Balally bound

The second phase of this wonder-filled journey began with a day and night in transit. Three air legs, from Salt Lake City to Seattle, to Reykjavik and finally Dublin. The parish of Balally, our destination, is situated on the southern side of Ireland’s famous city. To get there we flew high across the Rocky Mountains and vast frozen prairies of Canada, the white windswept snowfields of Greenland, and brooding Arctic Ocean. Iceland is 66 degrees north of the Equator, and Reykjavik airstrip, which is all we got to see of this volcanic wilderness, looked pretty bleak and cold.

Sarah has been invited to meet with members of the Church of the Ascension in Balally, and to lead some Holy Week reflection.

Brendan, the parish assistant, met us at the airport and drove us to the Presbytery where we were greeted by Fr Jim, the parish priest. Geraldine served delicious home-cooked soup and sandwiches, and conversation and laughter flowed. We felt immediately at home in this place of warm hospitality. 

After lunch, Fr Jim took Sarah for a tour of the parish centre while Brendan and Neil enthused about Irish music - U2, Clannad, Mary Black, Luka Bloom and, how could I forget, Van Morrison??!!

Later we were welcomed by Sr Mary and Sr Katherine from the French Order of the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ), with whom we will stay whilst here in Ireland. Their house is next door to the church. And then, we had dinner in town with Fr Jim and Cinzia, one of the meditation leaders in the parish. On the way home we stopped to visit Fr Dermott, who earlier served here as parish priest and now supports the parish as chaplain and theologian.

We had a jet lag affected sleep (i.e., not much sleep at all) but nevertheless joined in with the pre-Easter service for the two local Catholic primary schools. Sarah was ‘on display’ as a remarkable curiosity - a woman priest!! It was a lovely service which included two short periods of meditation. The children were very settled and engaged, and Neil got gig with the musos, singing and playing guitar and shaker. 

We were given a leave pass on the afternoon and caught the light rail into the city centre.

We found Oliver St John Gogarty’s pub in Temple Bar and decided to stop in for lunch and a wee ale - the music was playing and the craic was good.

In the evening, we were invited to join with a group of Fr Jim’s friends drawn from different parishes he’s worked in. They’re called the Mad Hatters and they gather for dinner whenever one of them has a birthday. It was loads of fun, rich in laughter and shared stories.

So, what a delightful start to our time in the Emerald Isle. And, surprisingly, it’s only rained four times! Ahead today we have the very special prospect of meeting up with Sarah Legrand from the London wing of the Benedictus Zoom community! Sarah has flown in from London to visit Dublin and meet up with us. How good is that?!

Meandering to Moab

Our final full day in Utah was a travel treat. Early in the morning Matt Wickman picked us up to explore Arches National Park in the south east of the state. As we drove out of Salt Lake City it was snowing again - heavily!

Everywhere you look in this part of Utah, there are mountains.

Gradually the landscape changed, becoming more dry and arid.

After four hours of driving we entered Arches National Park. Wow, what a landscape!

This is the iconic Delicate Arch, and we saw number plates in the car park from at least twenty different US states. Clearly, a popular tourist destination! 

We walked a number of trails and saw some astonishing features. What amazing country.

These are called the Three Gossips - caught here in shadow as we were leaving the park at the end of the day. 

We had dinner in Moab and then began the long drive home. At one point on the way back the temperature dipped to 1 degree Fahrenheit (that’s something like minus 15 Celsius!) It was a rich day of exploration and conversation - thank you, Matt. (Btw, Matt’s podcast Faith and Imagination is a rich resource for anyone who is interested.)

This has been a wonderful week in Utah. We are grateful for gracious hospitality and precious new friendships. We are leaving with full hearts as well as anticipation for the next leg of our adventure - Dublin, here we come!! 

Buen Camino,

Neil and Sarah ⛄️⛄️

Utah too

This blog begins in Midway, the small town in the Wasatch Mountains where Sarah is leading a retreat for the faculty of the Neale A Maxwell Institute - a research institute connected with Brigham Young University. Our hosts had warned us that the resort we stayed in was slightly over the top ‘Swiss’ in style and it was so - but beautifully comfortable and apt for the conditions!

It was too cold and snowy for extended time outside, but short walks revealed beauty near and far.

Where’s Wally??

Driving back to Salt Lake City from the conference centre we crossed a pass at 2280 metres, 62 meters higher than Mt Kosciusko! 

 From here, conditions deteriorated quickly. It started snowing again and the state highway became more and more congested with snow, cars and trucks. Jason, our driver, did a magnificent job of getting us to our destination. 

Safely back in Salt Lake City and having bid a fond farewell to our BYU hosts, we made our way to the famous Temple Square. This is the domed exterior of the Tabernacle.

And inside, its extraordinary organ which we heard played in a short afternoon recital. It has 3600 pipes and the longest is 32 feet. 

Thanks to a tip off from Jason, we then went in search of the Red Iguana for the best Mexican food in Salt Lake City. Even in mid-afternoon people were queuing for a seat. 

It was worth the wait!! We had a delicious late lunch/early dinner with a delicacy of flavours we’ve not experienced in Australia. Enchiladas with mango mole (moll-ay) and green mole if you’re interested!!

Later that afternoon we received a text from Matt Wickman (professor of literature at BYU and whose podcast with Sarah a couple of years ago is responsible for our being here) inviting us to a choral concert at the Assembly Hall in Temple Square just next to the Tabernacle. The theme was Easter and the choir, orchestra and organist were wonderful.

