The Week Between

I had an unscheduled week between my programs in Dublin and Jerusalem and I invited my friend Al to come over and spend some time traveling. He ditched the wife and kids and we went touring the island. This week turned out to be another important addition to understanding Celtic life and cultural heritage. We visited Dublin’s highlights and then on to Cork and Cobh where we visited the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney stone…I just know my homilies will improve because of it. We went to Cork harbor where those that found it necessary to leave Ireland sailed from. There’s a special museum there that pays tribute to those that left due to the famine and it details the peril of their journeys to the US and Australia in particular. This was most interesting. Cobh for a small town has a very large Cathedral that serves the community; we also spent some time there. The Titanic’s last port before sailing off was from Cobh. This is mentioned in the heritage museum, but the only visible expression of the Titanic today is the “Titanic Bar.” This place is one of Ireland’s hidden treasures. My ordination anniversary was May 28th. It was a beautiful day for a number of reasons. I visited the Shrine of Mary in Knock where Mary Joseph and John appeared to 15 witnesses in the mid 1800’s. I’d been here before and found it a prayerful and holy site. I was glad to be there. On the 28th I also climbed the 2,500 foot mountain outside Westport just north of Galway called “Croagh Patrick.” Check out the web site on it: http://www.croagh-patrick.com/. Google also has a lot of other interesting sites if you want to know more. St. Patrick was said to have climbed it for retreat and times of reflection. It was a rather tedious climb; more difficult than I expected, but it was a great spiritual experience just the same. If St. Patrick did it and found it brought him closer to God, Fr. Patrick can do the same with similar results…and it was! We spent the week exploring the various cities with some heritage and religious implications like Ballintubber near Knock. It’s the home of a monastery and retreat center that’s been in continuous operation with daily mass for 800 years. It’s an old monastery and parish church and cemetery and from the people that just “dropped in” it’s obvious that it’s a real source of prayer and support for the local folks. We also tried the B&B circuit. People would make their spare rooms available for travelers and that’s where we stayed. For 35 Euros per person, you can have a nice room with shower and an Irish breakfast in the morning before you leave. The typical Irish breakfast consists of your choice of fruits, juices, and cereals, plus puddings (these are “port patties” on of which is made of blood.) bacon, eggs, beans, fried tomatos, and oatmeal (porridge). Not bad for and Irish breakfast. In the evenings we usually had supper at a local bub and checked out the Irish music. I’ve got a video that shows some of my sabbatical partners at a pub. Check out the picture. It’s a video if you click on it.