Celtic Spirituality - 4, Lindesfarne and Melrose

Lindesfarne

Lindesfarne Priory

The iconic images of Lindesfarne are of the castle and the priory. The priory is old, the castle much less so. The priory was founded by St. Aidan in 634. The first structure was wood and thatch. Later a stone structure covered in lead was built. The priory did well until Viking raiders ran the monks off and established new rules. It was reestablished as a Benedictine monastery in 1093. It lasted until King Henry VIII suppressed it along with many, many abbeys in 1536. That was about the time the castle was built mostly as a fortification against Scottish invaders.

The castle is barely visible through the fog, from the north end of the island.

The time we spent on Lindesfarne was mostly foggy and rainy. I took the opportunity to walk the perimeter of the island and Mary and I both attended multiple prayers services each day. The walk around the island was a time to go deeper inside; to spend time directly with God in nature. The fog lent an air of eerie stillness dampening out all sounds except for the continuous sound of the surf. The sheep were still and even the birds took this time to hunker down. I tried to imagine the time of St. Aidan. It would have been a time of no fear of invasion; little to distract from the effort of living a Godly life and witnessing to the others living in the community.

Stile

Crossing the fields today means crossing an occasional wall or fence. The stile is a design that allows humans to cross over a fence and keeps sheep inside the fence. The fence is meant to keep the sheep where the humans want them to be. The stile is meant to give humans freedom to go where they want to. This stile is an elegant design with a single grip to steady yourself as you cross the barbed upper strand of wire. What a lovely metaphor. A single point of anchor can steady a person as they venture out from where the sheep are safe. We each have times in our lives when we go beyond our earlier boundaries. Where is the anchor we need to keep ourselves steady as we go?

Lindesfarne Labyrinth

Also on the walk, near the castle is a labyrinth. It is made of round rocks, worn smooth by the sea placed in a pattern on the grass; simple and functional.  It is a silent call to prayer and meditation, available to any who pass that way. The labyrinth has been a place of excellent reflection for me. I often reflect on how my walk with God has gone through twists and turns as I approach the center. At varying times I am closer and farther from the inner life of Christ. Always tending toward the center, but often turning completely away as I yearn to reach the middle. In the center is a thin place. A place where I have often felt at home with God. A place to rest. A place of stillness. The journey out again is a reminder to take what I have gained with me as I go back into a world that needs peace and love more than ever.

A wooden artwork similar to the one at Durham made of stone. This one inside St. Mary the Virgin church in Lindesfarne. This is a depiction the monks carrying St. Cuthbert's remains to escape  the Viking invaders.

The walk around the island was like a mini-pilgrimage, trying to be in touch with a holiness and a person from 1500 years ago. I imagine that somehow life was simpler then and so those lucky people could follow God without distraction. That might have been true in a sense, but they also died of disease or injury much more frequently. There were prolonged periods of war and plague through history. There was also ignorance of science that lead to superstition and some really bad choices medically. It is hard to imagine fleeing the Vikings and carrying a casket with the body of your recently deceased leader. My efforts of piety seem so small compared to that amazing effort. But I do like being able to visit a dentist. Trying to balance real world requirements and real desire for time with God can seem tricky. These people made an art of constantly being aware of the nearness of God. What if I could, in the dentist chair, be aware of the gift of modern dentistry and then be grateful for the other humans who serve my needs by caring for my teeth? What if I could lift up all the folks in the supply chain who make the drills and the forms and the chairs and the floss in grateful thanksgiving? Can a dentist visit be a pilgrimage of its own? Can that time be spent in the inner life with Christ? Can that time be in a special relationship with those standing, or sitting closest to me for the time?

Smelling roses.

Praying each morning and each evening at multiple venues throughout the village put a different rhythm into our lives as well. The song, If I were a Rich Man from "The Fiddler on the Roof" has a line that has resonated in me since I was young -  "...if I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack, to sit in the synagogue and pray". This has been the richest time of my life - to have the luxury of praying, in a community, three times a day. Which brings me to a final thought on Lindesfarne for now: stopping and smelling the roses. Noticing the beauty and wonder of the world around me and how it points to a loving creator is something I do more often. I am intent on remembering to do this always.

