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Tuesday, 27 December 2011 20:51 |
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The beauty of this Christmas season has inspired me to begin a series of posts on the virtues of the Irish monks described in Msgr. Barr's book The Shadow of the Cross. It was Msgr. Barr's presentation of the spiritual way of those great saints that inspired the creation of this group and web site. The Celtic Virtue of Detachment seems to be at the front of my mind these days. This is nor surprise since Christmas always brings with it the desire to be closer to family.
 Msgr. Barr introduces his book with the story of St. Columbanus leaving his home in Ireland to become a missionary. The young Columbanus decided to leave home and become a "restless wanderer for Christ" over the objections of his mother who threw herself down accross the doorway to stop him. According to the story Columbanus said "Don't grieve me" as he stepped over her body, through the door and into the night without looking back. Msgr. Barr instructs us that Columbanus was living the Gospel call of Christ "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62) The virtue of detachment enables us to let go of the things of the world and put our selves wholy at the service of God. There is nothing that will stand in the way of serving God, nothing more important than responding to that yearning placed in our hearts to serve God. We are all guests of this world with our true home and destiny in Heaven.
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Imitation of Holy Humility, St. Aidan |
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Wednesday, 31 August 2011 17:27 |
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Today is the Feast of St. Aidan. In his commentary on the history of the English Church Venerable Bede commends as praiseworthy Aidan's virtues; that he did not attach himself to things of this world, he was concerned for the poor "wont to traverse both town and country on foot, never on horseback," never given to haughtiness, and always sought to bring into the faith or deeper into the faith those whom he encountered in his travel. Bede's stories of Aidan often recall these virtues. The following story described by Bede illustrates them well:
"He (King Oswald) had given an extraordinarily fine horse to Bishop Aidan, which he might either use in Crossing rivers, or in performing a journey upon any urgent necessity, though he was wont to travel ordinarily on foot. Some short time after, a poor man meeting him, and asking alms, he immediately dismounted, and ordered the horse, with all his royal furniture, to be given to the beggar; for he was very compassionate, a great friend to the poor, and, as is were, the father of the wretched. This being told to the king, when they were going in to dinner, he said to the bishop, "Why would you, my lord bishop, give the poor man that royal horse...
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Welcome to the Oigedchaire web site. There have been several updates to the web site. All pages on the site can now be accessed through the left side main menu.
The main features of the site:
 The Guest's Chair Journal is a journal for sharing stories, spiritual reflections and other articles related to Oigedchaire and the Christian faith. It is intended to be a community effort with article authors coming from among our friends.
The Caretakers of Mary's Garden is an outreach to the elderly and dependent. The idea was the fruit of efforts made by friends here in St. Louis. See the Caretaker's menu link for details about this ministry.
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The following is from the Office of Readings for November 23rd, the Feast of St. Columbanus.
Photo: St. Columban Church in Chillicothe, Missouri, 1896.
If only it is preserved, the likeness of God is man's greatest dignity
Moses wrote in the law: God made man in his image and likeness. Consider, I ask you, the dignity of these words. God is all-powerful. We cannot see or understand him, describe or assess him. Yet he fashioned man from clay and endowed him with the nobility of his own image. What has man in common with God? Or earth with spirit? – for God is a spirit. It is a glorious privilege that God should grant man his eternal image and the likeness of his character. Man’s likeness to God, if he preserves it, imparts high dignity.
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How hopeful I became when I saw that this past Saturday, September 10, 2011 Raymond Cardinal Burke presided at a Pontifical High Mas at the Shrine to Our Lady of Knock. Cardinal Burke's pilgrimage to the shrine included being the keynote speaker for a pro-life gathering. I can not think of a more fitting place than at the Knock shrine, the site of an apparition of the Holy Family, for these two events to coincide...