A PLANTING

On a beautiful fall day in County Kerry, Ireland my husband Kevin and I are driven to Muckross Abbey in a horse dawn carriage; sun streams across our faces as we gaze at  the lakes and majestic forest all around us. I beg for us to stop at the ruins so I can have a romp around, the driver concedes wondering at my delight. Each building holds the prayers of the centuries, the stories of the monk's lives, the tragedies that befell them at Cromwell's hands. I turn a corner and am awe-struck; in the middle of the Abbey an ancient Yew tree is growing, planted hundreds of years ago by the Fransiscans.

I have my own ruins, my own tragedy, but if I look carefully I see something was planted in me- life, joy, love, peace, goodness all dwell deeply within. It is in my boys' eyes and my daughter's smile, I am in awe of their dreams and their lives. I walk prayerfully through my ruins inviting God's Presence to meet me there to reclaim some things that were lost. Have you any ruins that need visiting?


Medicine from Holy Scripture:

"They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore places long devestated." Isaiah 61:3, 4

INTRUDERS OR AN INVITATION

Our first stop in Ireland wasn't for a pint of Guinness, but for a taste of history; we sought a monastery established in the 6th century. At Glendalough we were enchanted and drawn deeply into the mystical beauty of the Irish country and Celtic Christianity. What struck  me was the swirling, biting wind stripping the golden leaves and causing them to dance in the air all around us. The bubbling brook led us to the ruins as we took the trail through the moss covered woods.

So like my life, I thought- ruins, broken down buildings, places where there had been invasions and property stolen. As I stood steeped in mystical beauty I realized that ruins can be made holy; the monks from centuries ago prayed through the violence of the intruders interrupting their holy lives. Could I do the same? Could I look back on ruins and pray through them asking the Holy Spirit to bring life and holiness from loss and destruction?


Medicine from Ancient Writings:

We shall go forth to our business with much security if we have made God propitious by prayer; this way we shall have no enemy. Or if we do, we shall laugh him to scorn, having God propitious. There is war in the market place; the affairs of every day are a fight, they are a tempest and a storm. We therefore need arms: prayer is a great weapon. We need favorable winds; we need to learn everything so as to go through the length of the day without shipwrecks and wounds."
St John Chrysostom 4th Century Homilies on Hebrews Homily XIV NPNF1; 9.437

REBUILDING AND REJOICING

So I am on vacation (holiday) in Ireland and have been swept away by the wind at the Cliffs of Moher, but also by the intense beauty and haunting history of the monastic ruins. I can't tell you all about it now, but stay tuned, when I return home I will write about each site and the experience of walking, praying and being there. High crosses, friaries, monasteries, oratories, burial sites; all simply stunning. For now let me say that God has challenged the picture of my childhood as a place of desolation.


Medicine from Holy Scripture:
"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolation and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desoltations of many generations." Isaiah 61:4-5