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

This is the final stop for tracing the lives of Aidan, Cuthbert, and Bede. The "modern" ruins of Melrose are not the historical old abbey, but are important in their own right. The old ruins are about 2 miles away and where Aidan first set up the abbey. It was a great location at the time, being  almost completely surrounded by a bend in the river made it easily defensible. Unfortunately today what is left of the original abbey is barely noticeable. The modern ruins are impressive. One can see the size and shape of the abbey and the buildings that made up the complex. Some of the remaining stonework is still quite beautiful.

The portal where only the ordained could get to the other side. It was huge inside, but the non-ordained were relegated to the courtyard; never experiencing the beauty of worship close up. This building was begun in 1136.

The history of the old abbey is what I am concerned with. Aidan set it up and when Aidan died there Cuthbert came to the abbey in response to a vision of Aidan's spirit ascending to heaven. Cuthbert's call was true and he became a hugely important saint. Cuthbert got his first training in the old abbey. I have written quite a bit about Cuthbert and it is very interesting to see where he got his start.

The night stair.

There are many things about Melrose that are interesting. The night stair is just a remnant on a wall instead of a full stair case. One can imagine the monks coning in from the cloisters at 3am to pray. This is a particular spiritual practice that I find fascinating and thank God I am not called to follow.

The heart of Robert the Bruce is buried under this stone.

At Melrose it is believed that the heart of Robert the Bruce is interred. There is good evidence to suggest that under the marker really is the heart of the man that defeated the English at Bannockburn.

St. Aiden

I have put Melrose and Lindesfarne together on this post because of they are the bookends of Cuthbert's life. Cuthbert started his monastic vocation at Melrose because of St. Aidan's influence. He finally died at Lindesfarne at an abbey founded by Aidan. As I consider the lives of these two men, I am struck by the echoes of Aidan in Cuthbert and of Cuthbert in the area. When I think of those whose lives echo in mine, I thank God profusely for their influences. When I think of whose lives I may one day be echoed in, I am humbled and pray to be more like Cuthbert and Aidan.

Let the life I live and the example I set be pointers to a relationship with God. Amen.

Celtic Spirituality - 3 - Iona

Just to explain, these posts are about 2 weeks displaced in time. I was in Iona about 2 weeks ago. It has taken until we settled in Dingle to get around to writing. I hope to catch up to current time n about a week.

A view on the Isle of Mull.

Mary arrived and I was not there to meet her. I had a flat tire and was working on getting it repaired when she arrived. The schedule was set back by about an hour or so. Once we got together we drove north to Oban in hopes of catching the ferry after the one we had planned. It was booked solid. So was the one after that. But the third one still had space, so we had dinner together and then rode the ferry across from Oban to Craignure. From there is was an hours drive across the island to the town of Fionnphort; pronounced "Fin-fort".

Sheep on the road are common.

It was a gorgeous drive on a one lane road. Since we were so late we encountered very little traffic and our excitement just grew as we approached or stop for the night. Sheep and cattle on the road, a flock of chickens, and the occasional car were all we saw in that hour. That and spectacular scenery.

Iona Abbey from the ferry

We arrived before dark - about 10:15pm and went to sleep as soon as possible after. The next morning we woke to a wonderful Scottish breakfast and took an early ferry to Iona. The abbey seems to rise up straight out of the rock it is built upon. It is almost like organic stone. After such a long haul we were finally close to one of my favorite thin places. (For an  excellent article on thin places click here.). Disembarking from the ferry we headed toward the abbey. Mary has a hip that needs replacement so the walk was slow and sometimes a bit painful for her.

