, open my lips * And my mouth will proclaim your praise).
The Psalms are recited as the wind endeavours to lift the Church and carry it away. We are here today, five students or young adults, going into the desert to pray like Jesus prayed, to listen to him in silence and love. As we leave Church, still no words are spoken, only a gentle nod and smile as we hurry from the cold wind inside to our breakfast.
A curious scene, really: two young women, friends, usually laughing and talking, having their coffee and bread in complete silence, both encapsulated in the same story: the gospel according to Mark. Usually on top of our assignments, this time is different. The task was set by sister Anne Elizabeth the previous evening: to read the Gospel of Mark slowly, focused, as if for the first time, looking for references of Jesus’ humanity, actions, emotions and the relationship to his father. Completely immersed in Mark’s narrative we spent three hours after Compline, in our own chambers, but are still only half way. Seeing the text with a new pair of eyes, we couldn’t read slowly enough, capturing the details, letting God speak to us with Mark’s voice.
Seven times a day I praise you the Psalm (119,164) says and so our coffee and reading is continued by Lauds first, then Mass, the Eucharist ending the Great Silence. During vigils, the view from the window behind the altar is black. Watch as the light of a single car drives slowly along the road on the other side of the fjord. The yellow light flickers by the curves of the road. Here now, gone now. Now only the black remains. Soon a single tree is visible as the light grows. Then another, and by the time Mass is finished, both the fjord and the mountain across the water is seen. In the same way our Lord is unveiled, first a flicker of light, a star on the heavens, a path is laid and by his teaching, his prophecy and his suffering, the Lord’s plan for us is brought to life and reaches its climax at the foot of the cross and resurrection: the Body and Blood of Christ is presented to us, a gift we do not deserve, but are given nonetheless.
Nourished both in body and spirit, we share a cup of tea, still the voice of Mark sounding in our hearts. Not used to being so quiet and focused, we take a break. A disposable plate quickly becomes a glory behind Andrea’s head, as we take silly pictures of each other. We are children after all, and have let our energy out when sister Anne Elizabeth joins us again.
We share our findings in the gospel, and notice that sister has read it with new eyes over and over again as she pours of her knowledge, explaining any passages we had trouble understanding (Mark 9,43-50). She hands us a list of signs of humanity in Christ and where to find them in the Bible, the perfect companion for when we find ourselves too taken up with our everyday lives to see the greater picture: that God knows us better than we do and still find us worthy of giving his life for.
As the Church bells ring for Sekst, we have an extra spring in our steps, for soon dinner is served. The priest, an Irishman, sings a Norwegian grace as Pole, Italian and Norwegian eat together in silence as we listen to classical music, thus having our bodies and spirits fed at the same time. At first the silence may feel pressing, awkward, then becomes a relief: nobody is forced to fill the silence with interesting or uninteresting conversation. The gospel of Mark and the Psalms are still heard in our hearts.
We are encouraged to leave our cell phones and iPods untouched for the duration of our stay, but there are nobody to check. Nobody will know if an iPod is played during the Great Silence. Our refrigerator has meat inside, but nobody is there to check if it is eaten on Friday. We are told we are welcome to celebrate Vigils at 4.20 in the morning, but nobody will wake you up, in fact they are astonished if you come. And that is the wonder of being on retreat, and also of Christ’s sacrifice: it is his to give and it is given freely.
We gather to talk about the psalms. These 150 songs for every occasion speak of every human emotion, even though they are up to 3000 years old. For learning, for complaint, for joy and celebration. Parts of them are perfect as short one-line prayers for strength, perseverance, comfort and praise (”Create a clean heart in me, O Lord” – “For God alone my soul waits in silence” – “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord” – “Bless the Lord my soul, and all that is within me”). We are encouraged to stay with those that touch us.
Showered with hospitality, friendliness, encouragement, smiles and advice, our time is up. Outside the monastery walls Norway has won one olympic medal and lost another to the Swedes, us none the wiser. It matters little now, for our weekend was ours to give and was given freely to the Lord. I hope we’ll be back soon!
