Pre-Staycation Journal

STAYCATION 2018: THE RUN-UP

Saturday 28th July
About a year ago The William and I set off on our Road Trip, leaving The Hearth behind us, and heading towards Karningul. It was a journey not only of miles, but of the mind and heart, and not an easy one. 

Now here we are, having survived the wild wet winter and the blustery wet spring, appreciating, at last, the summer sun. But having worked pretty hard in both house and garden, we're in sore need of a few days off, to enjoy what we have created here so far, and to recuperate and get ready for all the ongoing tasks that await us! 

So, today we begin the run-up (or rather, the wind-down) to a little staycation - the weather forecast isn't very bright for the weekend, and we have the luxury of choosing what we do when. We had hoped to begin the staycation proper last night, with a sighting of the Blood Moon, but there was too much cloud and rain. But hey, rain's good for the garden and today's wind will quickly dry the laundry on the line - and test my latest mad bamboo creations (why grow bamboo and, in the absence of a panda, not use it?) - a pair of VERY high tripods (actually a quadrupod and a septopod), affectionately known as Asterix and Obelix - photo to follow, when we have enough sunshine again!

And instead of a panda we do have at least one mole, who The William spotted yesterday popping up in between the new raised herb beds. I hoped to glimpse it this morning - but it kept under cover as we watched it make its way around by the movements of the soil. I shall be gathering up the filtered soil from the mole hills, and am glad to think that its tunnelling will be improving the drainage for us.

Sunday 29th July
Wind-Down Day 2, and, like all the summer holidays of my childhood, today is a day for jumpers and rain jackets: it's bucketing down! Or actually not down, but horizontally.
Shadow and The William had a walk down the avenue, and, since he was already so wet, Shadow has had a bath and all his monthly treatments (teeth brushed, ear drops, anti-bug spotted on); The William is cooking his amazing lentil pie for lunch (my favourite!), and I am going to curl up with a good book. At the moment I'm re-reading Mary Stewart's Merlin series, and have got as far as book three, The Last Enchantment: great fiction, based I think on Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'history' of the kings of Britain, 'De Gestis Britonum'. 

Once upon a time, I stayed for six months close to Arthurian country, in a cottage called Avalon Sunset - named by its hippy owner for the 1989 album by Van Morrison, which one reviewer described as "combining religiosity and Celtic feeling, a sort of superior New Age music". Here's one of the tracks - and why am I surprised it's a duet with Cliff Richard??! - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuzVwiL1i5M&list=PLGbb9KO9XC_MfFPA0P1yMyA9JXxgnP1Zt

Lyrics of another great VM song below...

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there's only future
There's only here, there's only now

Oh your smiling face, your gracious presence
The fires of spring are kindling bright
Oh the radiant heart and the song of glory
Crying freedom in the night

These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one magician
Turned the water into wine

These are days of the endless dancing and the
Long walks on the summer night
These are the days of the true romancing
When I'm holding you oh, so tight

These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one great magician
Turned water into wine

These are the days now that we must savour
And we must enjoy as we can
These are the days that will last forever
You've got to hold them in your heart. 

Monday 30th July

Wind-down Day 3: more clouds, more wind, more rain, and an invitation to 'lunch' at 3 p.m. (?... We are insuring against who knows what by having maxistrone soup at our usual time of 12.30ish) with some acquaintances whose holiday home is one of the cute lock-keeper's cottages alongside the Nantes-Brest canal, where we often enjoy lovely easy walks with Shadow. Only three sections of the canal are navigable today, and none are near us, so it's very peaceful, although I do think that restoring it would bring even more tourists, of the boaty kind, here. My only canal-boat experiences are a week back in the 1990s on the Caldon Canal in Staffordshire, and being punted along the Lancaster Canal by The William even longer ago, when we were very young!