The Abbey as seen from the nunnery

Our first stop on the way to the Abbey - The nunnery. Women had a separate place to live and pray on Iona. The place has not been restored, but it at least being preserved as is. We could see the goal, but did not yet approach. Instead we decided to walk to the other side of the island. Saving the abbey for later.

Walking to the other side.

It is a small island and to walk to the other side was about 1.5 miles to get to the beach. Mary was game and we went at an easy pace. We had lots of time to catch up with each other, having been apart for about 6 weeks up until the day before. We also talked about what it must be like to live in such a place now and what it must have been like when St. Columba first arrived and started the Abbey.

Tidal pool on the beach.

When we arrived at the beach we took lots of time and photos. Mary grew up in Los Angeles and so the beach holds a special place in her heart. I walked out onto the rocks where the tide was currently out and peered into the tidal pools. It struck me that life grows everywhere it can. The gospel is kind of like that. There are places too hostile for the gospel for a time, but even those places are few. In this wild and windy place, in a puddle left by the receding tide, there were plants and animals making a living and witnessing the magnificence of God. Everything has a place; everyplace has the hope of life; every heart too has a hope. For those who cannot name the yearning but know it nonetheless, this pool can be their hope. It will be reunited with the sea when the tide rises again. Everyone can be reunited to relationship when they are ready.

Shadows on the ground means clear skies above!

As we made our way back to toward the Abbey the sun broke through the clouds. We celebrated and took photos of our shadows.  After lunch we made our way deliberately for the abbey. There is so much I could scribble about this place. St. Columba or Colm Cille (Church Dove) arrive in 563 to build a  community of Christian believers. With electricity and cell service available most places on the island it is hard to picture the wildness of the place 1500 years ago. The chunk of civilization that Columba brought was distinctly monastic, Christian and Celtic.

View from inside the cloisters.

The monastery fell into disrepair for a long time, but was rebuilt/renewed starting in 1938 when Rev. George MacCleod founded a new community there. In the last 80 years it has become a huge focus for modern Celtic Spirituality and music.  One more interesting note - the Book of Kells was written here; that book now lives in Dublin.

A high cross in the front of the Abbey.

This sacred space in this wild place is such a remarkable testament to the faith of Christians. The abbey was a training ground for missionaries that went into Northumbria to bring Christianity to the Anglo Saxons. Eventually Vikings raided and drove off the Christians for a time, but they too converted to Christianity. Through the centuries many Scottish kings and chiefs  have been buried here as they also recognized its special thinness.

The abbey from on top of Dun I.

Above and behind the Abbey is a hill - Dun I. I took the opportunity to climb it. No simple easy path leads to the top. It is also a bit wild with some treacherous spots. It was meditative to go up. My whole life has been a series of approaches and departures from the presence of God. As the years have unfolded there have been times when the going was easy and the view was clear. There have also been times that the journey has been hard and the point was invisible. Reaching the summit, was great. I could see so clearly the whole of the island. It was a beautiful day for the climb. There are times in my life when for a moment everything makes sense, the path I have followed is suddenly clear and comprehensible. I feel as close to God as is possible for me to feel. Unfortunately that time is fleeting as is the time on top of the mountain.

Cows near the abbey

Coming back down and returning to the Abbey to get Mary for the trip back, I passed by two highland cattle lounging in the sun with the abbey in the background. What a perfect end to the walk. Spirituality and lofty ideas are lovely. It is great to spend time apart; to spend time in prayer and contemplation. But life is lived in a place where others also live. It is lived where there are cows and cow poo. It is lived in the reality that God made us of flesh and intended for us to live with all that entails. I know I am weak and fallible. I also know that God loves me as I am. I have been close to that love. This thin place will always sing in my heart the song of a God that is magnificent and generous and has given me so much. These questions will remain; how to sing that song when I get home? How to sing that song the rest of my days?

Celtic Spirituality - 2

Hexham Abbey

The front of Hexham Abbey

On the last day before my wife joined me, I had the opportunity to visit Hexham Abbey in northern England. What a beautiful place! The Abbey is a thriving local church today that has gone to great lengths to make it's history and faith easy to understand. Excellent interactive displays and labeling/signage to help interpret the place added to the richness there.

