Day 3: After a full Irish breakfast, you will depart for the Hill of Tara. Then on toMonasterboice for some photos. And continuing on to Newgrange/Knowth to view the passage tombs. Afterwards, you will travel north to Dundalk to visit St. Bridget’s Shrine. Then enjoy some local touring in counties Louth and Meath before returning to the castle for dinner and overnight.At Bridget’s Shrine
The Celtic soul takes seriously the pronouncement of Jesus that those who “do it to one of the least ones, do it to me.” A similar awareness is told in a legend of Brigit who gave away to the hungry a basket of apples given to her by a wealthy admirer. On being admonished for distributing a personal gift to the indigent, Brigit’s reply was: “What is mine is theirs.” This is the world vision behind true Celtic hospitality. It is this value system that empowers our compassionate outreach in today’s ministry of peace and justice. It enlivens this century’s awareness of humanity as a global village for whose welfare each one of us is accountable. (Praying With Celtic Holy Women (2003) Bridget Mary Meehan and Regina Madonna Oliver p.6-7)
Faughart, which according to folklore is the birthplace of Saint Brigit, is located near the border of south Louth and north of Armagh. Faughart is a peaceful place, surrounded by trees and a panorama of the Irish countryside, including the Gap of the North, the Plain of Muirthemhne, and the town of Dundalk. As you walk in through the entrance, you see a shrine with a statue of Saint Brigit on top of the roof. At the bottom of the steps leading to Brigit’s shrine are various statues: Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, Saint Columcille, the first missionary, Saint Malachy, twelfth-century reformer and archbishop of Armagh, Saint Oliver Plunkett who was martyred for the faith during the period when Catholicism was suppressed by Henry VIII. The statue of Brigit is located above all these, and looks as if she is suspended among the surrounding and majestic tall trees. To the left of the shrine is a holy well with its water spouting like a fountain. (Praying With Celtic Holy Women (2003) Bridget Mary Meehan and Regina Madonna Oliver, pp. 25-26)
Down the hill are prayer stones, stations of the cross, and a quiet stream. Several of the stones are identified as places where pilgrims come to pray for specific bodily ailments: there is the knee-marked stone, the waist-marked stone, the eye-marked stone, and so on. (Praying With Celtic Holy Women (2003) Bridget Mary Meehan and Regina Madonna Oliver, pp. 25-26)
PRAYER
Celebrating Brigit’s Gifts for Our Lives
Holy Brigit, your attitude of openness and generous welcome provides a model for us, especially valuable for the many people today marginalized by their traditional religion. You lived the spirit of Jesus who himself embraced outcasts, who challenged the authorities of synagogue and Temple, and who dined with the lowly. Your inclusivity reminds us that we all belong at the Banquet of Love, the heavenly feast. Here all of us find our home, the place where we are loved totally, tenderly, and passionately in the heart of God.
Let us pray together a table blessing attributed to Brigit:
“I should welcome the poor to my feast, for they are God’s children. I should welcome the sick to my feast, for they are God’s joy. Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place, let the sick dance with the angels.”
SONG
Beatitudes by Noirin Ni Raian on Celtic
Joy CD
Antiphon: Amen! Truly, I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the gentle, they shall
inherit the land.
Antiphon: Amen! Truly, I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you.
Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be consoled.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for justice, the justice of God shall be theirs.
Antiphon: Amen! Truly, I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you.
Blessed are the merciful, mercy shall be show unto them.
Blessed are the pure of heart, they
shall behold their God.
Antiphon: Amen! Truly, I say to you, gather in my name, I am with you.
Blessed are those who bring peace, they shall be children of God.
Blessed are those who suffer in the
cause of right,
the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Antiphon: Amen! Truly, I say to you,
gather in my name, I am with you.
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