l'Inventaire

Clotilde Lacroix has created an association called 'L'inventaire' - you pay a yearly subscription of 8 to 15 € and you can then 'rent' works of art - 2 pieces a month for 8 €.

it's a great idea - Clotilde would rather see art in the homes of folk than it collecting dust...art is for displaying, enjoying, savouring...

i rented 'Jacob's dream' by Parisian artist Bernard Braeken.

Journey towards maturity

my last post was a poem by Kester Brewin taken from his latest book 'Other' (loving self, god & neighbour in a world of fractures)...

i'm still reading this book, i haven't quite finished it (just over half-way through)...

One of the challenges so far is the 'journey towards maturity'.

in our celebrity, youth adoring society - we all want to appear young, trendy, hype etc...

Virgin mobile phones are running an advertising campaign with the slogan 'ne vieillissez pas trop vite' (don't get old too quickly) - this epitomizes this current trend.

But the challenge is to 'journey towards maturity'; to grow up, take responsibility...

to become father & mother for others...

i'm a father of 5 children & the challenge is to look out for them - not always looking out for myself - growing up means looking out for the Other...

i'm learning but the ego sometimes gets the upper hand...

Stones

Here's a poem from 'Other' by Kester Brewin:

Stones

If we could all

just stop throwing stones,

and stoop, knees bent

and write in the dust,

we'd see the dust

was once a stone -

grand, and hard, and proud, and tough -

now ground and dissolved

in grace and tears.

So...how much better

to be a grain of dirt

on that kind of prophet's hand

than a stone

in the cold, accusing Temple

of the pure.

Des hommes et des dieux

went to see des hommes et des dieux;

a great film about the monks in Tibhirine, Algeria.

it 's a true story of faith and tragedy; the monks have a sincere compassion and empathy for the muslim population. They are truly spiritual and firmly anchored in the culture which surrounds them. They displayed the love of Christ in a truly human way.

i was challenged in my faith journey to attempt to see the other as God sees her/him

whether christian, muslim or whatever...

the film revealed the monks fragility and fear faced with the prospect of death...

but after wrestling in their souls and with God they come through with a quiet

tranquility and trust in God...

a brilliantly sensitive film!

A New Kind Of Christianity

Every time I read one of Brian McLaren's books my understanding of my own faith is challenged and i need to reassess what i believe and why.

A New Kind of Christianity is no exception. Brian takes us on a quest of discovery by asking hard questions concerning the bedrock of our faith; how we read and see the bible, our understanding of the person of God, how we perceive Jesus and what we consider to be the gospel.

Brian points out how we've been duped by the violent Greco-roman god 'Theos' and that we need to return to the God of grace revealed in the person of Jesus.

Jesus didn't come to start a new religion but to instigate a peaceable Kingdom and as his followers we are here on this planet to help to see this wonderful dream come true in all its fulness.