Fifty days after Easter the disciples of Jesus came together. Why? They celebrated a feast, the Jewish Shavuot. It takes place 7 weeks and one day after the feast of Pesach. It is the celebration of the harvest ( 2. Mose 23,16) or the day of the first field crops (4. Mose 28,26). It reminds also on the overhanding of the second version of the Ten Commandments from God through Mose to the people of Israel. And doubtlessly this feast inspired the Christian Whitsun. Continue Reading
The Lay Salvatorians of Europe gathered from June 19 -22, 2014 in Belgium. Lay Salvatorians from 7 units (countries) enjoyed this very nice days – shared time, ideas, visions, discussions and prayers together. See a small summary here —>
Noli me tangere, fresco by Fra Angelico
Let’s focus on a woman, who was put into the background throughout the history by men, although she was the first human who meet the resurrected Jesus, this year. The reasons why this happened are manifold and diverse. One major fact – she was a powerful woman and that was simply impossible at the time she was living!
It is almost universally agreed today that Mary Magdalene has the reputation in Western Christianity as being a repentant prostitute or loose woman. However, these claims are unfounded. The identity of Mary Magdalene is believed to have been merged with the identity of the unnamed sinner conflating who anoints Jesus’ feet in Luke 7:36-50. Mary Magdalene, the anointing sinner of Luke, and Mary of Bethany, who in John 11:1-2 also anoints Jesus’ feet, were long regarded as the same person. Though Mary Magdalene is named in each of the four gospels in the New Testament, none of the clear references to her indicate that she was a prostitute or notable for a sinful way of life, nor link her with Mary of Bethany. Modern scholarship has restored the understanding of Mary of Magdala as an important early Christian leader.[1]
We from the GC of the ICDS took this date to improve our worldwide communication, especially in the mirror of the Salvatorian missionary year. We invite all Lay Salvatorians and certainly all members of the Salvatorian family to participate on this action of brotherly/sisterly friendship and love. So there are two possibilities to participate: Continue Reading
