Dec 29, 2010

Journeying


Photo is from my recent hike among the cedar trees.

As we approach the New Year, lots of people start thinking about goals and what they hope to accomplish in the next year. It's good to experience a renewal, a time to make things right.

But I'm finding myself being more drawn to the concept of journey, of seeking the path God has marked out for me and following the best I can, in faith because I cannot see how it ends. I may have hopes and dreams and even plans for the coming year, but only some things are within my control. The rest I will leave up to God. And that's not an act of giving up. It's a journey I choose to take with a little bit of wariness and a lot of anticipation. God's plans are always better than my own.


Alone with none but Thee, my God,
I journey on my way;
What need I fear when Thou art near,
Oh King of night and day?
More safe am I within Thy hand
Than if a host did round me stand.
~Attributed to St. Columba

Dec 20, 2010

Tomorrow's Winter Solstice


Tomorrow morning (where I live) a unique occurrence in the heavens will take place. It's the first time in 372 years that a lunar eclipse will coincide with the winter solstice. The moon is supposed to be high in the sky because of where it is located at the solstice, making viewing the eerily glowing moon easier--if, that is, there are no clouds to block it.

Where I live the eclipse will take place between 1:30 and 2:40AM, so I'm not likely to see it. How about you???

Be sure to come back tomorrow when I'll be blogging about the winter solstice in Newgrange in Ireland.


Dec 17, 2010

Immigrant Eyes

I was trying to decide what to post today when I found this video. I have been writing about immigrants who came through Ellis Island, so this really touched me.

Did your ancestors come through Ellis Island? None of mine that I know of did. But we have all been touched, even unknowingly, by those who came and contributed to this country economically, socially, and in many other ways.

Enjoy!




Dec 15, 2010

The Stuff Legends Are Made Of





We know that the rock at the Giant's Causeway was the result of cooling lava compressed together millions of years ago (at least most people think it was millions of years ago.) This black rock is basalt and it's a natural wonder.




But what did the ancient people think when they saw it? They were no less intelligent but the study of rocks and the earth's composition was not part of their world. So what did they think when they gazed over the cliffs toward the sapphire blue ocean and see these rocks trailing out toward Scotland? (but disappearing before they reached it.) What they did was explain the
wonder in the traditional Irish way: they made up a story about it. This was not a manmade structure. No man could have done this, certainly. The gods? Well, maybe, but the gods are credited with all kinds of things. What if this was the work of a man--not an ordinary man, but a super hero?

They didn't use the term then, of course. This was the work of a giant, a mighty warrior. A giant named Fin MacCool or Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish.

It seems Finn had a rival giant over in Scotland by the name of Benandonner. The two giants would shout to each other over the sea, challenging each other's strength. Nothing could be done about it, so Finn started building the causeway to reach the other giant.There are different versions of this story, but basically, when the Scottish giant started coming toward him, Finn realized how much larger he was. Using his sharp Irish intellect, he came up with a plan. He made himself a bed out of the rock and either went to sleep or pretended to be asleep. (I'd go with the latter. A bigger giant was after him! How could he fall asleep?) He pretended to be a baby while Finn's wife entertained the other giant by giving him tea made with stones and telling him MacCool would return shortly. As he chewed on the tea, Benandonner thought to himself, "This MacCool must be a tough one to drink this stuff." Then he noticed the "baby" asleep in his bed and thought, "If this is the size of the baby, how big is his father?" He reached out to touch the child and got his finger bitten clean off. Then he thought, "If the baby can do that, what is the father capable of?" Terrified, he ran off toward his home, tearing up part of the causeway as he went. That's why today it disappears into the sea.

This explanation of the existence of the causeway makes sense to me. How about you? ;-)

Dec 13, 2010

St. Fingar and St. Piala

Today is the feast day of brother and sister Fingar and Piala. Never heard of them? Me either until I read a short entry in The Celtic Year by Shirley Toulson. I did a little Internet searching and discovered only a bit more.

Their story takes place in the middle of the 5th century. Fingar was from a royal family, the son of a king name Clito who drove him out, along with many others including Piala, because St. Patrick had converted them to Christianity. They went to Cornwall. One account says there were over seven hundred people who went. However, they were not well received. King Theodoric, a pagan king, ordered them all killed. So, Fingar and his sister were early Irish Christian martyrs.

It's often been noted, and I've written about it myself, that Ireland was converted with no bloodshed. It's true that there were no holy wars, nothing like The Crusades, and the people came to the faith because it melded so easily with what they already believed. But obviously people did die for their religious beliefs.