Lecture and reflection about lent: – prayer, almsgiving, fasting –
On Ash Wednesday P.Al held a lecture for us about prayer, almsgiving, fasting in St. Olav Church. I will try to give you a summary of the talk.
P.Al focused on the message of his holiness Benedict XVI for lent 2009. You can read the whole letter here. If you want to read this year’s letter, you can find it here.
We had this lecture in order to “prepare us to better celebrate Easter and thus experience God’s power (…)
We were reminded that God’s power “dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride” (Paschal Præconium).” (Benedict XVI)
The three, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, cannot be separated but have to work together. We cannot escape the fact that we are all “weighed down by sin and its consequences”. In this way “fasting is proposed to us as an instrument to restore friendship with God.”
We desire to know God; we have a deep feeling of thirst and hunger for God. Pope Benedict explains: “Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God.” (Benedict XVI) In other words it is essential to make time and room for prayer, both alone and in the Church. The community of the Church reaches beyond and God is available for us at any moment, but at the same time we meet Christ in Church in a very direct way in the tabernacle and the Communion. We are never left alone, God is present. Here we can remember the passage from John 14,18 that we focused on during last adoration: “I will not leave you orphans;(…)”
P.Al recalled what the Canon law tells us about fasting, and reminded us that this is not rules implied on us as a way of control. No, the rules are educative and help us in our friendship with God. The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord. You can find the Canon law 1250-1253 about the days of penance here. If you want, you can read this article about “The Holy Season of Lent” by Conlin B. Donovan.
‘True fasting, as the divine Master repeats elsewhere, is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who “sees in secret, and will reward you” (Mt 6,18). As the gospel of Matthew (4,4) tells us: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.(…) The true fast is thus directed to eating the “true food,” which is to do the Father’s will (cf. Jn 4,34).
Pope Benedict XVI recalls that the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each of us (…) to make the complete gift of self to God (cf. Encyclical Veritatis splendor, 21). And he encourage us (…) to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor. He continues to emphasize the importance of (…) prayer, lectio divina, recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass. This is important for everyday life, but is especially important in the Holy season of lent.
Adoration: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Yesterday after Mass the Student Group met for adoration. Vanessa had prepared the program and the “theme” of the day was John 14,1-21.
From John 14,1-21:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
(…) I am the way and the truth and the life.
I will not leave you orphans; (…)
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.
First meditation of Blessed James Alberione:
“Jesus invites me to enter more deeply in a personal relationship with him, a relation that can hold any difficulty, any joy or any sorrow. He desires that I experience this security which can be tasted when we are loved faithfully, wholeheartedly: “’Do not let your hearts be troubled”. Though mysterious, Jesus’ words, “I am the Way; I am Truth and Life”, are a beautiful promise of his loving fidelity and friendship.”
“The wish of God for me” of Blessed James Alberione
Your wish, o my Lord, is to come into my heart and to transform me by Your divine life.
Your wish is to purify me, to liberate me from my selfishness and my faults.
Your wish is to create me again and again, to make me a new person, in Your image.
Your wish is to fill me with Your love, for I love the Father and all my sisters and brothers as You love them.
Your wish is that I get united with You by the most intimate ties, to unite our hearts for they become one.
Your wish is to strengthen me, to give me Your divine power for I can overcome evil and be constant in doing good.
Your wish is to set my soul on fire with a tireless enthusiasm to work at the growing of Your kingdom in this world.
Your wish is that I belong to You in this life and in the life to come.
O my Lord, may Your wish become reality in my life. Help me to give You everything freely.
After the adoration in the chapel we had some time to socialize and get to know each other better.
It was a very nice evening, both spiritually and socially!