The side of Hexham Abbey

The most interesting part of the abbey to me was a 7th century Bishop's chair. It is padded today, but I can imagine, back in history it might not have been. Notice the amazing scroll work on the arms. It reminds me a bit of Capt. Kirk's chair in the original Star Trek TV program.

Bishop Chair from the 7th century

Also in the Abbey is a relatively recent (1611) Breeches' Bible. It is relatively rare version of the Geneva Bible where the words in Genesis 3:7 were changed from the first English bibles which said; "sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons" to read; "they sewed fig tree leaves together and made themselves breeches." Some day I plan to do an adult forum on early versions of English bibles and why certain things were kept, tossed, or changed.

Breeches Bible

Next to this very interesting bible there was an illustrated bible designed "for the amusement youth" first published about 1784. It is called "A CURIOUS HIEROGLYPHIC BIBLE".

Illustrated Bible

Another interesting part to this abbey is the "night stair". When monks would wake in the wee hours to come to pray, instead of walking the longer or sometime outdoor route to prayers they could directly access the church via the night stair which ran from their rooms to the church proper. This particular night stair is climbable and affords a lovely view back into the church proper. 

Night Stair

Celtic Spirituality - 1

A rule.

One of the things Mary and I worked on at St. Mikes before I left for this sabbatical was establishing a rule of life for ourselves. For me it has been daily morning and evening prayer for the prayer part. Some time doing physical activity every day - sometimes something extravagant, but at least 30 minutes of yoga. Reading each day - starting with archeology texts, and moving on to spirituality texts. There are other things, but one can start to get an idea of the kinds of things that a rule might encompass.

One of the planes I rode in to get to Edinburgh.

Why a rule? The goal is to live intentionally. So the time I spend is spent in service to a higher goal. In my case, the goal is to discover a deeper walk with God, with my wife and with myself. To that end, the most important part of the rule - be in the moment. I am working each day to focus my efforts and intentions on what is actually going on, where I am and who I am with.

The high cross outside of Durham Cathedral

This is how monasteries worked back in the day. Each group of folks had a rule they lived by. So when you see images of monastic places, that is one of the reasons they are extra interesting to me. The history of all the people who have lived intentionally in those places. Some of the places I have been in the last 10 days have been wild places. Some places have been holy places. Some places have been thin places. The thin place is a place where one can sense a holiness about the place. Where the veil between this reality and heaven is especially thin. For me a common thin place is in front of a tabernacle that is occupied. Monastic sites are often like that; churches and cathedrals too. Groups of people gathered in prayer also often qualify.

The east coast of Scotland on a Sunny day.

When I arrived in Scotland I had a few days before Mary arrived. It was a day of travel that started with a wake alarm at 5am and ended with lights out in a hotel at 11:00pm. I was exhausted. It was good to sleep. I woke the next morning and prayed, stretched and read a little. Then I traveled down the east coast of Scotland to Durham Cathedral. It it still a magnificent place. It was a huge center of learning and praying and still anchors a college and a thriving community.

The view from the bell tower to the Cathedral floor - almost 500 steps high.

The bones of St. Cuthbert and The Venerable Bede are both here anchoring opposite ends of the Cathedral. At some point I will have lots to say about both - probably at an adult forum in the fall. For now, I'll just let you know the places they are buried feel exceedingly thin to me. There are no photos allowed inside the cathedral so I'll just have to use words. The high altar has Cuthbert. It is set in a special place of prayer. I did get to spend some time there trying to comprehend the connection of my current spiritual practice to this gifted missionary monk.

A work of art outside the cathedral. Six monks carrying a casket.

We can learn much from stories of Cuthbert's life. It is a story that happened after he died that I will share today. Durham was chosen by the monks who were Cuthbert's successors as the place they would build a church with him as the major relic. They only did this after walking around for 7 years, carrying his casket on their shoulders. They were looking for a place that would be safe from Viking raiders. They found their spot on a bend in the river Wear. The cathedral is on a spit of land surrounded almost completely by the river on top of a rocky outcrop.

