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Exploring BVM Celtic Roots:
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A pilgrim is someone who voyages to a shrine The 34 BVMs and Associates who spent ten days on a pilgrimage in Ireland last June had many experiences of renewal and inspiration of the type suggested by Ed Sellner, noted author on Celtic spirituality. The experiences centered on three themes:
Drawn into a pilgrimage spirit each day by morning prayers prepared by BVM co-leaders Kathleen Conway (Richard Marie) and Patricia Bombard (7), the group traveled by bus from the Dublin area north to Newcastle on Northern Ireland's east coast, and then west across the island, making overnight stops at Sligo, Westport and Galway. Sites visited along the way included the ruins of a monastic city at Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains, St. Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare, the St. Patrick Center at Downpatrick (1), the ancient passage tomb at Newgrange, and the rock strewn Burren (10) and jagged Cliffs of Moher on Ireland's west coast.
Evenings often began with the pilgrims gathered to share personal comments and original poetry that summarized insights from the days' experiences (7).
Community The theme of community was highlighted on the first day with a stop at St. Michan's Church in Dublin (2) for Mass. The rear entrance to the church faces North Anne Street, in the block where Mary Frances Clarke and her first companions opened a school in the 1830s.
After the liturgy, the group gathered outside the church, where some members spontaneously sang an old favorite BVM hymn: “The Doors of North Anne Street.” Many in the group spoke of what a moving experience it was to stand on the same cobblestone streets walked by our early members. “Standing on North Anne Street, I experienced a profound connection with Mary Frances Clarke,” revealed Rose Mary Meyer, BVM (Sebastian). “I was deeply touched by her willingness to leave all her connections and to pilgrimage into the unknown. “I ponder my own pilgrimage, many years ago from a farm in northwest Missouri to the unknown of Dubuque, Iowa. I feel privileged to be a pilgrim in the heritage of Mary Frances Clarke.” For some in the group, the theme of community was felt strongest in simply in being together for the pilgrimage. “The experience of community was such an important part of the pilgrimage for me—from meals together, to our morning prayer, to the afternoon reflection, to lots of laughter together,” said Marian Murphy, BVM (John Patrice). “Community, in particular, was a focus of our first members as they came together to accompany each other on their spiritual journey, and this continues to be an essential part of BVM spirituality today.” The visit to Glendalough (3) offered an opportunity to connect through prayer and reflection to holy people of the distant past as well as the present. As BVM Theresa McNerney (Grace Michele) commented, “Walking the labyrinth at Glendalough was an opportunity to pray for and with the many women of our community past and present who have been a part of changing history in our country and within our community.”
Irish Women of Strength In addition to offering a new way to connect with the spirit of Mary Frances Clarke, the pilgrimage theme of “strong Irish women,” opened the group to encounters with the life stories and locales associated with St. Brigid (5, 11), Grace O'Malley (“the pirate queen”) (8), and Countess Markievicz, a leading revolutionary imprisoned for her role in the Easter Rising of 1916, but later the first woman elected to the British House of Commons.
Countess Constance Markievicz is only one example of the many Irish women who, though born into families of substantial means, were inspired by their faith to a deep concern for the poor and disenfranchised. At the Foxford Woolen Mills, the group encountered the story of Agnes Morrough Bernard, a Sister of Charity, who in the 1890s responded to the needs of the poor by convincing a Protestant businessman to back her idea of building the mill. Hearing this story, Paulette Skiba, BVM, was moved to reflect on the collaboration of women and men in creative ministry endeavors. “Women like Agnes Murrough Bernard and Mary Frances Clarke and the men who they worked with still have much to teach us about being women and men of the church. I am trying to listen to what they have to say.” A visit to Kylemore Abbey (6), once a private estate and now the oldest Benedictine monastery in Ireland, brought the group in contact with the story of religious women who, confronted by the violence of war, responded by turning their backs on 200 years of congregational history in Belgium to make the physically and emotionally arduous journey to relocate their mission and ministry in Ireland. While the story of the Benedictines was one of emigrating to Ireland, one of the most poignant moments for many on the pilgrimage was viewing a national memorial to the victims of the “Great Famine” of the mid-1840s located beside Clew Bay. The metal sculpture of a “coffin ship” (9) memorializes the thousands of Irish men, women and children who lost their lives at sea after embarking to find more hopeful shores across the Atlantic.
BVM Judy Callahan (Eugene Mary) commented on the centuries of oppression in Ireland in light of today's concerns in the United States. “Seeing the courageous beauty and strength of people across the ages continually searching ways of making sense of the struggles and pain of survival connects me with the struggles in violence and oppression in today's world. “The struggle of the immigrants from Ireland during the potato famine are different outwardly, but no less desperate than those who cross our borders to survive. I see how God accompanies them in the same loving manner.” ‘Thin Places' Finally, Celtic spirituality focuses a great deal on the land and “thin places,” those special locales where from ancient time until today people experience a special connection to the spiritual. One such spot is the famous hilltop passage tomb of Newgrange (4), built before Stonehenge in England or the pyramids of Egypt. Constructed entirely of huge stones laid strategically one upon another in a circular lattice-work, the round interior chamber of the tomb, reached by passing through a narrow stone passage, is thought by archeologists to have been used to honor deceased ancestors. After witnessing the symbols and significance of Newgrange, Judy Callahan, BVM, commented, “We, just as the people of 5,000 years ago, are still trying to answer the big questions: “Who is God? “Who am I?” Another sacred locale included on the pilgrimage was the mountain known as Croagh Patrick. Its barren peak rises to just over 2,500 feet alongside beautiful Clew Bay near Westport. Considered a sacred site long before Christianity, St. Patrick is said to have once made his own pilgrimage to the top of the mountain where he resided for 40 days and nights. Today, thousands of people repeat this pilgrimage by climbing the rock strewn trail up the mountainside. Though there was not time to make the reputed three-hour round trip to the peak, many pilgrims responded to the opportunity to make a stop at the trailhead by hiking up far enough to spend a few quiet moments wrapped in the awesome beauty of the area. Peggy Nolan, BVM (Timothy Maura) captured her experience of the “thin places” theme in her final reflection. “Whether it was the wells of Brigid, the green hills of Newgrange, the craggy, desolate Burren, or the lushness of Glendalough, these special places seemed to breathe the holy. “The Celts and the Gaels before them absorbed the spirit of the land, and out of that grew a spirituality with the stamp of the land upon it. That ability to recognize the divine in ordinary places where we live seems very Celtic and very BVM to me.” The route for the pilgrimage was planned by Kathleen Conway, BVM in close consultation with her sister-in-law, Maria Flynn Conway, who was born in Ireland and has spent her life involved in her family's tour business. About the author: Patricia Bombard, BVM is an adjunct faculty member at St. Xavier University, Chicago, and a consultant. Kathleen Conway, BVM is completing a sabbatical year after serving as a regional representative of the Great Lakes region. Return to Table of Contents. |