Fingar had a monastery named for him at Gwinear, near Hayle, the place of this massacre. Gwinear is the Welsh name for Fingar. As was common in the Middle Ages, a biography of this saint was written by his church (pictured above.) Many miracles were then assigned to the saint, of course--restoring a cow that was slaughtered to feed him and his companions, sticking a staff into the ground from whence came a fountain of water...but for me the thing to remember about Fingar and Piala and so many, many ancient Irish Christians is that they gave up their way of life, their homeland, and sometimes their families, to embrace the Christian faith.

This is still happening in some parts of the world. I don't know about you, but my life suddenly seems very easy.

Nov 29, 2010

What Do You See? Part Two


Following up on my last post. I did not see everything you saw. How interesting! That cute, blue shop did not really look like an outdoor store, did it? And yes, the cow is fake, but it is standing outside a "butchery" so I guess it's advertisement.

It's true that the cars park all directions. One of my Irish friends told me he was surprised that in America you are supposed to park in the same direction on the side of the street.

I did see lots of CCTV signs. Maybe this is a Northern Ireland thing because of the troubles. I don't know. Someone should enlighten me. But it didn't bother me. We certainly have them all over in America.

Here's what I noticed that I thought was a bit out of character: the mini van. Not that the Irish don't drive them, but larger vehicles are rare. The streets lack the multitude of SUVs and large pickups that we have here. The reason is likely due in part to the narrow roads and in part to the high prices for fuel. Economy cars are the way to go.

I enjoyed hearing all your observations. How about another go at it? (And yes, there is another minivan, but trust me, there were not many. I just happened to take two photos of them!)



Nov 26, 2010

What Do You See?


Let's have fun here. Here's a shot I took in a town in Ireland. Sorry, I can't remember where. Could have been Bushmills, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I noticed a few unique things in this picture. What do you see? If you've been to Ireland before, is there anything you notice here that is a bit unusual?

Not everything is unique in this picture. What do you see here that is typical of Ireland?

Anything surprise you? I hope you'll all play along. I'll add my observations later. But I bet someone will notice something that I didn't!

Nov 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!


Glad you stopped by!

I'm not really here, you know. I'm at mom's enjoying thanksgiving dinner.

The topic of Thanksgiving came up when we were in Ireland. One of our friends told me that she celebrates Thanksgiving. Well, not really, she said, she just likes the food.

Ha! Isn't that what thanksgiving is all about in the US too?

I found this Q&A from someone the UK to folks in the US amusing. Especially the different definitions of what jam and jelly is. You might enjoy it too.

Seriously, I hope you take time to count your blessings and see what God has done.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 22, 2010

Two Surprises in Ireland




Palm trees???
Actually, I did know about this, but I didn't expect there to be so many of them. The weather is moderate enough to allow them to grow (they are not native, by the way) but they don't
necessarily thrive there. My question is why??? Why plant one? I don't think they are attractive and let's not pretend we're in Florida.





The other surprising thing (and I did not know about this before I went) is that fuchia grows wild in Ireland in big huge bushes. They are beautiful. I approve. :-/

Just wanted to share.

Nov 19, 2010

The Magpie


Driving around Ireland we noticed large black and white birds that seemed to be everywhere. Once while a friend was driving us, Tom asked what it was. "Oh, those magpies!" the friend replied, and he counted them whenever they flew by. He explained that there is a poem that tells you that seeing one by itself was bad luck. Of course, after that we started counting them, and wouldn't you know it. Half the time we saw a lone bird. But no worries, as soon as we saw another one we added it to the total, never admitting we saw one by itself. ;-)

We didn't take any photographs of them so I borrowed the one above. (Wouldn't want to pretend that we are that good at photography!) Here is the poem (there are a couple of versions):

One for sorrow, two for joy;
Three for a girl, four for a boy;
Five for silver, six for gold;
Seven for a secret, never to be told;
Eight for a wish, nine for a kiss;
Ten for a bird that's best to miss.


More magpie folklore from BBC news:

"Large blackbirds, like crows and ravens, are viewed as evil in British folklore and white birds are viewed as good," he says. "Magpies have a dubious reputation because they are a bit of both. Over the years they have been lumped in with blackbirds."

The negative connotations attached to magpies can be traced as far back as Shakespeare's time, when their "chattering" was complained about.

In the late 19th Century, superstitions circulated locally, says Mr Roud. So, in Durham in the 1880s, it was believed they were the only bird not to go on the ark with Noah, preferring to sit outside "jabbering over the drowning world".


