By Maria Millers
Come and find the quiet centre
in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter,
find the frame where we are freed:
clear the chaos and the clutter,
clear our eyes, that we can see
all the things that really matter,
be at peace, and simply be.
Come and Find the Quiet Centre Lyrics by Shirley Erena Murray
With a sunny long weekend just behind us many may be already looking to their next break.
That of course will be Easter which this year will be on 20 April.
This year in a multi -cultural society like Australia the convergence of Ramadan, Easter, and Passover creates a unique moment for interfaith reflection and the fostering of mutual respect
for the traditions and observances of Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Passover begins on Saturday evening, 12 April, with the first Seder, and continues through Sunday 20 April.
While not a fasting period, it still involves dietary restrictions.
It recalls the Israelites escaping from slavery in Egypt and is commemorated by eating Matzah, an unleavened bread, in memory of how they had to flee without having time to wait for their
bread to rise.
Jesus’ Last Supper was a Passover meal (Seder), making Easter historically tied to Jewish tradition.
Last Wednesday, 5 March was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the Christian season of reflection, repentance for wrongdoings, self-acceptance and preparation for Easter, commemorating the time Jesus spent in the wilderness.
Traditionally this is a period of fasting, giving up certain things like luxuries and doing charitable acts or almsgiving as it was called.
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves
Excerpt from Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
Lent is observed for 40 days but fewer and fewer adhere to it. Some denominations are stricter than others with Eastern Orthodox traditions still observing long fasts, avoiding meat,
dairy and sometimes oil and wine, Many Protestants more often will choose to give up specific foods, habits or luxuries rather than give up meals totally.
Ramadan began on the evening of Saturday 1 March, and is expected to end on Sunday 30 March, with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
This uncertainty is because the Islamic calendar is lunar, causing Ramadan to shift approximately 10 to 12 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar.
The exact start and end dates of Ramadan can vary by location, depending on the sighting of the new moon.
While there are key differences in specific practices and theological beliefs, both Lent and Ramadan serve as periods of devotion, self-restraint, and spiritual renewal for believers.
Though they differ in their intensity and requirements they still share powerful common themes and practices such as prayers, fasting, personal renewal and caring for the less
fortunate.
Ramadan requires exceptional discipline and commitment to follow its rules of fasting: from dawn to sunset for a whole lunar month of 29-30 days.
No food, drink, smoking or intimate relations during daylight hours, With the hot weather we are having at present, think of not being able to drink water and still carry on with normal activities.
There are exemptions for children, the elderly, pregnant/nursing women, travellers and those who are ill.
But it remains a physically demanding commitment.
Add to this the spiritual focus of increased prayers, reading the Qur’an and the obligation of doing acts of charity and communal service.
The fast is broken at sunset with a meal called Iftar and started at dawn with a pre-dawn meal called Suhoor.
Laylat al-Qadr, which falls during the last ten nights of Ramadan, is considered the holiest night of the year.
It is believed that on this night, the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad For Christians Good Friday is the holiest of days, marking Jesus’ crucifixion, suffering and death.
Of course in an increasingly secular society dominated by mass consumerism Easter has been transformed into yet another retail driven holiday rather than a religious observance.
Walk into any supermarket and you will be confronted by huge displays of chocolate eggs, and bunnies, hot cross buns and other assorted Easter themed merchandise.
Many people now celebrate Easter culturally but without its Christian meaning, treating it as a family holiday rather than a religious one.
But some people of faith find the scheduling of a football match on Good Friday upsetting.
On Good Friday 18 April 18, the AFL will host the annual Good Friday Super Clash between North Melbourne and Carlton at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
The event raises funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital through the Good Friday Appeal and with this in consideration it can be seen as part of the Lenten tradition of supporting a charity.
Ramadan concludes with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, a festival marking the end of the fast.
It’s a joyous occasion with communal prayers, feasts, and giving gifts, as well as an obligatory charity known as Zakat al-Fitr, which is given to help those in need before the Eid prayer.
The midnight masses in Catholic and Orthodox churches are similarly joyous and uplifting with families returning home for a fast breaking feast.
Many churches, mosques, and synagogues host interfaith dialogues during Ramadan and Passover.
It is hoped that people will take the opportunity to go and see how though these observances are coming from different traditions how many of them overlap with those we see in Christian churches.
Fasting in Ramadan
By Rumi
There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.
We are lutes, no more, no less.
If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything, no music.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language—even the phrase each other—
doesn’t make any sense.
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull
of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.
(This poem reflects on the spiritual power of fasting.)
