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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.
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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. |
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| 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! |
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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. |
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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! |
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| 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." |
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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. |
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| For
information about future pilgrimages please contact:
hospitesmundi |
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