Cindy Thomson's Blog, page 8

Reek Sunday

Photo by Chris Kofoed on Unsplash

Today thousands of pilgrims are climbing a mountain in Ireland, as they have been doing for an amazing 5,000 years! Over the course of a year, it’s estimated that one million visitors make the climb.

The mountain is Croagh Patrick. It’s approximately 2,500 feet, located in County Mayo. On Reek Sunday, the last Sunday in July, pilgrims climb the mountain in honor of the patron saint, St. Patrick.

The mountain is locally known as the Reek, which Wikipedia says is a Hiberno-English word for a “rick” or “stack.” In my book, The Roots of Irish Wisdom, I mention the legend that has compelled folks to make this pilgrimage for centuries.

“…the legend involves Caoranach, the pre-Christian female monster depicted as a snake. The legend says that when this being attacked Patrick on his mountain, the holy man threw his bell and knocked her all the way to Lough Derg. Scholars note that Lough Derg is never mentioned in Patrick’s own writings and neither is the mountain he allegedly climbed. Another legend, very similar to the first, says Patrick climbed to the top of Eagle Mountain and fasted there for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He defeated the devil, also known as a serpent in the biblical account of Adam and Eve.”

This may have been where the idea that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland came from.

The remains of an ancient church at the base of the mountain has raised speculation that Patrick founded a church there. Whether or not Patrick visited the mountain hardly matters to the many people who choose to make the journey. They do it for their own spiritual renewal, to pray for themselves and for hurting loved ones. They do it with pain sometimes (many go barefoot and inclement weather is always a possibility.)

Certainly some climb the mountain basically for the view and the beautiful surroundings.

Today there is a visitor’s center at the base of the mountain, and a chapel at the summit. Have you been on this pilgrimage? If so, please tell us about it. If you’ve been on a similar pilgrimage, let us know that too.

The Star of the County Down

Scroll down for the lyrics.

Near Banbridge town, in the County DownOne morning in JulyDown a boreen green came a sweet colleenAnd she smiled as she passed me by.She looked so sweet from her two white feetTo the sheen of her nut-brown hairSuch a coaxing elf, I'd to shake myselfTo make sure I was standing there.ChorusFrom Bantry Bay up to Derry QuayAnd from Galway to Dublin townNo maid I've seen like the sweet colleenThat I met in the County Down.As she onward sped I shook my headAnd I gazed with a feeling rareAnd I said, says I, to a passerby"Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?"He smiled at me, and with pride says he,"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.She's young Rosie McCann from the banks of the BannShe's the star of the County Down."ChorusI've travelled a bit, but never was hitSince my roving career beganBut fair and square I surrendered thereTo the charms of young Rose McCann.I'd a heart to let and no tenant yetDid I meet with in shawl or gownBut in she went and I asked no rentFrom the star of the County Down.ChorusAt the crossroads fair I'll be surely thereAnd I'll dress in my Sunday clothesAnd I'll try sheep's eyes, and deludhering liesOn the heart of the nut-brown rose.No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yokeThough with rust my plow turns brownTill a smiling bride by my own firesideSits the star of the County Down.Chorus

Finding God in the Now

Benediction of a Day

George MacLeod (1895-1991)

photo©CindyThomson2023

To take a natural analogy, there is a living flower. You want to have it, so you pluck it. But, by your act of plucking, it dies.

You are fascinated by a sparkling running stream, a living stream of water. But, if you grasp it, it runs through your fingers, you scoop it into a pail, you no longer have life, but just a bucket of H2O.

There is a sunbeam dancing in your room, life from the sun. If you pull down the curtain to capture the beam, it is gone.

There is a bracing wind that enlivens your whole being. But try to catch it in a bag and you have stagnant air. 

All this reminds us how not to get in touch with life. Here is the root trouble of our lives. We all love life, but the moment we try to hold it, we miss it. The fact that things change and move and flow is their life. Try to make them static and you die of worry.

This is just as true of God who is the Life of life. The only way to achieve a sense of God’s presence is to put yourself in the way of Him. In our analogy, you achieve a sense of life in the presence of a flower, by a running stream, in a bracing wind, with sunbeams falling on the stream. You come home to say you have had a perfectly lovely day, which means a lively day. It has been a benediction of a day.

You can only achieve a sense of God in a similar way … You can only find God in the now.

~George MacLeod, founder of the modern day community at Iona, July 1955.

