Day 5 – May 14 – Wednesday St. Patrick’s Day

(I have not had an internet connection for over a week, so I will be trying to catch up on the day-by-day accounts of our tour. Remember that these are "thumbnail"-type images, and you can get a larger view by clicking on them.)

Bet you didn’t know St. Patrick’s Day was May 14 this year, instead of March 17. As far as our tour was concerned, this was St. Patrick’s Day, which started with a tour of the St. Patrick’s Centre at Downpatrick. There’s a well-done presentation of Patrick’s story, his being kidnapped as a teen-age boy and taken from England to Ireland in the 400’s, which led him to seek the Lord. He eventually escaped and returned to England, entered the ministry, heard the call to return to the land of his former kidnappers and announce the gospel to them. Although St. Patrick is associated with the Roman Catholic Church, at the time he lived, the bishop of Rome had not yet taken the title of Pope, and his message was very centered on the Word of God. I was struck with the realization that those true believers who have gone before us—whatever the language they spoke, the culture they lived in, or the forms of music they used—loved and sought the fellowship of God as keenly as any of us today.

We visited the nearby Cathedral of Downpatrick, which sits on a hill and is visible for miles around. Here, as seen from the Abbey of Inch. (The name has nothing to do with the unit of measurement. It’s an Anglisized form of the Gaelic word for “island”, because it was set on a tidal island.)

The original abbey goes back quite a few years, as this plaque explains. Abbie made a visual pun by putting her small purse with her name on it beside the plaque.

The setting was perfect for some of our first “official” portraits. Cary and Tracy Balzer, our leaders ;

Bob Kitchen and his granddaughter, Lora Clendenen;

Paul and Jacque Cauwels;

and Abbie and I, who all used the rocks to advantage for posing. (Abbie felt compelled to take advantage of the opportunity to tower over me, by standing on the higher part of the wall.)

Jim and Janet Hobble are the other couple in the group, and here we are all together. And for the record: we didn’t tear up the place---it was already in ruins when we arrived, honest!

There were so many species of birds singing at the same time in the surrounding trees, that it was impossible to distinguish how many different songs there were. There on the shores of a still lake, with the warm sun and the stillness broken only by the singing of the birds and the laughter of children enjoying the freedom of movement over, around, and through the rocks, this moment was a highlight of the day.

We moved a few miles further on to Saul, where Patrick was given land for a church. This was in the 5^th century, remember, so although this is the site, this building is not the structure of that time. One feature of the church is the high tower, and similar ones are found all over Ireland. Possibly they were places of refuge from marauding bands, and the doors were about 10 feet (3 m) or more above the ground, allowing the refugees to enter, pull up the ladder and close the door. There may have been other purposes, too, but this makes a good story.

Inside, a silver cross almost seems to glow in the dark beneath the stained glass representation of Patrick. In truth, it is only the light coming from the doorway reflecting off the polished metal. I am reminded of what Paul said in Philippians 2:15-16: “…that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life…” But our light is reflected, too, coming from the One who is the true Light and died on the cross. Our light may not be great, but in a dark and perverse generation, even a little light, ever so dimly reflected, makes a great difference.

Outside the church was a reminder of the passing of time: a cemetery with markers dating back as far as 200 years or more. But death brings decay and ruin. Many markers were worn smooth by the elements; some leaned forward while others were falling backward. Religion of man, like a stick, tries to stay the course of decline, but it is only a matter of time, when this, too, must give way. Only Christ brings life eternal and an incorruptible inheritance that fades not away (1 Peter 1:4).