While I wait for the Theological Seminary I'm associated with to get back to me with the next units, I've been browsing the internet and came across an excellent initiative by Kurt Struckmeyer: The Mustard Seed School of Theology -  www.followingjesus.org

This is the introduction:

Like many other great religious leaders, Jesus taught a way or path to his followers. His teachings point to an understanding of the religious life as a journey. He spoke about alternative paths encountered on the journey — the wide path and the narrow path. He talked about seeking and entering the kingdom or reign of God. These are active words. They imply doing something, moving from where we are to someplace new. These are not words of correct beliefs and doctrine, but words that call us to get up and get going. Jesus called people to follow him in a way of living. As a result, the earliest members of the Jesus movement were known as “followers of the Way.” This website is devoted to exploring the Way of Jesus in a postmodern world.

For me this concept of a way of living that involves compassionate altruistic action, rather than a requirement to sign up for specific doctrine (and in particular, that of Pauline Christology), is spot on. What do you think?

(Emma Higgs has a blog here: www.patheos.com)

22nd July: Mary Magdalene

       O lamp of the world, and bright-shining pearl,

       who by announcing the resurrection of Christ,

       didst merit to become the Apostle of the Apostles,

       Mary Magdalene, of thy kindness,

       stand thou ever before God, who chose thee,

       to entreat him for us.

(The Dominican Benedictus Antiphon from the Mass of St. Mary Magdalene)

It was only two years ago that Pope Francis requested that the annual Catholic observance of Mary Magdalene be made a major feast day, marking women as the first evangelisers, and putting Mary Magdalene on a par, liturgically speaking, with the male apostles. She also now precedes the other eleven saints celebrated on 22nd July.

The Magdalene was long seen as a threat to male dominance within the Roman Catholic Church. It was in 591 Pope Gregory first suggested that she was a prostitute, and not until 1969 did the Roman Catholic Church admit that there was no textual or other evidence to support this.

In the decree issued from the Vatican in June 2016 with Pope Francis' request, it was stated that Mary Magdalene, 'recognised as one who loved Christ and who was very dear to him' can now be considered as 'a paradigm of the ministry of women in the Church'. A letter that accompanied the decree calls for 'a deeper reflection on the dignity of women'.

Mary is now widely believed to have been one of the leaders of the early church. The many references to her in the Gospel of Thomas and other non-canonical gospels confirm this: in the Pistis Sophia, for example, her name is mentioned 150 times, compared to just 13 times in the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John combined.

The Magdalene may also have been the 'beloved disciple' referred to in John's Gospel, and some people believe that she and Jesus were wife and husband, and that the wedding at Cana-in-Galilee (Kfar Cana/Kafr Kanna) was their own. There is an actual papyrus, dating back to the 4th century C.E. and written in Egyptian Coptic script, which contains this quote: 'Jesus said to them, My wife...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLioYdt8A5c

The following simple poem, written back in February, was inspired by some research about Mary Magdalene in my post-doctoral studies:

The Magdalene

Who are you, Dark Lady of the gospels,

you and the other women, providing for the Lord

as he roams throughout the Galilee...

Why are you, Dark Priestess with a jar of nard,

kneeling to anoint the Bridegroom's feet, preparing Him

for death, for rising, as you follow to Jerusalem...

When are you, Dark Sorrow, watching as Love dies,

then and now bringing your spice of solace,

sitting shiva with the other Mary at our tomb...

Where are you, Dark Mystery who disappears;

running to tell the others, you leave us in a garden

with angels at our side...

What are you, Dark Secret of church history:

recovering demoniac, repentant lady of the night,

for ages wholly side-lined - or the Holy Grail...

How are we to find you, beautiful black Magdalene,

Wisdom for our folly, Sister, Mother, Child,

shining through our Darkness...

4th July

Happy Independence Day to all Americans - and Brits?! 

Here in France, we have another ten days to wait before the celebration of la Fête Nationale. 

A week and a day after that, Tisha B'Av this year coincides with the Feast of Mary Magdalene, established as a major feast day in 2016 by Pope Francis - a step, I think, in the right direction towards a discipleship of equals.