The Cathedral.

Venerable Bede at the other end of the Cathedral overlapped Cuthbert's life by about 12 years. Bede is famous for several important things. In writing an early history - The Ecclesiastical History of the English Church - he used a couple of innovations. He was the first to use footnotes and apparently the first English writer to use the idea of AD - Anno Domini - After Christ. Bede wrote in a narrative style, another first; and footnotes allowed him to include important information, while not breaking the flow of the narrative. The slab on his grave features a poem that uses the Latin for venerable because it worked better than any other word to describe him and rhyme. That is why Bede is The Venerable and not Saint Bede. I was free to spend as long as I wanted in that place. It was lovely to pray and ask for learning and understanding.

The refuge knocker. If you knocked on the door, you could expect unquestioning refuge for a period of time while you worked out your affairs.

Also in Durham is a lovely tower will bells and 460+ steps to climb. The view is great from there and the bells are much much louder. There is so much more to tell about Durham. I will tell it at an adult forum some time in the future. One last bit - I have a son-in-law who is pretty serious about Lego, so I paid to place a brick onto the Lego Cathedral they are building as a fundraiser and as a tribute to him.

Paris - 3

The Musee D'Orsay

This museum is the one that speaks more to my soul than any other. On my final full day in Paris, I had a chance to visit this soul affirming place. This post will be heavy on images and light on words. The photos are all by me, and I am still amazed that anyone is welcome to take pictures of almost everything that is in the museum.

Imagine being a school child in Paris and having art class in such a museum.

The part of the museum that most addresses my soul is the impressionists. Monet, Manet, Degas and even post impressionists like Van Gogh. Upon entry, I turned left and went up 5 flights of stairs directly to the top floor and the hall of impressionists. There is so much joy to be found here. I had all the time in the world to stand or sit in front of anything I wished for as long as I wished. This singular piece has filled my soul in the past. It is possibly my favorite painting.

Monet - Bordighera 
This reminds me both of where I grew up and a wonderful vacation location.

The next few are all by Degas. His series of dancer works have always left me speechless.  Tragically on this visit many of the pastels that Degas did of dancers were not on display. They only show from time to time because of the art works are so fragile. However, those pieces of his that were on display are spectacular.

Degas - Blue Dancers

Degas - Dancer ascending a stair

Degas - The Little Dancer
She looks like she could move at any moment.

Surprising to me is the image of London's parliament building. As many times as I have seen that spectacular building, it has never looked this good. I can imagine the foggy morning that this painting was based on. The light and shadow are ethereal.

Monet - London Parliament

Every time I go to this museum I find something new to dazzle me. This trip was no exception.  For the first time I noticed this work by Caillebotte. These floor scrapers struck me because I know exactly what they are doing and why, but even more how the camaraderie of hard work makes the work go better. And the partially drunk bottle of wine on the hearth speaks to good end to a long day.

Caillebotte - Floor Scrapers

From the top floor of the museum, there is a place where one has a lovely view of Monmarte. The hill with the big white church of Sacré Cœur. I did not make it up the hill to visit this church, but got a swell view of it for a few minutes. It remains impressive even from quite a ways off.

Sacré Cœur

No trip would be complete without seeing Van Gogh. There were only a few of his works on display, but they are among his most famous. This museum has an active program of lending out art for other museums to display. So if you got to Denver to see the impressionists there a couple years ago, you can thank the Musee d'Orsay for their generosity.  If you did not get to see it, then, I highly recommend you take a chance next time. For the end of the post I will leave off with two by Van Gogh.