Retreat 19.-21.February
The Cistercian sisters of Tautra are offering us a retreat, 19-21st of February. They will give us lectures in English, and we are welcome to take part of their daily prayers and Mass. The price, 400kr, includes sleeping in the guest house and all meals. To read more about Tautra and the Sisters, visit http://www.tautra.no
To sign up, send an e-mail to Sister Anne Elizabeth (anneelizabeth@tautra.no) with the following details: name, age, e-mail, phone number and address. The sisters will give you their bank account details. You pay 200kr on signup and 200kr on arrival. If you are unable to pay via bank account, please send Pia an e-mail at piasoer@gmail.com and we will make an arrangement.
Remember that there is only room for a limited number of participants, so if you want to go - sign up as soon as possible.
Here you can read more about the retreats in Tautra Mariakloster:
Retreat is a time of love,
a time for the heart,
when restlessness and demands are let go.
Retreat is a chance
to listen
to the voice of your heart, or to silence,
and there discover
the presence of God.
Picture from the ruins of the old monastery (November 2009):
Lecture with Father Arnfinn
Father Arnfinn, a dominican monk who lives in Oslo, visited Trondheim last week. He gave us a very interesting lecture on how to live a Christian life.
It was very rewarding, as Father described Christian life in different situations, from a forced state religion to today’s secularism, and also how to react to the numbers who leave the Church.
Sadly, his visit came in a bad time, and only five people were able to hear the lecture. I’m sure the number of exams had something to do with it. Some of our students had three exams that week! That’s why I’d like to share my notes from the lecture with you, as well as Father’s notes.
With regards to the Catholic response to secularism, there are three models of thought. Some people would like to bring back state churches. The state churches had some good qualities, but we have to face that that era is over. Albeit nostalgic, it cannot be brought back by anything but power. Since the days of the state church, personal freedom has been established and people have discovered themselves to the point that we are acting only in our own interest. Bringing the church back by power would merely create anger, hostility and maybe indifference.
Remember also that if we strip our catholic culture of faith, the culture becomes meaningless. It’s not right to instrumentalize the Church for a culture that has no meaning. As a defence against other religions, such as Islam, it is unfruitful.
Christianity is over any nation. It is empty to say “I’mPolish, therefore Catholic” or “I’m Norwegian, therefore Lutheran”. If everybody thinks like this, the Church and faith will die. Christianity is international, over all nations and unifies all nations.
By all means, a Christian and Catholic life can only be led and sought by free will. After all, being Christian is about loving God, and love cannot be forced. All those who want to leave the Church, should be allowed to. Just like Jesus allowed people to stop following him when they found His teachings too hard to hear.
Another model in an attempt to win followers, is by adaption to modernism. To say we are modern and kind, we include everyone and tolerate everything. This is practically resigning, and we become the underdog. Imposed on the faithful will be the need for excuses. Secular, modern people can be aggressive or nervous when faced by faith.
It is true the Church should be open and meet reality, like it did with the council of Vatican II, but we must keep our Catholic identity. If our Church is a slave to modernity, it will lose substance and people will leave.
The third model, the best solution: to just be Catholic. It’s better that we are a happy, profiled and faithful minority than to be a bleak majority.
If we look to the first Christians, we see that they were called by Christ to follow him, and to influence the world – not govern it.
They were martyrs, confessors, true believers. They proclaimed the gospel with humility and fellowship – the people who met them said they shared everything with the exception of their spouse. They were a new people of God among all the peoples.
They should be our role models today. Anywhere we go, we will meet people who do not know Christ or the Church. We should all be prepared to say something intelligent, something we have experienced in our own life. Be completely honest, hide nothing to make ourselves look better, as people will see through it and not take you seriously.
Be prepared to give account for Christ in your own life! This is his ission to all of us. Every Catholic is called to study theology in some form.
Father left us with this quote from the gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 44-71:
44 ‘No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God; everyone who has listened to the Father, and learnt from him, comes to me.
Not that anybody has seen the Father, except him who has his being from God: he has seen the Father. In all truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that a person may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’
Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person. As the living Father sent me and I draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me. This is the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.
This is what he taught at Capernaum in the synagogue. After hearing it, many of his followers said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’
Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this disturb you? What if you should see the Son of man ascend to where he was before? ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.’But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset who did not believe and who was to betray him.