Nov 18, 2010

Downpatrick Cathedral







Downpatrick Cathedral in County Down, Northern Ireland, sits elevated above the city streets and is a beautiful place. During the 7-8th century a Christian monastery occupied the hill where the cathedral now sits. This monastery, like so many others, was victim to frequent Viking attacks and in the 11th century a round tower was built beside a stone church, apparently better to withstand attack. The round tower was taken down in 1790, sadly. (Personally it's interesting to me to note that my ancestors would have seen it because they left the area around 1770. It would have been in ruins then.) The remains of the round tower was then used to restore the stone church.

But most interesting (for us today and for pilgrims for centuries) is that the area was said to hold the earthly remains of St. Patrick. In 1900 a granite slab was placed over his grave (to discourage grave robbers.)




The grave was also supposed to hold the remains of the other patron saints of Ireland, St. Brigid and St. Columcille (Columba.)

Below is a picture of St. Patrick's grave apparently before 1900.


From downcathedral.org

It is generally accepted that the main walls of the Cathedral date from the years after 1220. Then the monks, in a petition to Henry III, King of England, referred to the fact that the House of Saint Patrick, which had often been destroyed and burned, was being rebuilt again. Further destruction took place during the wars with Edward Bruce in 1316 and finally, on the suppression of the monasteries in 1541, the Cathedral was laid waste. Notwithstanding its ruinous state which lasted until 1790, King James I granted a Charter to the Cathedral in 1609, providing for a Dean and Chapter. The Charter also decreed that the Cathedral should be dedicated to the Holy Trinity, as the former Celtic church had been before the arrival of de Courcy. Rather than lose the connection with Patrick, the name began to be used for the growing town, which assumed the name Downpatrick.

Although successive deans continued to be installed within the ruined walls, there were no funds to rebuild the Cathedral until 1790 when Wills Hill, the Earl of Hillsborough (and afterwards first Marquess of Downshire), along with the then Dean, the Honourable and Reverend William Annesley, provided the impetus to commence the restoration.




The interior of the cathedral is much newer than the exterior but still old by American standards.

Nov 17, 2010

Glenstal Abbey



My friend from Dublin, Patrick Comerford, gave me The Glenstal Book of Prayer when I visited him. I did not go to the Glenstal Abbey, which is in County Limerick, but I'm enjoying the book and finding it very meaningful. It's a Benedictine abbey. I found this lovely version of the Beatitudes on YouTube and wanted to share it with you.




Nov 12, 2010

Clough Castle


There are so many ruins in Ireland you could just drive by them and not notice them, especially those lying in the midst of modern settlement, like Clough Castle. Our hosts, Alister and Eileen McReynolds, stopped their car on a busy road to allow us to get out and take a look.


Clough Castle is an earthwork Norman structure built for defense. I suppose all castles were built for defense, but this one employed an elaborate earthwork. We had to climb to get to the ruins.
In the picture above you can see that timber buildings were thought to be part of the structure. An excavation of the site showed that a palisade had stood at the top of the motte. The castle was originally built in the 11th century, added to and changed in the following centuries and the stone keep that remains was built sometime in the 13th or 14th century. A hundred or so years later the stone keep was rebuilt into a tower house.


I think it's interesting how modern towns have grown around these ruins. Most of the ancient sites are protected, of course, but these ruins are just part of the landscape now, something that just amazes me, an American tourist.
Below is the view from the castle. It was definitely worth the hike!

Nov 10, 2010

Saul


When Saint Patrick first came to Ireland as a missionary, he landed at Saul where he converted the chieftain Dichu. Dichu then gave him a barn to hold services (in Gaelic, Sabhail, which became Saul). In 1933 the church above was built to commemorate Saint Patrick's first church. It is a Church of Ireland (Episcopal) and service is held there still on Sunday mornings.

Saul is also supposed to be the site of Saint Patrick's death on March 17 in the year 461 AD.

These pictures are from inside the church.

Below I'm signing the guestbook.
The feeling I experienced when I walked inside the church is hard to explain--peaceful, calming. It was almost as though I could sense the centuries of worshippers who came to that place.

Saul is near the ruins of Saint Tassach's church at Raholp. Tassach was a disciple of Saint Patrick, and was supposedly the one who was with Patrick when he died at Saul. This is supposed to be one of Ireland's earliest Christian buildings, although I haven't yet discovered just old it is supposed to be. The earliest churches were probably built of wood and thus did not survive.


The church at Saul, like so many of the holy sites, is built atop a wind swept hill with a magnificent view. The picture below takes in part of that view. In the distance you can see the gigantic statue of Saint Patrick. (It's the stick like thing sticking up on the hill far in the distance.) You can read more about that statue here. We did not visit this time, but it's on our list for next time.

If you get to Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, be sure to visit the church at Saul.


