Happy St. Patrick's Day!

An Irish Prayer
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.







From Saint Patrick's Breastplate
Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me

Salvation is of the Lord.

Bless This House
Bless this house, o Lord, we pray.
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.
Bless the roof and chimney tall,
Let thy peace lie over all.
Bless the doors that they may prove
Ever open to joy and love.
Bless the windows shining bright,
Letting in God's heavenly light.
Bless the hearth a-blazing there,
With smoke ascending like a prayer.
Bless the people here within...
Keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all, that one day, we
May be fit, O lord, to dwell with Thee.

Sheep on the coast of County Kerry

Armchair Travel Tuesday: “Síocháin agus Farisinge”

County
Sligo
in Ireland

To the Readers of this work,
I dedicate these words
from the Kavanagh family crest:

“Síocháin agus Farisinge”

Peace and Plenty

So begins the opening dedication lines of a novel that I eagerly awaited months ago, when I learned that
Jan Karon was in Ireland, writing another novel in the 'Father Tim' series. Be sure to visit her website here for more details on her research trip to the Emerald Isle including a slide show.
If you are familiar with Jan Karon's work, you will know that she has written the Mitford series, followed by Home to Holly Springs (2007)
In this novel, In the Company of Others, retired Episcopal priest Tim Kavanagh, is taking his wife Cynthia to the land of his Irish ancestors in County Sligo, Ireland after many years of promising and planning.
Although we are drawn into the countryside immediately with its narrow winding roads, torrential rains, beautiful landscape and the smell of turf fires, it becomes clear that this story will take us into the lives of families with secrets, guilt and pain followed by the liberating power of confession, forgiveness and redemption.
Father Tim is a listener and he does that well as he draws life stories out of the characters he encounters here, having a gift for reaching out to the hurting.
He has come to Ireland to have a clearer understanding of his history, while Cynthia has come for some rest and relaxation.
The question was asked by Father Tim to his lovely wife, Cynthia as they settled in for their first evening at the lodge:
"What would you like to have from this place?"
Her response:
"Time to enjoy being in my skin. There's something by Thomas à Kempis:
'Everywhere I have sought rest and not found it, except sitting in a corner by myself with a book.' I want to sleep in tomorrow-sit in that lovely old chair in the corner and read, and listen to the sounds of this place, and speculate."

If you are a Jan Karon fan, you may want to take a moment to read the following interview found here.
Just reading this interview reminds me of why I love Jan Karon's novels and admire her as a writer.

“Pick a life at random on the street,” Karon says of her method, “it could satisfy me to the end of my days because every life, no matter how seemingly obscure or uneventful, is utterly, deeply fascinating and consuming....
Well, I believe that everything is redeemable. I believe that God uses great, hard things for good. I believe, like a proper Yankee, he doesn’t waste anything. Everything is useful to God and will be made beautiful in the end by God. I think it’s important for us to believe that. He works these miracles all the time, whether we believe or not, simply because he loves us, he created us. And why did he create us? The most extraordinary thing is He created us because He wanted to be with us. He actually—this is really hard to believe, but it’s scriptural—enjoys our company. It’s like if you had a hobby of keeping bees, and you really loved your bees, watched how they performed, and their behavior, and enjoyed the honey. That’s God. He created us for Himself."

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

"Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a yearly holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (circa AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland."

I have always had a fascination with Ireland, the Emerald Isle,
where Cead Mile Failte is a common sentiment~ 1,000 welcomes!
Ireland is known for its fine linens and lace,
waterford crystal and fine china,
tweed jackets and aran sweaters,
shamrocks and claddagh rings,
celtic music and Ceilidh along with Guinness in the pub,
potatoes, colcannon, soda bread, Irish stew, and bram brack.
Ireland is a land of old churches and castles, as well as
charming sod houses with turf fires burning.
It's tragic history includes the Great Irish Famine, war, starvation, and prejudice and yet they persevered with courage and hope for a better future.
Many immigrated to other lands, including Canada and the United States entering the ports near Ellis Island in New York as well as Grosse-Île in Quebec.
Theirs is truly a story of struggle and perseverance!

Many Famous Authors were born in Ireland including Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, and Edna O'Brien.
Some current authors include Maeve Binchy, Cathy Kelly, Marian Keyes, Cecelia Ahern, Sheila O'Flanagan, Andrew M. Greeley, Alice Taylor and Patrick Taylor.

Some of the best celtic music comes from Ireland with musicians like
Robin Mark, Daniel O'Donnell, Enya, James Galway, and The Irish Rovers to name a few.

"Do you think them proud city folk will listen to his poor ould ballads with the heart of the boy singing through them. It's only us-- it's only us, I say, as knows the long wild nights, and the wet and the rain and the mist of nights on the boglands-- it's only us I say could list to him in the right way; and ye knowed, right well ye knowed, that every string of his fiddle was keyed to the crying of your own heart."
Rutherford Mayne
The Turn of the Road

Journey with me to the Emerald Isle: