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Ireland's Pilgrim Paths
| Article
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12149 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1994 |
3,385 Words |
| Author
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Steenie Harvey
Steenie Harvey is a freelance writer based in County Roscommon
in the Republic of Ireland. |
For Catholic Ireland, devotion goes right to the bone. TV programs halt for the eighteen bells of the Angelus; local newspapers brim with novenas and prayers "never known to fail." Even the postage stamps regularly feature Celtic crosses, time-toppled monasteries, and masterpieces of religious art.
But devotion can be more rigorous than simply reciting the rosary. This melancholy land of saints and scholars is also a land of pilgrimage and penance. It is a land where old men shrive their sins by climbing barefoot to Croag~ Patricks. summit on Garland Sunday.
In folklore, Croagh Patrick is the mountain from where Saint Patrick rid Ireland of poisonous reptiles, casting them into the sea. Catholics concentrate less on snake charmery and more on the belief that Patrick fasted and prayed here for Irelands conversion. On the summit, he received Gods blessing and the promise that those who perform penance "shall surely not go to hell."
The belief that penance, especially in the form of physical denial, brings Gods forgiveness is ingrained in the Irish character and probably explains why pilgrimages are popular.
In addition to the trek to the summit of Croagh Patrick, penance can be made on an island in the middle of Lough (lake) Derg. However, as you will soon learn, this pilgrimage is for the healthy sinner only A third pilgrimage, for those with less energy, can be made to Knock Shrine in county Mayo. This pilgrimage offers an insight into the simple and deep faith that helped Irish monks Christianize Europe.
Any pilgrimage is always more than just a physical journey The benefits gained largely depend on what spiritual ba~ago you carry with you. For some, taking the pilgrim path may be a way of expiating wrongdoing or begging a divine favor. Others regard it as an act of thanksgiving, a time for meditation, or even as a brief escape from the pressures of the real world. And, here in Ireland, you always meet someone who goes along 'just for the craic."
Irelands pilgrimage traditions predate Saint Patrick and other missionaries of the fifth century Many of todays holy places were originally pagan sites hallowed by the Druids. Like the continental Celts, the early Irish venerated the forces of nature, making long journeys to hills and mountains they revered as sun sanctuaries.
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