Now that the busyness of Christmas and New Year is past and we have weathered January, I can settle down to write a long overdue pastoral letter. Of course Dom Bruno and I, having moved to Spain last year, have been very preoccupied with renovation of the new house, as well as dealing with all the bureaucracy that is inevitable when moving to a new country. As things are now beginning to fall into place, we look forward to the purification of Lent, our time of "spiritual spring cleaning", and afterwards the joy of Easter, but first we have that most blessed feast of Candlemas and preceding it by a day, the feast of our Holy Mother St Brigid of Kildare.
Some scholars suggest that the name Brigid means “Bright Arrow” or “Fiery Arrow” and of course both the ancient Goddess Brigid, patron of healers, smiths and poets, and the saint who bears her name are strongly associated with fire, indeed the Brigidine nuns at Kildare kept, and still keep, a sacred fire alight from ancient times to the Reformation and again since the end of the 20th century to the present. The Goddess and the Saint share many of the same stories and are in fact completely inseparable, so much so, that to invoke one is to automatically invoke the other. Neither fundamentalist Christians nor fundamentalist pagans understand the essential fact of the symbiotic relationship between Celtic Christianity and the Druidry which preceded it, but I would like to think that in the HCCI many of us do appreciate and understand this distinctive aspect of Celtic spirituality. St Brigid’s Day falls on the old festival of Imbolc, when snowdrops peep through the snow and assure us that warmer, brighter days are at hand and the very next day the readings and liturgy for Candlemas remind us that Christ is “a Light to lighten the Gentiles” and to be the glory of His people Israel. Warmth, Brightness and Glory are the theme of these first two days of February, a promise that through the purification and sobriety of Lent we will eventually arrive at the Easter Vigil when the celebrant raising the Pascal Candle will proclaim “Christ is our Light”! To which we respond, “Thanks be to God”!
To my mind this celebration of Light and Life is the bright core of the Christian experience, also reminding me of the profound opening words of our 1st Liberal Catholic Act of Faith, “We believe that God is Love, and Power, and Truth, and LIGHT; ….” Need we say more?
The dark night of the soul overtakes most of us at one time or another and at such times when it seems that faith hits a brick wall, simply to invoke God as the Great Light can often dispel the shadows, enabling us to see our way forward once again. When the darkness closes in perhaps the words of this well known and much loved hymn may inspire us to hope, "Christ be our Light";
"In deepest night, shadows are lifted
Now let your servant go forth in peace
Your Word fulfilled, your promise honored
Love that will never cease!
Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts
Shine through the darkness
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today."
To my mind this celebration of Light and Life is the bright core of the Christian experience, also reminding me of the profound opening words of our 1st Liberal Catholic Act of Faith, “We believe that God is Love, and Power, and Truth, and LIGHT; ….” Need we say more?
The dark night of the soul overtakes most of us at one time or another and at such times when it seems that faith hits a brick wall, simply to invoke God as the Great Light can often dispel the shadows, enabling us to see our way forward once again. When the darkness closes in perhaps the words of this well known and much loved hymn may inspire us to hope, "Christ be our Light";
"In deepest night, shadows are lifted
Now let your servant go forth in peace
Your Word fulfilled, your promise honored
Love that will never cease!
Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts
Shine through the darkness
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today."
I am often tremendously inspired by novelists, and in relation to the idea of God as Light I am particularly inspired by the truly spiritual novelist, Stephen Lawhead. This is one of his beautiful prayers written in the tradition of our Culdee forefathers:
“Thanks to Thee, Great Light,
that I have risen today, to the rising of my life;
May it be to Thy glory, All-Wise Creator,
and to the glory of my own dear soul.
O Great King, aid Thou my soul,
with the aiding of Thy mercy,
with the aiding of Thy love,
with the aiding of Thy compassion;
Even as I clothe my body with this wool,
cover Thou my soul with Thy Swift Sure Hand.”
(from “The Mystic Rose” by Stephen Lawhead)
“Thanks to Thee, Great Light,
that I have risen today, to the rising of my life;
May it be to Thy glory, All-Wise Creator,
and to the glory of my own dear soul.
O Great King, aid Thou my soul,
with the aiding of Thy mercy,
with the aiding of Thy love,
with the aiding of Thy compassion;
Even as I clothe my body with this wool,
cover Thou my soul with Thy Swift Sure Hand.”
(from “The Mystic Rose” by Stephen Lawhead)
How blest we are indeed dear companions to have access, in our own Celtic heritage, to such a life-affirming, pure and simple spiritual tradition. May we never forget that it is a gift to be shared freely with all those who are drawn towards our candle, as scripture exhorts us “Let your Light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.”
(Matt. 5: 16)
(Matt. 5: 16)
We give thanks for the lives of those who have been called home to the Light, especially dear Bishop Leopold Weldon who died suddenly last December, and we give thanks for those who are called to serve the Great Light, especially those ordained since our last pastoral letter, Deacon Tibor Gorcz from Austria/Hungary and Revd Fr Rafael Gijselmans OSBA from Belgium and also Bishop Sebastian and Fr Juan Ignacio from Argentina who have recently been incardinated.
I will leave you now with another of Stephen Lawhead’s lovely prayers:
“Great Light, Mover of all that is moving and at rest,
be my Journey and my far Destination,
be my Want and my Fulfilling,
be my Sowing and my Reaping,
be my glad Song and my stark Silence.
Be my Sword and my strong Shield,
be my Lantern and my dark Night,
be my everlasting Strength and my piteous Weakness.
Be my Greeting and my parting Prayer,
be my bright Vision and my Blindness,
be my Joy and my sharp Grief,
be my sad Death and my sure Resurrection!”
(from “Merlin” by Stephen Lawhead)
May the Lord be always a Bright Light before us guiding all our ways,
+Alistair OSBA,
Titular Abbot-Bishop of Glendalough & Primus
I will leave you now with another of Stephen Lawhead’s lovely prayers:
“Great Light, Mover of all that is moving and at rest,
be my Journey and my far Destination,
be my Want and my Fulfilling,
be my Sowing and my Reaping,
be my glad Song and my stark Silence.
Be my Sword and my strong Shield,
be my Lantern and my dark Night,
be my everlasting Strength and my piteous Weakness.
Be my Greeting and my parting Prayer,
be my bright Vision and my Blindness,
be my Joy and my sharp Grief,
be my sad Death and my sure Resurrection!”
(from “Merlin” by Stephen Lawhead)
May the Lord be always a Bright Light before us guiding all our ways,
+Alistair OSBA,
Titular Abbot-Bishop of Glendalough & Primus