Book Review: Ireland’s Pilgrim’s Paths, Walking the Ancient Trails by Darach MacDonald

When I was in Dublin I visited a small indie bookshop called The Winding Stair. I was just looking up their website to share and discovered there is a restaurant upstairs! Up the winding stairs. How did I miss that??? Probably because it was my first day in Ireland (thus no sleep!) and I was enthralled by all the books. We spent a pretty penny in that shop. You can now order books online from them. They have a unique selection.

I picked up this title because, well, those ancient paths call to me. That’s probably why one of our hikes in central Ohio had to be this place.

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A note about these quotes. Spellchecker corrected the spelling to American English and I didn’t go back to change them since there were so many.

“Each quest is a journey based on instinct and follows the example of honorable ancestors who have gone before us. Pilgrimage fulfills a fundamental desire to transcend the woes of the world and focus on our essential spirit. Never before have so many needed it.”

~From the introduction of Ireland’s Pilgrim Paths by Darach MacDonald.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a travelogue with the added bits of history and spiritual insights. I’ve been to many of the places the author visited for this book, so it was cool to read about them in the way he experienced them. He’s Irish, raised Catholic, and walked paths in ways the average tourist never would or never even would know how to. His connection to nature on these paths is inspirational. I read it with a highlighter. Here are some my highlights:

p. 69: (Quoting someone he met on one of his pilgrimages) “‘It is important that we continue to observe these acts of devotion and go to our holy places,’ he says quietly, ‘These saints sought out isolated places to live their lives in prayer. They followed the example of Christ, who sought out similar places on mountains and in the wilderness to seek spiritual guidance. We all need that…especially now.'”

p. 88 (Speaking about St. Patrick encompassing pagan monuments) “…by simply inscribing them with the cross of Christianity ensured an easy and fervent transition to the new religion with no loss of face. For that reason, the Celtic cross, which is such an iconic symbol of Christianity in Ireland, incorporates the circle of the sun with the cross of Christ. Yet the patron missionary was not ambivalent on where the new belief should rest. While embracing the sun, he did so in the name of Christ alone.”

p. 93 “…all alone now on a deserted mountain top and I feel that I am truly in the shadow of Patrick, who wrestled with his demons and found peace here.”

p. 127 “…I tune in to the radio on my mobile phone. Immediately, I realize my error and put it away, deciding to listen more intently to the day unfolding around…I am left with my thoughts on the pilgrim path of north Offaly, and I marvel at the attractiveness of a landscape I have never before considered.”

p. 150 “More recent scholarship has sifted through the political chaff and winnowed out some kernels of truth, as well as plausible explanations of why accounts of Brigid’s life in these three sources incorporate clear elements that echo pagan beliefs and traditions in a Christian context. Rather than being deceptions designed to fool people into false belief, the merging of Christian interpretation with pagan tradition created a continuum in the expressions of the spiritual life of the people.”

And in the conclusion:

“I have seen the resilience of faith, the healing power of humor and fellowship and the strength of fundamental hope based on real and lasting values, which were honed through generations before hope died in so many hearts, minds, and souls.”

I learned something about a photo I took in Ireland. Before reading this, I had no idea what it was.

p. 12 “…waymaker signs put there by the Heritage Council of Ireland. The waymakers have a distinctive yellow logo–a medieval pilgrim with staff.”

©CindyThomson2023

There were a few places where the details tending to bog down a bit, but even so hearing about threatening dogs and livestock, bad weather, mismarked guideposts, and other misadventures kept the story real in my mind. I wish there had been a table of contents so the reader can locate the sites visited. Overall, this was entertaining and enlightening and I’m glad I picked it up in the little Irish shop.

Glendalough, Valley of Two Lakes

I have been wanting to blog about sites on my last trip to Ireland ever since I got back! So sorry it’s taken months for me to get to this (other obligations) but I’m happy to start sharing! Glendalough is a popular tourist destination, and it’s not far from Dublin, but this was my first visit. As I’ve explained before, in our previous two trips we spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland so we didn’t get everywhere we wanted to go. That was intentional. So we’d have to come back!

Glendalough in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains was on my wish list. We were blessed to be able to visit on a gloriously sunny day.

(All photos in this post are mine or Sandy Beck’s, used by permission. All rights reserved ©2023. May not be used or copied without permission.)

©CindyThomson2023

Founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century, Glendalough was a major site of monastic learning and culture. The site has been visited by pilgrims and tourists for thousands of years, meaning preChristian. It’s no wonder why. It’s a place of natural beauty. I did not get to visit the lakes but hope to another time.

