Farewell To a Fair Isle

It's hard to believe that my time here is over. It has been a wonderful journey from a variety of perspectives. I'll have much to unpack spiritually, emotionally and intellectually long after the suitcases have been returned to the attic. In reality, I cannot do justice to the graces I've received in one final pilgrimage blog; but I can let your know some of the things that will continue to work deep inside me in the weeks and months, likely years ahead. Right now they're no more than a list of words. In reality they are the raw ingredients of what I've learned about myself, the Church, and God that I hope will become a magnficent feast.

So here's just an appetizer of what's filling me and calling me as I return home:

BEAUTY--God gives us glimpses of Himself each day, do we look for Him.
PEACE--Not as the world gives.
WELCOME--As in, how can we be more welcoming to others.
RADICAL UNITY--Each person breathing is made in the Image of God; how can we act like that is true.
REPENTANCE--What would it look like for the Church, corporately, and each of us individually, to repent of working our own agendas for so long?
THE GOSPEL--Who needs it and how do we get it to them?
SANCTITY--Are we who we should be? What are we doing about it?
PRAYER--Reviving prayer in the Church.
IMAGINATION--God's imagination gave us 'green alligators, and long neck geese, a humpty back camel and the chimpanzees...' How are we using our imagination in our spiritual lives--for our good and the good of all God's Church?

The photo above is the cornerstone of Holy Cross Benedictine Monastery, Northern Ireland. It really says it all, don't you think? May it be true in your life and in mine. May it be true in the wholw Church.

BLESSINGS AND JOY TO YOU FROM DUBLIN! Kathleen Bronagh Weller, THE CELTIC MONK