Easter Kopua

 

 

My dear Friends,

It is now the second week of Easter. So I thought to give you a reflection
of my gracious time in Kopua(attached)
See the picture of Rebecca and my painting of the Holy week. The painting
starts from the bottom left, Palm Sunday with the donkey and the little
autistic boy shouting louder than all of us. Then a picture like a flame of
the Oil Mass at the Holy Spirit Mass in Palmerston North, followed by the
bowl of water for the washing of feet at Holy Thursday mass of the Last
Supper(4th picture). And then down the steps to the garden of Gethsemane
with a fallen chalice and all the chaos of the Friday ending in the disaster
of the Cross. On the very right of the painting Mary Magdala sitting at the
empty tomb with in the distance three people on the way to Emmaus. Happy
Easter at the Kopua Monastery.

John Heijnen


Easter Kopua 2009

I have seen him

Rebecca is a young woman with slight limitations. She joined the service of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday at the Southern Cross Abbey in Kopua. Many members of the community, monks and guests, carried the cross up the hill behind the monastery. At the end of the service the cross was carried back near the chapel by children of guests and by Rebecca. She felt very proud doing this.
On Easter day before the Mass I met her again and she said, “I have seen him”. “Who?” I asked. “Jesus of course. He is alive”. “Have you seen him?”
“Yes, near the trees behind the guesthouse. Jesus told me to tell you.”

During the Mass after the Gospel reading I knew that Rebecca’s other name was Mary Magdala, the one who told the disciples of Jesus that he was going to meet them in Galilee. Galilee for me is Plimmerton in New Zealand, where I live. Conversion comes in many ways and mine one came through the influence of friends. Rebecca is one of them. Probably all of us have our own story of conversion, which is very special to us. For some it comes slowly by spiritual reading over a period of several months, for others by solitude. In order to stay in practice of ongoing conversion we need to distance ourselves of from false cultural values and fill our mind and heart with the ideas and value of Jesus.
Further more conversion has to be total. The Holy Spirit is leading us all to the fullness of life, not primarily as a duty, but mainly out of love, with perseverance and free of disorderly attachments. Without grace we can do nothing.

The above all sounds a bit of smooth teaching, but for me it became a reality during Holy Week in Kopua. And you my friends who were there at that time will testify that the experience of Easter-time at the Abbey was full of grace for all of us.
Thank you all,
Fr John Heijnen