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| Remains of Clonmacnoise monastery (544-1552) |
For the last two weeks I was in Ireland catching up
with family and friends. For the second week, three dear friends
of mine, a couple and their 13-year-old son, came over and we travelled around the country. I always enjoy people visiting because it makes me
go to places that otherwise I usually wouldn’t bother to go to. Two
places in particular which we visited, are worth mentioning. The
first was the remains of a monastery called Clonmacnoise on the River
Shannon. This monastery was active for over 1,000 years! It was eventually wiped out during a time of religious persecution, but the idea
that there were monks there for over 1,000 years is amazing. It became a very important center of culture and learning.
Another place we visited is called Skellig
Michael. It has recently become famous because they filmed much of the
last Star Wars movie there. Skellig Michael is a small island, or
large rock, 7 miles into the Atlantic off the south west coast of
Ireland. Over 1,200 years ago monks built a small monastery on
the top of this rock. It is hard to imagine what the conditions there
must have been like in winter. Today, unless the weather is very
good, they cannot land the boats there, because of the swell from the Atlantic. I can’t imagine what it
would have been like to live there.
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| Skellig Michael on the right |
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| Part of the monastery |
Why do I mention these places? It’s not just to
tell you about my vacation. I always find it very inspiring to visit
monasteries like these, because they are a reminder to me of the
thousands of men and women throughout the ages who have dedicated
their lives to God. The fact that people would do that tells us that God’s
Spirit is and has been at work always, inspiring people, giving
people extraordinary courage to dedicate their whole lives to him.
Whenever I find myself in places like that I always try to say a
prayer to the people who lived and prayed there, asking for their
intercession. They too struggled as we do, had questions about their
faith, as we do and probably wondered sometimes if they were crazy,
just as we do. But God inspired them enough that they were willing to
sacrifice everything, in order to live for him. They understood that there is nothing more important than our life in God. Apart from God our lives are meaningless.
But all that kind of thing is all in the past, right?
Certainly not. Two other places we visited were active monasteries.
One is a Benedictine monastery where my brother is now a monk. They
have about 30 monks there, of all ages. We also visited two good
friends of mine in the Poor Clare convent in Galway. They are
enclosed sisters, dedicating their whole lives to prayer for all of
us. They are both about 5 years older than me. God continues to
inspire people to follow him in many different ways and it is good to
be reminded of that. God is as alive and active in the world now as
ever.
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| Poor Clares, Galway. |
Most people are not called to Religious life. In
fact, only a tiny percentage of people are. But all of us are called
by God, inspired by God and spoken to by God, all the time. Our
response to God is just as important as the monks and nuns throughout
the ages. We live out that same calling in different ways. For most
people it will be in married or single life. You will not be able to
give the same amount of time to prayer and studying the Scriptures as
those of us in Religious life, but then you are not supposed to. Each
of us lives out our relationship with the Lord according to our
circumstances, but it is always possible and can be just as alive for
parents trying to raise a family as it is for a monk in a monastery
7 miles out to sea off the west coast of Ireland. Our relationship
with the Lord is real, but like any relationship we also have to work
at it, or it ceases to exist. No relationship with someone you love
will grow if you completely ignore, or hardly acknowledge them. A relationship needs our time and energy if it is to be
alive. Our relationship with God is exactly the same.
When we die, so many of the earthly things we give so
much time to, will disappear into insignificance. The only thing that
will matter then, is how we loved and served the people around us. If
we try to keep our relationship with God alive, it helps us not to
forget what is truly important.
All the monks who were in those ruined monasteries I
visited, are now gone to God. They struggled just as we do. Now it is
our turn, until we too are called home to be with God.
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