Celtic Saints and the Arts

This spring, I'm having the fun of teaching a Celtic course in the parish academy of All Saints' Episcopal Church here in Lakeland. I hope to provide a few ideas from that course here for those who are interested as well as some materials for follow-up for those in the class. 

My prayer in preparing for the course is that participants might be drawn closer to God and that their understanding of the presence of the Divine in their lives might be deepened. We will seek that closeness and deepening through texts associated with the saints, scripture, images, music, relating hagiography to our own lives, prayer, and other exercises in spirituality.

We started at the very beginning - "a very good place to start" - with St. Mungo, the founder of Glasgow; and St. Ida, the foster mother of the saints of Erin.

St. Mungo as painted by Alan Lees

Mungo's origin story is extraordinary and reminds us of the extreme precariousness of coming into the world in the first place. Our own birth stories are the primary legendary material of our lives and might provide us some sense of how to think of the writings of the hagiographers. We are told the stories of our births but can’t remember the events for ourselves. The conditions of the time surrounding our births take on heightened and even symbolic meaning in the retelling.  And sometimes, some of the occurrences accompanying our arrivals sound downright miraculous.  Most importantly, these stories are deeply and inextricably bound up with who we are and who we understand ourselves to be. 

 
Four great miracles of Mungo are commemorated on the coat of arms of Glasgow along with a shortened form of his prayer for the city, "Lord, let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word." 

Click here for a little more on his birth and miracles.

And here for a translation of the 12th century Life of Kentigern.

St. Ita, whose name means "thirst," directed a school for young boys, providing spiritual formation for some of the saints such as Brendan the Navigator whose exploits have become famous. Brendan consulted with Ita throughout his life. On one occasion, he asked her what three things God loved best. She responded, "True faith in God and a pure heart, a simple life with a religious spirit, and open-handedness inspired by charity." True faith, simplicity, generosity. 

 

This icon, commissioned by Mull Monastery, captivated our imaginations: its rugged landscape, desert-like sea, the concern of Ita's expression, her protective arms, her posture of prayer, the swaddling of the children, that light of Christ, the shared halos.

For more on St. Ita, and especially the Gaelic lullaby for the "Jesukin" that is associated with her, click here.

And this is Samuel Barber's setting of the related "St. Ita's Vision" performed by Leontyne Price with the composer at the piano.