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.

From Celtic Wisdom:

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

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.

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!

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? ;-)

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.

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!)

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!

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!

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.

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".

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.

Read more here.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

.

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.

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.

Scenes From Ireland

I'm sorry I haven't had much time to post here. For now I'm sharing a few photographs from Ireland.

Top: Dublin street.

Middle: Monsterboise High Cross

Bottom: Me and Tom at Nendrum Monastery Ruins in County Down.

Tribute to My Father

My father passed away while we were in Ireland. We just had the funeral yesterday. This is the tribute I wrote that the pastor read.

I’m proud to say that my dad was a member of the greatest generation—raised during the Depression, lived through WWII, and worked 65 years until he was forced by health problems to retire at age 80. Although he was a tough old Army sergeant, he had four daughters who called him Daddy.

He had a huge heart. He observed family gatherings from his recliner and we will never forget some of what he said:

Shut the door. Were you born in a barn?

When’s dinner? My stomach thinks my throat’s cut.

Where did [insert name] go? Is [insert name] with you?

(He was always keeping track of everyone.)

Did you get something to eat? Have some more!

Watch those kids. They’ll run out the door and into the street.

Take my car. It’s full of gas.

Thinking about those things now makes me realize the important role of guardian he played for our family.

My dad was a war hero.

He enlisted in the Navy on May 6, 1942 at age 17. He once answered some questions from me in an email. Here are his own words: “I enlisted because our country had been attacked and in such a cruddy way that I thought that we needed to do those people in. Two thousand of our sailors were entombed in the Arizona and that was too much for me to swallow.”

You’ve probably heard his war stories. Early on the stories were about the places he’d been, the people he encountered, and the men he worked with. In later years he began to have flashback type dreams. He remembered something from early in the war.

He worked on an LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) a type of ship that delivered the infantry to a beachhead. The ramps were at that time operated manually. Again in his own words: “I was the guy who went down the Starboard ramp and removed the cable. Another guy went down the Port side.) He remembered a particular time when the troops were under heavy fire. Men were shot and fell into the water. He thought if he could just pull them to the beach, a medic could get to them and at least they’d have a chance. His job was to remove the cable and run back up the ramp so it could be closed. But this time he was delayed because he started pulling the injured men onto the beach. He got in trouble for that. But he was trying to save lives at the risk of his own. That illustrated to me what a hero he was.

He saw 26 months of straight combat. That is so hard to imagine today. He stayed in the military, choosing to enlist in the Army after the war. He was a 20-year veteran, spent the first two years of my life in Korea while we stayed state side. We lived through a devastating earthquake when he was stationed at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, and he was involved in search and rescue there. He was honorably discharged on January 1, 1965, at Fort Richardson.

But I, of course, already thought of my dad as a hero. He encouraged me my whole life. He thought I could do anything so long as I just tried. I’ve been blessed to have had a father like that.

The last time I talked to him he said he was glad I was going on my trip. He passed away at an hour when I was in Ireland photographing a full rainbow. A rainbow is God’s promise that there is more to come. I’m happy for him that he has no pain now, that he’s safe in the arms of his Savior.

Now it’s up to us to make sure our cars are full of gas and that we shut our doors to keep in the heat. We will have to make sure the children don’t run into the street. We will have to keep track of everyone and make sure everyone has eaten.

We may never be faced with pulling someone onto a beach while under attack. But we can reach out to someone who is drowning in life’s troubles so that they will at least have a chance. If we do this, he has taught us well.

In 1996 my dad wrote down his memories, mostly of WWII. He wrote a farewell near the end that I feel is appropriate to read now.

“To those who carry on I will say one thing. If you have God on your side you can—and you will— survive anything. Goodbye my dears—please pass the torch on to our succeeding generations—your story will be precious to them.”

Off To Ireland

I'm taking a break from Celtic Voices, but for good reason! I'm going to Ireland!!! It's my first trip and I know I'll have lots more to share with you when I get back. Please don't forget to come back! I'll post again sometime after Oct. 19. In the meantime, you can follow me on FaceBook to see how the trip's going.

http://www.facebook.com/cindy.thomson

Prayer as Dance

"I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual worship."

Romans 12: 1

This is an awkward subject for me since, well, I move awkwardly. But I admire those who dance and give praise to God and my spirit--if not my body--moves with them.

I found this YouTube video of J. Philip Newell, an author who I admire who writes on Celtic Christianity. He is leading a "body prayer." I decided to try it--in the privacy of my bedroom. But after I did that I realized I was missing the point. The symbolism is profound--God, self, others.

Searching for God

From Celtic Wisdom:

St. Columban expressed the belief that in order for God to answer prayer, one has to search God out. He said, "He must yet be besought by us, often besought; ever must we cling to God, to the deep, vast, hidden, lofty, and almighty God." The following prayer illustrates the searching, the longing to find the path to God:

Jesu, from to-day

Guide us on our way.

So shall we, no moment wasting,

Follow Thee with holy hasting,

Led by Thy dear Hand

To the Blessed land.

From the Celtic Psaltery by Alfred Perceval Graves

The ancient Irish Christians were searching for a closer relationship with God, to find out who He really was and what He desired for them. Do we have any different motives today?

Summer is Gone

Summer is Gone

Ancient Irish poem translated by Kuno Meyer

My tidings for you: the stag bells,

Winter snows, summer is gone.

Wind high and cold, low the sun,

Short his course, sea running high.

Deep-red the bracken, its shape all gone--

The wild-goose has raised his wonted cry.

Cold has caught the wings of birds;

Season of ice--these are my tidings.

The Owl

Continuing on with the theme of birds and Celtic symbolism, it will surprise no one to know that the owl represents wisdom. This bird was a guide in the underworld and could help one discern whether or not someone was being honest.

Remember the owl character in Winnie the Pooh? Owl is the wisest one in the 100 Acre Woods. He drank tea in the afternoon and Winnie the Pooh, a bear with very little brain, often consulted Owl.

I would never suggest that animals be anything other than what they are. But I do think we can study them to learn lessons about life. That's all though. I wouldn't attach spiritual meaning to them, although the ancient Celtic pagans would have. Here's an interesting site called The Wise Old Owl. At the end the site's owner relates this warning:

Romans 1:22-23, "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."