Relaxing & Rejoicing

"The Lord is near. It is only the smallest step from the fretfulness to the peace of God's presence. God is with us. Will we be with God?"
                                                                                                                   Richard Foster
                                                                                                                     Life with God

Camino Training

I'm excited that there is only one month to go until Camino Part II - my next walk from Estella - Belorado, kicks off on the 13th March when my friend David King and I fly Cork - Stansted - Biarritz!

As part of my preparations I started a new gym programme one month ago which involves a mix of cardiovascular training (10 minutes each on the bicycle, stepper and treadmill) weights (bench press, lateral pull down,leg extensions, gastroc strengthening, leg curls etc) squats, sit ups and a range of stretches.

The weather has also improved so I have taken the opportunity to do some hillwallking. Last Saturday I did 11.6 km around Claragh Mountain at Millstreet and yesterday I walked 24 km from Killavullen - Dromahane with one of my Camino friends Matt McCullagh through a mixture of Beech and Pine forest.

Summit of Claragh Mountain

Cairn on Summit of Claragh Mountain
where local legend says a priest was buried

Below the small cliff face on Claragh - a favourite nesting site for ravens

Beech forest outside Killavullen

Matt McCullagh

Harbingers of spring - Hazel Catkins

Looking towards Knockaroura Hill on the Blackwater Way



A pint of my favourite locally brewed Longueville House Cider
 in the pub at Mourneabbey

However, Camino preparations shouldnt just be physical, but spiritual as well. I am glad that my second walk is falling during Lent this year. I am from a Christian background (Presbyterian/ Charismatic / Independent House Church) which traditionally doesnt make anything of Lent and to my mind it has been much devalued by being reduced to a season to just give up chocolate or some other besetting vice! But although it is not a biblical observance, I am beginning to realise that it can actually be a useful time in the cycle of the year to take some defined time out (like the act of walking the Camino itself) to draw aside a little, take time out to reflect and hear from God. To that end this year I have decided to journey through Lent using Henri Nouwen's book The Return of the Prodigal Son as a focus whilst engaging with The Henri Nouwen Society's online Lent book discussion and also discussing the study questions with a Christian friend who is also a reflective guy like myself. I think this process of study and reflection will make Lent much more valuable and meaningful to me and I am sure walking the Camino in the middle of this period is not a coincidence but will be a valuable opportunity to hear from the Lord.

For anyone interested the online book study can be found at: http://wp.henrinouwen.org/rgroup_blog/?p=677

Life with God

I am not sleeping well at the moment, so I have been feeling weary and a bit demoralised, but I was encouraged today as I read words from Life with God by Richard Foster.

The following quotes inspired me to see that the ordinariness of our lives can actually be the place where God chooses to work. If we choose to have hearts that are open to him, the ordinary can in fact become imbued with a sacramental significance; it can become become an outward sign of an invisible grace or undeserved gift from God.

This also has resonance for walking the Camino; it can become more than just walking, so much more than just a hiking holiday, but a place to enjoy and reflect on God's undeserved favour in our lives; in the ordinary act of walking or in the appreciation of fellow walkers or the natural world around us.

But I will let Richard Foster explain better than I am able to do:

"If we are truly alive to the manifest presence of the living God, even the most ordinary of experiences can become an extraordinary experience of grace....Most of his [Jesus] years on earth were spent in ordinary human activities...only a tenth of his time was given to revealing his identity as the Messiah and engaging in ministry... [but] Jesus was growing in wisdom "and divine and human favour"(Luke 2:52)... We don't pay much attention to the forty years [Moses] spent herding sheep in the wilderness before God called to lead the Israelites out of slavery...

Material reality is not the opposite of spiritual reality, but the vehicle through which that reality becomes visible...

Life with God is an ongoing, ever-changing, relational adventure. It is not a matter of being driven through life, stopping every now and then to get out of the car and see the surroundings. God invites us to climb into the landscape of our journey, to breathe deeply with full lungs, to feel the blood pulsing through muscles doing what they were meant to do, to experience the wonder of having a body with which to see and hear and smell and taste and touch this astonishing world"

James Rice - A Medieval Irish Pilgrim

 As this blog is not only about my personal experiences of walking the Camino  de Santiago but also about it's history and connections with Ireland, I was interested to hear from my friend Branden Bettger, about the Rice Tomb in Waterford Cathedral, which he has studied academically.

