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St. Patrick is thought to have lived around 385-460 A.D. His father was a Roman government official. His family's name was Succat. When Patrick was 16, he was kidnapped and carried away to northern Ireland and sold as a slave. He lived the hard life of a shepherd-slave on the slopes of Slemish mountain in what is now Ulster.

*Click here to read more

Happy St. Patrick's day!

Labels: devotional, Ireland

*re-post from March 17, 2007

According to legend, St. Patrick's cathedral in Dublin, Ireland was built on the site of a well that St. Patrick used to baptize converts in the 5th century. It is thought that a small wooden church existed on the site as early as 450 A.D., and a stone church was built in 1191 by the Normans. It is Dublin's second great Protestant cathedral, the largest church in Ireland and the national church.

St. Patrick is thought to have lived around 385-460 A.D. His father was a Roman government official. His family's name was Succat. When Patrick was 16, he was kidnapped and carried away to northern Ireland and sold as a slave. He lived the hard life of a shepherd-slave on the slopes of Slemish mountain in what is now Ulster.

"The life of a shepherd-slave could not have been a happy one...The work of such shepherds was bitterly isolated, months at a time spent alone in the hills. Deprived of intercourse with other humans, Patricus must have taken a long time to master the language and customs of his exile, so that the approach of strangers over the hills may have held special terror. We know that he did have two constant companions, hunger and nakedness, and the gnawing in his belly and the chill on his exposed skin were his worst sufferings, acutely painful presences that could not be shaken off... Like many another in impossible circumstances, he began to pray...
...Patricus endured six years of this woeful isolation, and by the end of it he had grown from a careless boy to something he would surely never otherwise become-a holy man..."
-How the Irish saved civilization by Thomas Cahill page 101

Patrick heard God's voice in a dream telling him a ship was waiting for him, and so he headed for the sea coast-200 miles away. Patrick studied several years in Europe to attempt to make up for the education he had missed and then returned to Ireland a bishop to convert the people who had once held him slave. It is very striking to me that Patrick returned to Ireland, at the time they were a very wild, violent, pagan people. The Romans in their first encounters with the Irish, were afraid of them. "The Irish, like all the Celts, stripped before battle and rushed their enemy n*ked, carrying sword and shield but wearing only sandals and torc...The Romans, in their first encounters with these exposed, insane warriors, were shocked and frightened. Not only were the men n*ked, they were howling and,it seemed, possessed by demons..."
-Cahil page 83

Irish society at that time was ruled by different tribal kings, they were a people of war and offered up human sacrifices. Patrick, in returning there to preach the gospel was a real life portrait of one loving his enemy. Cahil writes,..."Nor was he blind to his dangers, for even in his last years "every day I am ready to be murdered, betrayed, enslaved-whatever may come my way. But I am not afraid of any of these things, because of the promises of heaven; for I have put myself in the hands of God Almighty.".. His love for his adopted people shines through his writings...the horror of slavery was never lost on him...In his last years, he could probably look out over an Ireland transformed by his teaching...Within his lifetime or soon after his death, the Irish slave trade came to a halt, and other forms of violence, such as murder and inter-tribal warfare, decreased." -Cahil page 108-110

"In becoming an Irishman, Patrick wedded his world to theirs, his faith to their life...Patrick found a way of swimming down to the depths of the Irish psyche and warming and transforming Irish imagination-making it more humane and more noble while keeping it Irish..." -Cahil page 115

"Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!" Acts 28:28

Labels: devotional, Ireland

According to legend, St. Patrick's cathedral in Dublin, Ireland was built on the site of a well that St. Patrick used to baptize converts in the 5th century. It is thought that a small wooden church existed on the site as early as 450 A.D., and a stone church was built in 1191 by the Normans. It is Dublin's second great Protestant cathedral, the largest church in Ireland and the national church.

St. Patrick is thought to have lived around 385-460 A.D. His father was a Roman government official. His family's name was Succat. When Patrick was 16, he was kidnapped and carried away to northern Ireland and sold as a slave. He lived the hard life of a shepherd-slave on the slopes of Slemish mountain in what is now Ulster.

