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Celtic Pilgrimage to Ireland

August 6-16, 2003

Led by Dr. Elizabeth Canham

A journey of deepening trust in the Creator who invites us into newness...

 

Journeys in Search of the Sacred

From earliest times God's people have set out on pilgrimage, often, like Sarah and Abraham, not knowing where their journey would take them. The Celtic saints embodied deep trust in the Creator as they traveled by foot or in fragile coracles across oceans to isolated places in search of prayerful solitude. Their monastic settlements became places of worship, education, artistic expression, community, and hospitality to strangers. Knowing themselves to be hospites mundi (guests of the world) they lived in harmony with sacred earth and its creatures.

Celtic Christian monasticism, which drew its inspiration from the early desert hermits of Egypt, flourished in the British Isles for many centuries. By traveling to places made sacred by our forebears in faith, we bring to deeper consciousness our own spiritual journey. Pilgrimages are designed to enable us to experience the spirituality of place by praying at sites made holy by earlier pilgrims and to pursue an inner journey towards and with the Holy. Pilgrimages are full of the surprises of the Holy Spirit, and the community that develops as we travel together is deeply enriching with joy filled times of shared reflection each day.

 
The Green Road The Green Road in Glendalough runs beside the Lower Lake. There are many waterfalls plunging down the fern covered banks and stretches of wild shamrock growing in the woodland. Pilgrims have walked this road for centuries, allowing it to become a prayer-journey of joyful beauty.
   
St. Kevin's Church in Glendalough, Ireland. Born in the 6th century CE, Kevin was a hermit who lived in a tiny, inaccessible cave (Kevin's bed) high above the Upper Lake in Glendalough. A community developed around him and the remains of the ancient monastic city remain to this day. Like many Celtic saints Kevin had a deep affinity for the earth and all its creatures. In the best known of these stories a blackbird laid her eggs in Kevin's hand outstretched in prayer; he maintained this position until the eggs hatched! St. Kevin's Church and High Tower
   
St. Kevin's Monastic City entrance The entrance to the Monastic City at Glendalough is a starting point for many pilgrimage journeys. It leads through the ancient cemetery along a rough path where many stopping places offer spectacular views of the city and the Wicklow Mountains beyond. Behind St. Kevin's Church the high tower, built for protection during the Viking period, remains a monument to the tenacity and faith of these early Christian monks and the many local families who shared their life.
   
High Tower at St. Brigid's Today pilgrims may climb to the top of the high tower in Kildare via rickety ladders. From the top on a clear day many counties can be seen including the area known as the corrough, now used for sheep grazing and horse trails. A local landowner in St. Brigid's day refused her request for land on which to build her monastery but she persisted in asking until he sneered that she could have as much land as her cloak would cover!  She prayed, threw down her cloak, and it miraculously spread to cover the whole area of the corrough! 
   
Over the site of the original monastery of St. Brigid (c452-524 CE) in Kildare, the Church of Ireland preserves her story in stained glass and many other artifacts. The ancient Fire Temple, thought to be an altar dedicated to the goddess Brigid during the pre-Christian era, is located outside in the church yard. Fire was an important symbol of Life, energy and the Holy Spirit and always a fire burned in the ancient monasteries. Brigid means "arrow of fire." St. Brigid's Church
   
statue of St. Brigid The statue of St. Brigid holding her torch of holy fire is a contemporary addition to the ancient holy well where pilgrims continue to pray, dance and collect water for baptisms. Brigid is sometimes referred to as "Mary of the Gael" (Mary of the Gaelic people) and, in the shape-changing myths of the Celtic people, it is suggested that Brigid was present as midwife to Mary in the stable at Bethlehem. Today she is the patron saint of midwives.
   
For information about future pilgrimages please contact: hospitesmundi
 

 

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