Apparently it is the only surviving medieval tomb in Ireland with an image of St James the Elder on it, where the donor actually went on pilgrimage to Santiago. This makes the tomb of enormous historical and cultural significance for Irish pilgrims and I have asked Branden to tell us more:

 

 

Guest Blog on James Rice and St James

Branden Bettger

I was recently asked by Michael to write a guest blog on fifteenth century Irish pilgrimage to Compostela and the association of pilgrimage with portrayals of St James the Elder on tombs, for whom Santiago de Compostela is named. I recently completed an MPhil thesis at University College Cork, Ireland titled ‘Death and Marian Devotion in Late Medieval Ireland’, in which I explored how the textual and visual representations of Mary on Irish tombs dating from ca.1400-1527 can be used to gain a greater understanding of the devotional lives and religious beliefs of the laity. In my studies, I came across some interesting portrayals of St James the Elder that display recognition of pilgrimage. One particularly significant portrayal is that found on the tomb of James Rice in Waterford.
 

The tomb of James Rice (d.1488) and his wife Katherina Brown was originally located in a chantry chapel dedicated to St James the Elder and St Catherine of Alexandria, which James Rice had constructed in 1482 off the north side of the medieval Waterford Cathedral, demolished in 1773. The tomb is now located in Christ Church Cathedral Waterford, completed in 1779. Upon first sight of the tomb, it is instantly recognizable as a transi tomb, as the effigy on the lid of the tomb is that of a decomposed corpse, most likely representative of James Rice himself. 

Overall view of Rice Tomb
http://gothicpast.com/items/show/2145

At the head end of the tomb, is the image of the Virgin and Child flanked by the figures of Margaret of Antioch and Catherine of Alexandria, who commonly appeared together in art of fifteenth-century Europe and can been seen in a similar arrangement on the fragments of a tomb in the grounds of New Abbey, a Franciscan friary at Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. The Rice tomb is surrounded by images of the twelve Apostles on the sides, identified as follows from the left to right of the spectator. On the south side, there are the Apostles Matthias, Jude (Judas Thaddeus), Simon, Matthew, Bartholomew, and Philip. On the north side, there are the Apostles James Minor, Thomas, John, James Major, Andrew and Peter. At the foot end of the tomb, opposite the Virgin and Child is a Throne of Grace style image of the Trinity, bordered by Edward the Confessor and Patrick on either side.

Image of Virgin, Margaret and Catherine
http://www.gothicpast.com/items/show/2156

Image of Trinity, Patrick and Edward
http://www.gothicpast.com/items/show/2124

 A well-cut black-letter inscription around the lid of the tomb reads as follows:

‘Here lies James Rice, formerly a citizen of this city and founder of this chapel, and Katherina Brown, his wife. You who stand here consider that what I am you will be, I was what you are, I beg you pray for me that when it is your fate to pass through the gate of death, our Christ who has come to redeem the lost lest the redeemed be damned, will have pity.’

‘HIC JACENT JACOBUS RICE, QUONDAM CIVIS ISTIUS CIVITATIS ET

FUNDATOR [ISTI]US CAP[ELLE ET KATERINA BROUN UXOR] EJUS

QUISQUIS ERIS, QUI TRANSIERIS STA PERLE[GENDA] PLORA SUM

QUOD ERIS, FUI QUOD ES PRO ME PRECOR ORA EST NOSTRA SORTIS

[TRANSIRE] PE[R OSTEA] MORTIS, NOSTRE CRISTE TE PETIMUS

MISERERE QUAESUMUS QUI VINISTI REDIMERE PERDITOS, NOLI

DAMNARE REDEMPTOS.’