"The life of a shepherd-slave could not have been a happy one...The work of such shepherds was bitterly isolated, months at a time spent alone in the hills. Deprived of intercourse with other humans, Patricus must have taken a long time to master the language and customs of his exile, so that the approach of strangers over the hills may have held special terror. We know that he did have two constant companions, hunger and nakedness, and the gnawing in his belly and the chill on his exposed skin were his worst sufferings, acutely painful presences that could not be shaken off... Like many another in impossible circumstances, he began to pray...
...Patricus endured six years of this woeful isolation, and by the end of it he had grown from a careless boy to something he would surely never otherwise become-a holy man..."
-How the Irish saved civilization by Thomas Cahill page 101

Patrick heard God's voice in a dream telling him a ship was waiting for him, and so he headed for the sea coast-200 miles away. Patrick studied several years in Europe to attempt to make up for the education he had missed and then returned to Ireland a bishop to convert the people who had once held him slave. It is very striking to me that Patrick returned to Ireland, at the time they were a very wild, violent, pagan people. The Romans in their first encounters with the Irish, were afraid of them. "The Irish, like all the celts, stripped before battle and rushed their enemy n*ked, carrying sword and shield but wearing only sandals and torc...The Romans, in their first encounters with these exposed, insane warriors, were shocked and frightened. Not only were the men n*ked, they were howling and,it seemed, possessed by demons..."
-Cahil page 83

Irish society at that time was ruled by different tribal kings, they were a people of war and offerred up human sacrifices. Patrick, in returning there to preach the gospel was a real life portrait of one loving his enemy. Cahil writes,..."Nor was he blind to his dangers, for even in his last years "every day I am ready to be murdered, betrayed, enslaved-whatever may come my way. But I am not afraid of any of these things, because of the promises of heaven; for I have put myself in the hands of God Almighty.".. His love for his adopted people shines through his writings...the horror of slavery was never lost on him...In his last years, he could probably look out over an Ireland transformed by his teaching...Within his lifetime or soon after his death, the Irish slave trade came to a halt, and other forms of violence, such as murder and intertribal warfare, decreased." -Cahil page 108-110

"In becoming an Irishman, Patrick wedded his world to theirs, his faith to their life...Patrick found a way of swimming down to the depths of the Irish psyche and warming and transforming Irish imagination-making it more humane and more noble while keeping it Irish..." -Cahil page 115

"Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!" Acts 28:28

Labels: devotional, Ireland

Glendalough round tower from the 11th century

St. Patrick's cathedral from the 11th century, near a small well St. Patrick is believed to have baptised converts in the 5th century
H'a Penny bridge over river Liffey near city center
General Post office site of Easter uprising 1916, impressive building, I purchased stamps here

Close up light pole near St. Patrick's

Labels: Ireland, trips

The Book of Kells-'Turning Darkness into Light'. We had the opportunity to see the Book of Kells exhibit at Trinity College in Dublin. The Book of Kells contains a lavishly decorated copy, in Latin, of the four gospels thought to have been produced by monks in the 9th century. I loved seeing the signs for the exhibit stating- 'turning darkness into light'; such a comission to undertake! The artwork, detail, and labor undertaken to produce these copies of the gospels was extraordanary and stunning.

The highlight for me was the last room of the exhibit where two pages of the book were exhibited. To stand and gaze at this work of art made over 1,000 years ago...opened to the Book of John, chapter one. It is in Latin, so a card next to the page stated part of the translation. It read like this..."In the beginning was the Word,..." that was all the translation given and as I stood there gazing on it, shoulder to shoulder with other tourists perusing the offerings on display that day, I was electrified by the thought of the link I as a believer hold with all the other believers today and all of the other believers through the ages and these monks over 1,000 years ago who loved these words.

I wanted to ask, "do you know the rest?

It's God made music,

God made visible, God spoken... say it with me..."

"In the beginning...was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

The other page displayed was this artwork page (pictured above) of the four evangelists. Sky was able to share with some ladies the symbolism behind the artwork for each gospel.

This was how I understood his remarks; For Matthew-the lion- symbolizes the king savior. The book of Matthew centering on the kingdom of the heavens and emphasizing the kingly line of David. For Mark-the ox-symbolizes the slave savior. No lineage given in this gospel because slaves have no history. Christ is shown doing the will of the father in this gospel. For Luke-a man-symbolizing the man-savior and lineage given of the line of Adam to Christ. For John-the eagle- symbolizing the God-Savior and no lineage given because "In the beginning was God..".

Again, it was stunning to realize the link we have to the monks who labored to illustrate the truths of the gospels. The signs for the exhibit were so relevant in these dark times, 'turning darkness into light'. It was a really exciting visit for us. The homeschool mom in me was immediately excited over the possibilities of a unit study on illuminated books, begun with readings on monks, the reformation, Guttenburg, library books on illuminated writings-followed by purchase of a calligraphy set to illuminate our own books...you can see where this is going...I run around in circles much of the time. Four months later we would finally get to the book of Kells... (so, how many steps does it take for a homeschool family to change a lightbulb????)