He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me except by the gift of the Father.’
After this, many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more.
Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.’
Jesus replied to them, ‘Did I not choose the Twelve of you? Yet one of you is a devil.’ He meant Judas son of Simon Iscariot, since this was the man, one of the Twelve, who was to betray him.
Lecture on how to interpret the Bible
If you wish to read the lecture father Dominic last wednesday, November 11th. It relates to the interpretation of Scriptures in light of Dei Verbum and other documents which relate to the interpretation of the Scriptures.
Adoration for the Unborn
This day’s meeting was an hour of Adoration, after Mass. There was a theme chosen: Unborn life.
For those of you who could not attend or for other Catholic groups looking for a program for Adoration, I’ll post that in just a bit. Let me share some pictures from the evening first.
After Adoration Maria had made us fruit salad! It was absolutely delicious. We were also given some fiskegrateng from the parish priest, which was also delicious. Nice for a hungry student!
Two very interesting conversations going on at once, between Vanessa and Maria, and Huy and father Al
Andrea from Italy and Marie from France
Two Andrea's and one Francesco in the middle. All Italians studying, living and praying together.
Our Lecture With Father Al
A rainy (a supposition, not a fact – it was rainy for most of October, and I’m guessing this was no exception) Wednesday evening in October the Catholic Student Group met in the priest’s living room for a lecture with our priest, father Al.
Having just finished Mass, we gathered some tea and my guess work tells me there was snacks of some kind – fruits? cake?
My memory serves me poorly on the details. Luckily I my notes tell me that we were joined by three new faces – Vanessa, who’s French, Simoneé and another Andrea. We are blessed with so many Andreas this semester I have lost track of their last names – but I do remember that this Andrea is a scout!
St. Mark. Picture from Wikipedia Commons
Father Al had prepared a lecture for us regarding the gospel reading from the last Sunday: when Jesus met the young rich man. Read this, property of Mark:
17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” 20He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Father put us into four groups and asked us to discuss the text. He asked us to think about where our heart was: what is our greatest treasure? We answered the questions in the groups, and then shared them with everyone. It took some good thinking to figure it out. Also, what we thought was the right answer wasn’t necessarily the truth for our lives, our actions and our thoughts.
He also asked us to consider what would happen to us if we lost our treasure. We had a hard time picturing this, as we so often fail to see that our greatest treasure is God, and get confused by our constant want for iphones and bigger, better and more things.
I want to take the time to remind us all of the next passage in Mark’s gospel. The previous passage can be a bit demotivating. The young man says he follows the commandments, and Jesus says it’s still not enough. How many of us can say they’ve never broken a commandment? Who is free of sin? Luckily Jesus reminds us:
23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
We are not accepted in the kingdom of God by our own strength or cabability, but by the grace of God.
Some of the students said they considered themselves pilgrims, that we’re always on a path. It’s important to never stop trying, to never consider yourself perfect, that there’s no room for improvement – but to also remember that God is with you in every one of those steps. In your trials, your victories, your sin – God is there.
I think the lecture definetely raised some questions in our minds, about the way we lead our lives and what we consider our treasures. Thank you very much, Father Al!
Italian dinner
On Wednesday 30th of September the Student Group had an Italian evening. Andrea, Giovanni B and Giovanni P made dinner for us. We are happy that 21 people showed up! Can I remember all the countries represented? I’ll try: South-Korea, Spain, Philippines, Vietnam, Italy, Singapore, Indonesia and Norway.
We also welcome the new faces; Angelica, David, Gabrielle, Kim, Park, Amaya and Juan. Hope to see you again!=)
The Italian guys served bruschetta, pasta and tiramisu. It was delicious!
Thank you for making good food, Andrea, Giovanni B and Giovanni P!
And thanks for cleaning up afterwards, Huy and Maria!
Here you can see all the pictures from the dinner! Thank you Jay!:-)
Next planned dinner is Vietnamese the 25th of November.
Maybe there will be a Norwegian dinner before that!