We walked around the monastic ruins, the gravesites, the impressive round tower. The building ruins date to the 10th-12th centuries. I wish we could have seen the market cross but it was inside the visitors centre, which was not open when were there. I couldn’t find an image I could use on my blog but if you want a look at that amazingly carved cross, go here. It’s called the market cross because it originally stood at the arch entrance (pictured below) where the market occurred. In this time period there were no cities so monasteries were not only the sites of learning but also centers of commerce.

Arched entrance to the monastic city. ©CindyThomson2023Standing beside the cathedral.Round Tower, nearly 1000 years old. Roof restored in the 19th century.

The three photos above show St. Kevin’s Kitchen. It’s a small church with a round tower embedded. The shape of the tower resembled a kitchen chimney, thus the name. It dates to the 12th century.

These ancient sites are what interest me the most about Ireland. So old, so long revered. So many tens of thousands of people walked here, prayed here, poured out their hearts. Many were inspired just by being here.

I have so much more to say about pilgrimage, but I’ll save that for another time. Have you been to Glendalough? If so, please share your experience in the comments. If you haven’t, and you had an opportunity to visit Ireland, would this be on your list?

As we were leaving our driver Anthony stopped for us to get this photo opp.

Happy St. Brendan’s Day!

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He’s one of the most interesting Irish saints, in my opinion, and there are plenty! Today is his feast day, a fine time to chat a bit about the man.

St. Brendan’s Cathedral, Clonfert, County Galway. ©CindyThomson

He’s most famous for his voyage, which may have taken him to America. If you haven’t read Tim Severin’s book about his re-creation of St. Brendan’s journey, I highly recommend it. He sought out to show how a 6th century Irish monk could have sailed to North American in a leather boat.

From my book Celtic Wisdom: (now titled The Roots of Irish Wisdom)

pg. 50
“He was in pursuit of Tir-na-n-Og, the Land of the Young, a fabled island spoken of since pre-Christian times. In the Middle Ages Brendan the Navigator’s story was translated into many languages and was told all over Europe. Even Christopher Columbus, before making his famous ‘discovery of America’ in the fifteenth century, is said to have sought out navigation advice from the Irish, and he included Irishmen in his crew. Some believe that Brendan’s journey, in the sixth century, actually took the Irish monks to the North American shore…”
pg. 51
“The point of the story was not the physical journey, although that made for good entertainment and the story contains a great deal more concrete details and clues than most of the ancient saint narratives. Even so, the spiritual journey was much more important, as it was to all the ancients who sought to be a wanderer for Christ.”

If you’d like to read Nauigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis [the Voyage of St Brendan the Abbot], the story that was a Medieval best seller, you can with the link above.

Happy St. Brendan’s Day to you! May you enjoy your life journey and discover the blessing of God on the way!

5 Things To Do To Celebrate Beltane

It’s May 1, the Celtic festival of Beltane, May Day, and in Ireland the first day of summer. There are traditional ways to celebrate: dance around a May pole, make a basket of flowers and leave it anonymously on your neighbor’s door….But who does that?

So, how do you celebrate? Here are five ideas for you:

1. Why not leave your May Day basket for someone who will truly appreciate it? If that really is your neighbor, great. But what about a nursing home? The overworked nurses at a hospital? Use your imagination.

Photo by Lazar Gugleta on Unsplash

2. It’s the end of winter! Get in touch with your ancient roots and build your own version of a bonfire. Invite that neighbor or family or friends.

Photo by Cailin Grant-Jansen on Unsplash

3. The American version of this festival? Go to a baseball game. What says summer better than baseball?

Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash

4. It’s also International Worker’s Day. In the US we recognize workers on Labor Day in September, but for other countries, May 1 is the day. 

Photo by Joe Holland on Unsplash

Ireland 2023 Recap

This will be a brief summary of the trip. I plan to blog more extensively on several of the stops we made on the Brigid’s Ancient Ireland Tour.

Was I excited to return to Ireland? You betcha! (Picture by Sandy Beck)

I was honored to be asked by Prime Tours to help plan and lead a tour to Ireland based on places in my book Brigid of Ireland. Below are two maps I used while writing Brigid and the sequel Pages of Ireland.

I can confirm that we definitely followed the story.

Of course, I had no idea how the tour would go, and neither did anyone else truly. I mean, eight days on a bus with mostly strangers? But no worries. They were all great people and became new friends.