Nov 8, 2010

Struell Wells




Downpatrick and nearby Saul are associated with Saint Patrick because the area is said to be the location where he first founded churches. That is why the claim that he also visited and bathed and blessed the wells at Struell in County Down is not far fetched, even if not proven.

What is known is that the wells were sites of pilgrimage from Medieval times. The day we visited Dr. Tim Campbell of the Saint Patrick Centre showed us around. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were the only visitors.




























You can see the remains of a chapel built there in the 18th century and never finished (although I don't have a picture of it here.) The springs were visited before the buildings were built around them. None of the buildings is thought to be older than 1600 AD. Like many of the holy sites in Ireland, this was a pagan holy site that was taken over by the early Christians. There is a men's and women's bath house, an eye healing well, and a drinking well. Inside the drinking well, which is roofed, you can see the wicker framework of the roof--well, at least we tried to see it. It was very dark in there! Tom took this picture. Remember, it's an upside down view of the inside roof.


I discovered that the National Library of Ireland has late 19th to early 20th century images from glass negatives on their site. I found many of the sites that I visited in Ireland and I found it interesting to compare how much they changed (or in some cases didn't change) in the last 100 or so years. Here are some of Struell Wells.



Nov 5, 2010

Why I Went North

This picture is in Downpatrick on a street where my Little ancestors probably walked.


Tom and I spent most of our trip to Ireland in the north. That sounded odd both to people here and to the people in Northern Ireland. But I don't regret the decision. Many of the sites I've written about are in Northern Ireland, as were some of the friends I had met over here. We didn't often run into other Americans while we were there. Wherever we went, after we spoke to someone, they looked surprised and said, "You're Americans!" They would always ask us where we were from. When we said Ohio, they said, "Oh" and nodded their heads. We told them it was okay if they didn't know where Ohio was. Many of them had been to New York,Boston, California, or Florida. "We're in the middle," we told them.

I think more tourists should go to Northern Ireland. It's beautiful, uncrowded, and welcoming. There is just as much history and ancient ruins and such. We ate at some wonderful places in small towns.

Many of the tourists who do go to Northern Ireland go there to research their ancestry. We didn't do any research on this trip,
but we did note the places that our ancestors
came from. Mine were from Downpatrick, County Down, and Tom's from Magherafelt, County Londonderry. Driving through the countryside where they probably roamed and on the street where they probably drove their
wagons or carts was inspiring. I've done the same thing in parts of this country where my ancestors lived. You can tell why they settled in eastern Pennsylvania (Tom's ancestors) and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (my ancestors) when you see what that part of Ireland looks like. They felt at home with the landscape, I'm sure.

When we go back to Ireland (we were talking about going back before we even left)
I want to see other areas of Ireland, and Scotland too. But this time I got to go where I wanted to go. I'm sitting at my computer now and wishing I was back there. That memory of green will never leave me. It was amazing.




.

Nov 4, 2010

Baa, Baa, Orange Sheep?

I took this picture in Ballycastle on the Antrim coast. The farmers in Ireland mark their sheep (many are free range) with spots of paint to identify them, but this was different. They are all orange! No one at our B&B could explain this, so I Google it. Still couldn't find much of an explanation, but others have seen them too in various places on the British Isles. I found this YouTube video.

Don't worry. There are still plenty of woolly white sheep in Ireland, tons in fact. Hopefully this trend won't catch on. Know anything about this? Let me know.

Nov 1, 2010

All Hallow Mass


For several days now I planned to blog on Samhain and the evolution of Halloween. But Halloween came and went and I never got to it. But truly, there are many good posts you could have read about the Celtic festival of Samhain, like this one or this one. (The last one is thanks to Lillian who posted the link on the Celtic Christian Spirituality forum, and there is more of the discussion there you might want to check out.)

In short, Samhain, pronounced sow-en, is the Celtic recognition of the dark half of the year and is considered to be the most important Celtic festival. It's a time when it was believed that those departed could walk among those living. It's a recognition of the thinness of the spiritual separation, and a time when mysterious and magical things can happen.

When Christianity emerged, this celebration easily merged into All Hallow Mass or All Saints Day, a time to recognize those saints who have gone on to heaven. (The night before became All Hallow Eve, and then Halloween.)

Many Christians want to ignore Halloween and celebrate a fall harvest. I'm all for forgoing the horror and all. But I think Halloween and Christianity are connected, and to ignore Halloween is to ignore this wondrous conversion of a pagan tradition into a Christian one--not a compromise, but rather focusing on what the people always knew was true about God--that the spiritual world is near.

So as my thoughts turn to All Saints Day, I think about those who have gone to heaven ahead of me and realize that they are not far away. God is with them; God is with me.