More treats were in store next day…

Utah

Well we made it to Salt Lake City and Brigham Young University (actually in Provo) after about 24 hours of travel. We weren’t prepared for how shrouded in snow capped mountains this region is. 

How’s this for a backdrop to the uni?! That mountain in the background is higher than anything in Australia.

After a mixed night sleep wise we headed off to Devotions with our host Miranda and what turned out to be literally thousands of others. Walking there was like being in a crowd streaming into a major sports game or concert and when we got there it was huge!

Apparently all classes are suspended each Tuesday mid morning for these devotions, and most students and faculty attend. We met in the university basket ball stadium that seats 19,000, and when things started I calculate there were at least 14,000 people present. A women’s choir sang a beautiful song and it turned out this was a significant occasion when the conclusion of the current University President’s term was announced and the new President was introduced.

On Wednesday we met with different faculty and faculty leaders and rich conversations ensued. In the afternoon we were taken to the BYU Museum of Art to see a wonderful display of Maynard Dixon’s (mostly Utah) landscape paintings. These are amazing. 

We also saw this stunning Nativity painting by local Utah artist Brian Kershisnik.

The crowd wasn’t as big at Sarah’s lecture on the Poetics of Faith as it was for the University devotions but they were appreciative. It turns out a former Poet Laureate of Utah was present. He came up and thanked her for the lecture afterwards. It was a wonderfully rich and inspiring lecture.

In the afternoon we gathered with members of the faculty of Religion and Literature to discuss Sarah’s book Experiencing God in a Time of Crisis, which they have all been reading and love. It was another rich conversation. This was the view of Provo and Lake Utah from the window of the room in which we met.

And this from the window on the other side.

And this is what we saw outside the window of our digs (the University Guest House) when we awoke next morning. 

Later that morning we headed into the Wasatch Mountains for the retreat which Sarah will lead with members of a research group.

We made it to our destination after a wild ride in heavy snow. We were both glad not to have been driving!! Here are two of the folks that transported and have hosted us BYU, Miranda and Jason.

And here’s Sarah posing with one of the locals at Zermatt, the ‘Swiss’ resort where the retreat is to be held.

Two more of the locals.

Snow, snow and more snow.

We’ll leave it there in order to post before the end of the week. We hope to post again in the coming days to share more of Utah and Salt Lake City. It’s lovely to have you following along and we are thinking of the Benedictus community gathering later this evening.

Buen camino

Sarah and Neil❄️❄️❄️

The Mozarab Way to Santiago

The Camino Mozárabe is an old 1400km+ pilgrim route that extends from the Mediterranean port town of Almería to Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern corner of Spain.

Established around the 11th century by Christians (Mozárabs) living in Al-Andalus (now Andalucía) under Moorish rule, the way begins at the Cathedral in Almería.

From there it meanders inland along and across semi-arid valleys, 

in and around the Sierra Nevada mountain range, 

on through countless olive groves,  

dozens of small villages, 

and two significant Andalusian cities. 

Situated on a hill-top overlooking Granada, the first of these cities, is the Alhambra, 

 an amazing Moorish fortress/palace dating from the thirteenth century CE.

In the heart of Córdoba, the second and larger city, the wondrous Mezquita holds pride of place. Built as a mosque and later 'converted' to a cathedral this stunning, ochre-striped, arched building dates from 784CE.

Two hundred and fifty kilometres beyond Córdoba, at Mérida, 

the Mozarab way merges with the Camino via de la Plata.

Mérida was founded as a Roman colony in 25BCE under order from the emperor Augustus. It is a world heritage listed city and contains stunning ancient ruins.  

 From here, the path stretches in a northerly direction for another 800+kms passing through three more distinct regions - Extremadura, Castile, and Galicia. 

We plan to celebrate Easter in Almería and then to begin our pilgrimage on the Camino Mozárabe on Easter Monday. Sarah's intention is to walk to Córdoba. From there, she will leave for the Abbey of Bonnevaux in France to lead a retreat for members of the World Community for Christian Meditation, and then to undertake her own thirty-day silent retreat. 

I hope to continue walking from Córdoba, following the yellow arrows all the way to Santiago,

and on to the Atlantic coast.

The timing of this adventure coincides with a sabbatical for Sarah (after eleven years leading Benedictus), 

and with me turning 65 (and transitioning to a new phase of life). We look forward, with some trepidation(!) to what will unfold and will try to share something of the experience in this blog. 

We'd be delighted to have you following (and commenting) along.

To close, some words from Australian Cartoonist, Michael Leunig.

                        Dear God

                        We pray for another way of knowing: 

                        another way of being 

                        Across the difficult terrain of our existence

                        we have attempted to build a highway

                        and in so doing have lost our footpath.

                        God lead us to our footpath:

                        Lead us there where in simplicity

                        we may move at the speed of natural creatures

                        and feel the earth's love beneath our feet.

                        Lead us there where step-by-step we may feel

                        the movement of creation in our hearts.

                        And lead us there where side-by-side

                        we may feel the embrace of the common soul.

                        Nothing can be loved at speed.  

                          

                        God lead us to the slow path, 

                        to the joyous insights of the pilgrim; 

                        another way of knowing: 

                        another way of being.

Buen Camino

Sarah and Neil