Labels: devotional, Ireland

Two Last pictures of us in Ireland- We visited the ruined monastic settlement of Glendalough, from the 6th century. Really neat monastary remains and cemetery and a 12th century round tower. The whole area was beautiful and sparked the imagination, imagining monks hiding in the tower with precious manuscripts while the vikings raided the area. We also stopped at Powercourt house (the picture with the two of us) which had gardens and shops, surrounded by beautiful green hills. I get very motion sick, this trip I took a break from my ear patches (work great but rough side-effects) and took some pills which knocked me out. I pretty much slept through all of the beautiful countryside and woke up only when Sky nudged me and told me we were "there". The trip was pretty much a blur. Just really glad I only took 2 pills instead of the 3 I was thinking of...Powercourt house I remember stumbling out of the bus and finding a scone and diet coke to wake me up. I also remember lots of sheep.

Labels: Ireland, trips

We are so easily amused- some signs that tickled our fancy...we were puzzled as to what "pitches" are, and not sure if they were off.
This crosswalk sign we came up with the interpretation of "death stalks children who cross here."
Pembroke park was also intersected by Pembroke lane, Pembroke Rd. and Pembroke court. This was very unhelpful the day we were lost. At that point in the day almost anything amused us.
We have other such pictures in our photo album from other trips. Our friend Martinez from South Africa told us about the signs in his country warning of "Highjack area" and warned us of our high probability of being highjacked as we get out to take the picture for our collection. Now, I really have to have that picture of that sign...Wonder if I can get someone to volunteer to take it for me?

Labels: Ireland, trips

International conference with the Church in Dublin: I wanted to share the reason we were in Ireland, we went to attend a conference and have fellowship with believers from many other countries including those in Ireland. The second picture shows members of the body waiting to share after the second conference message, this is the back of the line-I didn't get the people standing closer to the microphone. Sky is seated close to the camera in blue. Sky shared after the first message, but I didn't think to get my camera out. The thought behind having people share after a message involves owning what you teach or share. To the homeschoolers out there; it's kind of like a Charlotte Mason thought on narration...God's word is truth in action, and speaking forth His truth benefits not only those who hear it, but also the person who is speaking it. God's word is meant to be shared and those who share it gain more of Christ themselves.

The first picture is of the young people from Dublin. At the end of the conference they took the notes on the messages and put the main thoughts to music. It was very sweet.

The main topic of the conference was The Four Great Pillars of the church, which were Truth, life, the church, the gospel. Some of the main thoughts for Truth included; Truth is the issue of light, knowledge without light is doctrine, but knowledge full of light is truth. Truth is the shining of light, God is light. The kind of church being built up depends on the truth we teach; there is a desperate need of the living truth to produce the church, to help the church exist, and to build up the church- 1 Tim. 3:15. The function of the truth is to liberate-1John 1:5-6.

The message on the second pillar, which is Life: Life is God (and is mysterious). Life is Christ, Life is the Holy spirit. Life is the trinity dispensed into us and living in us-Romans 8:2, 10, 6, 11.

The third Pillar-The church; The church is of God. The church is not of any person or practice but of God. The Church is the house of the living God- 1 Tim. 3:15 The church is the supporting pillar and the holding base of the truth. As the pillar which bears the truth and the base which holds the pillar, the church testifies the truth, the reality of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Chirst.-Col. 2:2, Eph. 3:4

The fourth pillar- The Gospel; The very gospel we should preach is just the truth-that truth brings in life, that life results in the church. The gospel includes all the truths in the Bible, the gospel is the fulfillment of the entire old testament. Col.1:5, Mark 1:1, 14-15. As members of the body of Christ we should- rise up, learn/know the truth. We all need to pursue the growth in life. We need to live the normal/living church life. We need to preach the gospel everywhere.

It was a really enjoyable conference, the messages were very timely. We took lots of notes and enjoyed visiting with our brothers and sisters in Chirst from other countries. The last day the Church in Dublin arranged a bus tour of the surrounding area for some of us. We really had a nice time.

Labels: devotional, Ireland, trips

Our Adventures in Ireland- this is our third day in Ireland we really like the Island and we are having a wonderful time. The first picture is of Sky and I in a pub where we ordered fish and chips. The pub life here is a vary important thing-social wise. After work it seems just about everyone heads to the pubs to socialize. It's funny, but that is about the time we are ready to head back to the bed and breakfast and call it a night. The second picture is of the downtown area all lit up at night. There was a group of people playing music on the corner. I have so much to blog about, but no time right now. I might have to wait till I get home. We miss our kids, but call them everyday- they seem to be having a good time, they are going to see "cars" today-I mean yesterday...it is late Sat. night here, Friday afternoon at home. We live in amazing times, don't we?

blessings to you from Ireland,

Jenny

Labels: Ireland, trips