Shabbat was given to us by God, to allow us time to unplug from mundane living for one day each week. To facilitate time for rest, prayer, and gathering with loved ones. Shabbat protects the family unit by bringing people together once a week to feast and remember Divinity. To worship. No matter which religion we follow, Shabbat offers a necessary and helpful withdrawal from false-living. We are forgetting how to unite and let go of our differences. How to be still in the here and now. Few people sit together for a meal without the television or cell phones. Even fewer gather to discuss spiritual ideas.

Here is a translation of the Sabbath prayers included in my book Woman in Red – Magdalene Speaks, along with instructions on how you may follow Shabbat at home with your family, if you wish. I pray that these holy truths inspire you to take time away from it all. To bathe in the quietness of life, without modern conveniences. Death is certain to one day remove us from all that we now know. Hopefully, we will also know the Lord who dwells not in the marketplace but within the closed eyes, prayerful tongue, and repentant heart.

HOW TO HONOR SHABBAT:

“We come in submission before Thee, to honor Shabbat. We exult in Your presence, O’ Lord. Your holy name is elevated above all praise, for Your name is our blessing, more than any can offer within this world. Supreme King of Kings, Holy One, Yours is the Kingdom and the power, and we extol the glory of Your Kingdom forever and ever, Amein.” (Amein, is also Amen in modern language, it means “I ground this prayer”.

“Amein” everyone replies in unison.

“With ever-enduring love, You have loved us, and commandments You have given to us, so that we might follow and be with You. Therefore, when we lie down and when we rise, we shall remember You and rejoice in You forever, and for the length of our days upon You we shall meditate, morning, afternoon and night.”

Next, we rise to wash our hands as a ceremonial cleansing, the water being the vehicle by which we may purify our bodies from corruption. Sitting around the dining table, give thanks for the bread and for the vines of the abundant earth.

“We praise You Eternal Lord and Lady, the King and Queen of the Universe, who bring forth the bread from the earth. Blessed and praised are You our Eternal Rulers, Creators of the fruits and of the vines. Shabbat Shalom!”

Everyone jubilantly cheers “Shabbat Shalom”. One by one, embrace each person at the table, and celebrate the holy night eating happily, with excited conversations aplenty. Fill your dining hall with chatter while the candles flicker and twist in the shadows, as the sun sets over the horizon.

Shabbat is traditionally celebrated from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. Jesu and Mary Magdalene would have taught this as a way of spiritual living. The Roman church changed this day of rest to a Sunday. The goal is not to create more rules and laws to follow, but to withdraw from material life for one full 24 hour day each week. To rekindle what is lost on mundane distracted living.