|
|
Johanna Domek . A monastery on the edge of Salvador Bahia In the early days of the monastic tradition, in the third and fourth centuries AD, the old fathers and mothers went into the desert, which for them was a place of solitude, where nothing grew, the devil's dwelling place. Glowing with prayer and determination, confronted with their own selves, with their own, lonely, unvarnished truth and with everything that is inside of the unvarnished truth, they wrest the desert from the demons, making it a place to sing God's praises. Patiently they carved gardens from the desert, symbols of an ordered creation that glorifies God and nourishes and supports life: a dwelling place for the living God and for his love in the midst of all the aridity and temptation. There are innumerable deserts located all over the world, sometimes well hidden behind fences and similar protective barriers. In Brazil, a country whose natural beauty fascinates the visitor, I saw them lying open, revealed to the heavens. "Deserts" are for example the favelas, the slums at the edges of the towns with all the brothels lining the roadside. In Rio de Janeiro I found a favela opposite the Sheraton Hotel, just a street's breadth away from its quiet spaces and noble swimming pools. A contrast that far surpasses the pain threshold - deserts! In the north-east of Brazil I was once again impressed by the arid land away from the sea ... Brazil is a huge country, I have only see a small part of it on a visit to a few convents.
|
||||||
The
small group of founding sisters has meanwhile grown to twenty. The most
important thing for them is to follow the rule of St. Benedict, praying
the Liturgy of the Hours, seeking God and glorifying him in all things and
circumstances, praying with invincible patience. And being present in the
desert of the favela.
Everything that is needed is there - certainly for about a week in each case. There are no customers living nearby who might want to buy something. It is no small thing to earn a living here and somehow manage to live week after week. The people round about only know poverty and that all too well, poverty that clothes itself in a kind of sheer need, but also in an incredible will to live, like a dress put on to dance and sing with rhythms and a musicality which I can never attain, not even in my dreams. And at the same time: a week earlier two boys disappeared from one of the families, never to be seen again ... There is much here that is very cruel! Writing down all this misery, describing the nakedness and poverty of these people, is a way of countering the shame of recognising what people are capable of. And the laughter and the joy that I experienced there so often and vividly should not be unbelievable.
|
||||||
Besides the monastery, the sisters also have three small social projects (likewise constantly under financial pressure), which they began when the lives and giving at the monastery door outran their possibilities. There is a day centre for 150 children, whose mothers are working at various jobs, with four meals a day. In some rooms there are courses for adults: help towards self-help, from hygiene to nutrition, to handicrafts and the manufacture of soap and salves. A very dedicated social worker, employed by the monastery, also helps the people with official business and filling in forms, whatever is needed. And there is much to do. And much needs to be set in motion, if you know how. Then there is a house in the middle of the favela, lessons take place there in the mornings and afternoons for a group of children, also with meal. For many of these people hunger is a real problem, because it is something that cannot wait until there is a general change for the better, if at all. |
 |
|||||
 |
In the monastery garden the sisters have already planted every possible kind of fruit tree years ago: mangoes, mamau, bananas, cashew and many others. I like it all very much, it is neither too orderly nor chaotic - just lovely. "Plenty and nothing", an important theme of spiritual tradition not just Christianity, is being played there on the edge of Salvador Bahia in quite different variations, cadences and rhythms to those with which I am familiar. I am learning. |
|||||
|
The trees have their roots and draw their life force from the soil. For a monastery and the people in it that is not enough. They also need the heavens and dare it, rooted to the earth on the edge of the city and are probably not even aware themselves how much reflection and beauty there is in what they are trying to do. - Of course: what is true is true everywhere; what is beautiful and real is beautiful and real everywhere and deserves to be nurtured close at hand. It is only that the desert makes it particularly clear, for example in the songs that are dared to be sung here. You want to protect the strength of this weakness and offer encouragement to live as best one can ... And be willing to learn for one's own life from all that. |
 |
Donations
marked "Salvador" can be made to the following account: Benediktinerinnen,
Brühlerstr. 74, 50968 Köln, Receipts for tax purposes can be issued if desired. |