Van Gogh - The church at Auvers

Van Gogh - Starry Night

Paris - 2

The Louve

Later on the same day I was at the Archeological museum, I stopped at the Louve. I had planned it that way, because this was the night the Louvre stays open late. I figured I would have a walk about, then have dinner, rest and walk some more. I could stay until 9pm. As it turns out, my brain can only take in so much in one day. My mind was exhausted by 6pm. My feet were done in too. Turns out this was a 17,000 step day. There was (as always) quite a crowd to see Mona.

There she is... way in the back!

The Louvre has so much. Of course I was obligated to see Mona Lisa.  She is enigmatic in as much as she gets soooo much attention. There is a crazy lot of art in the Louvre, but this is a major draw.  Take a good look here if you have never seen her before. I'm fairly impressed with my cell phone camera, but if you want to see better images; pretty much anything you want is available via google in super high resolution.

Mona, up close

When looking away from Mona, one sees a gigantic wall sized canvas. It is one of the largest paintings I have ever seen. It is richly colored and highly detailed. See if you can guess what it is depicting. I'll put the title in the next paragraph.

The name of this is below - see if you can figure it out

Notice the people on left in the foreground so you can get a sense of the massive scale of this image. There is so much going on! Jesus in the center of the image might throw you off. This bible story does not have Jesus in the middle of the image in my mind. Look to the lower left, There is a man and woman and she is in white. Notice in the front of the table there is someone pouring out wine. There are musicians. If you don't have it yet - notice it is a giant feast! It is the Wedding at Cana.

John the Baptist's head

Saint paintings are some of my favorites. This is John the Baptist - well, just his head, on a platter. It is dark and brooding. There are many artists whose images of John are in the Louvre. This one stands out for me because of the starkness. The rim of the platter sort does a halo effect and for me, this is a reminder of the high cost that sometimes accompanies being who God calls us to be. I do not aspire to be beheaded, but I do aspire to actually follow God and not just sort of do it.

Sebastian

St. Sebastian has an interesting story. In the time of Roman persecutions of Christians, it was found out that Sebastian was a Christian. He was imprisoned and people came to persuade him to give up the faith. Instead, he converted another 16 people to Christianity before the emperor had him bound in a field and shot with arrows "until he resembled a sea urchin". When Irene of Rome came to collect his body, she found him - not dead! So she nursed him to health. Some time later Sebastian had the opportunity to criticize the emperor, as the Emperor passed by, for doing despicable things to Christians. The emperor was shocked but recovered quickly. He ordered Sebastian to be bound and beaten with clubs until he was dead. This time the murder worked. Sebastian was really dead.

Michael defeating the devil

As you can imagine I have seen many, many images of Michael the Archangel. I'll just post this on here because I find it to be the most striking image of our beloved saint. The similarity to the statue in the gathering place at church is difficult to miss. Michael, patron of the military, please help us always fight for the good only.

Lady Liberty leading the people.

There is another kind of art which I find so interesting.  I'll call it idea art. Marianne is an allegorical figure in the painting "Liberty leading the people." She has a tricolor flag and a rifle. She is surrounded by people from many social strata and while she is striding on top of a pile of corpses, she is clearly leading the charge to liberty. A woman of the people, she is barefoot and wearing a type of cap that has been a symbol for freed slaves for more than 1000 years.

Cops buying donut equivalents in the metro in Paris

On a slightly humorous note, I was headed to the hotel on the metro and encountered these fellows shopping for dessert. Cops have the stereotype of donut eaters, because often enough they do just that. These guys all looked super fit and super serious. When the fellow closest noticed me taking a photo he asked what I was doing. I let him know I was a fan and just enjoyed that cops here are like cops back home. He laughed and replied; "we all gotta eat"  or something close to that. I have to say, walking around fearless was easy because while there are certainly bad people planning bad things out there, there are plenty of good people working hard to keep things as safe as possible. When we give in the the fear of what might happen, that's when the bad people win. Walking the streets and riding the metro in big crowds did not feel risky at all. I feel more danger in the US knowing how many people carry firearms on a regular basis. Those people might feel safer carrying, but I feel more danger from them carrying. Interesting how our actions have consequences for others even when we don't know or care.