Picture by Sandy Beck

Another thing, a big thing, that made this tour so special was my two best friends came! My husband Tom and my best friend Sandy Beck. It was Sandy’s first time to Ireland (as it was for most of the guests) and I’m so happy I got to share this special country with them.

After flying all night and barely sleeping, Lisa from Prime Tours and our bus driver for the week Anthony McCann met us at the Dublin airport along with those who had flown in earlier. Then we were off for a tour around Dublin. Anthony was wonderful at pointing out all the interesting sites and giving us some history on what we were seeing. Then off to Trinity College to see the library and the Book of Kells. The library is preparing to be renovated and some books had been taken down, but I’m hearing in some Facebook groups that now there are even less books on the shelves so it seems we visited just in time to get a good look at it. I’d been before but it never fails to put me in awe.

Staircase, Trinity College Library Long Room ©CindyThomsonLong Room Library, Trinity College, Dublin. They are in the process of adding busts of women along with the men. ©CindyThomson

As I’m writing this I realize I cannot do a simple recap. I want to share all of this with you with photos so I suppose I’ll have to do several “recaps”. In the future these are the topics I will blog on regarding this trip:

National Museum of Ireland, ArchealogyDublin CityGlendaloughKildareA sheepdog herding demonstration in the area of the Wicklow MountainsKilkenny and the haunted dungeon/cellarLive musicKilkenny CastleSt. Canice CathedralRock of CashelKillarneyDingle Peninsula (where the photo at the top was taken)St. Brigid’s Holy WellsThe Cliffs of MoherThe BurrenKilfenora GalwayKate Kerrigan, author and performerInis CealtraClonmacnoiseThe concept of thin places

What a list, huh? What a trip it was. Every day sunny except one. While bus tours can be whirlwind adventures with much driving, we got to see a lot and had a lot of fun. From what I’m hearing 100% of these travelers had a GREAT time. We all had our favorites and places we wished we could have spent more time at, but Ireland calls us back. I plan to answer!

Brigid’s Ancient Ireland Tour Group minus Tom and Don who were taking the photos.©CindyThomson

Where I Am Going, You Cannot Follow Now

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” (John 13:36 NIV)

This passage comes from The Last Supper, and seeing that this is Holy Week, it seems fitting. And it makes me think today of the Celtic pilgrims who set out on a journey, not to reach a destination (sometimes they went out in a rudderless boat!) but to find God along the way.

Inch Abbey, County Down. Photo by Cindy Thomson

I think like Peter we want to follow, but as Jesus told him later in that passage, he would deny him. It’s hard to follow. Really hard. And besides, we cannot follow Jesus all the way to heaven, not right now anyway.

At least–to pray–is left–is left–
Oh, Jesus–in the Air–
I know not which thy chamber is–
I’m knocking–everywhere–
~Emily Dickinson

Of course we know the rest of the story. Jesus is resurrected. And that’s the Good News!

But I also think it’s important to consider this time and the events of Holy Week, and the fact that we “cannot follow now.”

God does give us glimpses. Hope. Little bits of joy. The character in the book I’m currently working on (her name is Grace) constantly reaches for the little bits of beauty she can find in this unfair, and sometimes dismal world. Like a trail of breadcrumbs.

Following…doing our best…trusting…

Irish Lace

Did you know that lace window curtains were a sign of prosperity among Irish immigrants? Even on the frontier where houses were rough hewn dwellings a woman hung lace curtains in the window if she was able. In Ireland you’ll see windows covered in lace curtains. I can’t think of anything more homey and welcoming.

Image by Julia Schwab from Pixabay

Lace was a fashion accessory for wealthy European women since the 1700s. The women who produced it, however, were likely to be poor and unable to afford such luxury for themselves. Lacemaking, while requiring skill, was an occupation readily available to young women with only some bobbins and cotton or linen thread needed. Irish women taught each other and soon schools sprung up to teach the craft followed by factories that produced lace for wedding dresses, christening gowns, and other garments.

This boom in Ireland lasted until after the Great War when fashions changed and the demand for lace declined, thus putting an end to the cottage industry. Lace is still made, of course, and Irish lace is known for its delicate, intricate, yet simple designs.

Here’s an example sold by Blarney Woolen Mills in Ireland.

https://www.blarney.com/irish-shop/li...

So you can imagine why Irish women take pride in adorning their windows with such beautiful artistry.

https://pixabay.com/images/id-3245611/