            James Rice was mayor of Waterford eleven times between 1467 and 1486, and personally made two pilgrimages to Compostela during his time as mayor. The first pilgrimage was in 1473 and the second in 1483. He constructed his tomb in 1482 perhaps in part because of his planned pilgrimage the following year. The pilgrimage journey from Ireland could be very dangerous and typically involved a lengthy crossing by ship along with travel on land in areas that could be wrought with bandits. By constructing his tomb before his second pilgrimage, James Rice was not only ensuring he would have a respectable place of burial if he died, but also that he would receive prayer and masses on his behalf before, during and after his pilgrimage.

            The chantry chapel in which the Rice tomb was constructed, was essentially a private room dedicated for prayer to the Trinity and saints on behalf of James Rice, Katherina Brown, and their other family members. The display of Apostles and/or other saints on tomb surrounds rather than standard weepers, as in France and England, was a unique feature of Irish tombs during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, and could have been practiced in Ireland as early as the fourteenth century. The use of the Apostles on the sides of tombs in place of other saints or weepers was not common anywhere else in northern continental Europe or Britain until the sixteenth century.

The figures portrayed on the sides of the tomb functioned in part as symbolic intercessors that guided the viewer in the direction of their prayers for James Rice and his family. For example, the Apostles were associated with the Apostles’ Creed prayer, and in some legends were said to have each contributed a verse to the prayer in the same order as displayed on the Rice tomb, with the exception of Paul when read in reverse order. The medieval order of the Apostles is as follows: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, Thaddeus, and Matthias. In essence, the images and the inscription on the tomb functioned like a three-dimensional prayer book that could be circumnavigated by the viewer.

The image of St James the Elder on the side of the tomb likely held special significance to James Rice, not only because St James was his namesake but also because he named his chapel after St James and felt compelled to travel to Compostela twice. Unfortunately, the image of St James is one of the most badly damaged on the tomb. During the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries, St James was commonly portrayed with a cockleshell and pouch, which if there is no longer clearly visible. However, his recognizable staff is still clearly visible. The hat is another common feature of representations of St James, but the hat on this figure is not as flamboyant as some other portrayals. It is possible that some of the wear seen on the image could be the result of devotion displayed toward to the image through touching the figure during prayer, a practice that can still be seen in some churches today.

Image of St James the Elder
http://www.gothicpast.com/items/show/2217

 

Christ Church Cathedral in Waterford is very much worth a visit to see this incredible tomb alone, which is a fine example of how the beliefs and experiences of an individual lay person were portrayed on a tomb that has been preserved for well over 500 years. While in Waterford, don’t miss the Medieval Museum. It holds some incredibly amazing and unique artifacts from the late medieval Ireland. Why not plan your own pilgrimage to Waterford soon?

For additional information see:

 

Hunt, John, Irish Medieval Figure Sculpture: 1200-1600: A Study of Irish Tombs with

Notes on Costume and Armour, 2 vols. (Dublin, 1974).

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, A History of Waterford and Its Mayors: From the 12th Century to

the 20th Century (Waterford, 1995).

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, ‘Politics and the Art of Devotion in Late Fifteenth-Century

Waterford’, in Rachel Moss, Colmán Ó Clabaigh and Salvador Ryan (eds), Art and

Devotion in Late Medieval Ireland (Dublin, 2006).

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, ‘The Art of Devotion’, Irish Arts Review 21 (2004), 112-115.

 

McEneaney, Eamonn, ‘The Waterford Madonna Lactans’, Irish Arts Review 25 (2008),

144.

 

McEneaney, Eamonn and Rosemary Ryan (eds), Waterford Treasures (Waterford,

2004).

 

Moss, Rachel, ‘Permanent Expressions of Piety: The Secular and the Sacred in Later

Medieval Stone Sculpture’, in Rachel Moss, Colmán Ó Clabaigh and Salvador Ryan

(eds), Art and Devotion in Late Medieval Ireland (Dublin, 2006).

 

Ó Riain-Raedel, Dagmar, ‘The Irish Medieval Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela’,

History Ireland 6 (1998), 17-21.

 

Rae, Edwin C., ‘The Rice Monument in Waterford Cathedral’, Proceedings of the Royal

Irish Academy 69 (1970), 1-14.