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| Image by Helen@littlethorpe |
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Celtic Animals and their Saints
A GREETING
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge.
(Psalm 7:1)
A READING
There’s the vast expanse of the sea,
teeming with countless creatures,
living things large and small,
with the ships going to and fro
and Leviathan whom you made to frolic there.
(Psalm 104:25-26)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps.
(Psalm 148:7)
A REFLECTION
I had an experience in the whale nursery in Baja, Mexico, that moved me deeply. I noticed that one whale was extremely white, which our guide explained occurs with these whales as they get older. Its body and tail had numerous scratches and gouges, which usually come from years of defending babies from orcas that try to eat the young on their annual migration from Alaska to Baja. As the whale came closer, we could see many barnacles on its skin and a deep indentation in the back of the blowhole, which also were signs of an elder whale. Our guide said it was almost certainly a grandmother whale. The grandmother whale’s head popped up next to our boat as the swirling, bubbling water spilled away. She raised her chin toward the rail of our boat, and we began to stroke her silvery skin. Aside from the barnacles, her skin was smooth and spongy, as we could feel the soft blubber beneath. As we stroked her she rolled to her side, opening her mouth and showing us her baleen, a sign of relaxation. And then she looked at us with one of her beautiful eyes. What she could see of us as we stared down at her from the boat, smiling and laughing, I had no idea, but it was clear she felt safe and wanted to connect in these bays, where possibly during her lifetime we had almost exterminated her kind.
- from The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times,
by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You.
- "Prayer of St. Brendan," quoted in
Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics,
by Christine Valters Paintner
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| Icon of St. Brendan the Navigator by Marcy Hall found on abbeyofthearts.com |
Brendan the Navigator is one of Ireland’s most beloved saints and the one most often thought of as a maritime monk, despite that almost all of the early Irish monks spent months at sea traveling between islands. It is because his particular pilgrimage involved a maritime creature, that Brendan is considered the patron saint of whales and dolphins.
In Irish folklore of the fourth and fifth centuries, every monastic leader was believed to have a special island waiting for them, that would prove to be a paradise if it could only be found. Brendan was visited by an angel one night who told him to look for this elusive place. Brendan took to the sea, with a number of fellow monks, and moved from place to place and island to island hoping to have found the promised place. One time when the group had gone ashore of a new island, they were puzzled by the dark sand and the inability to light a good fire. When the very island appeared to heave and suddenly rise up under them, they realized they had landed on the back of a whale. Brendan recognized that there was something holy in the encounter, and every year he and his men returned to the same whale to celebrate Easter. They had become friends.
In the last book she co-wrote, Jane Goodall recounts her own story of an encounter with whales. A grandmother whale reaches out to the boat of researchers Jane is traveling with to make contact. The whale appears to be without fear and remains calm and playful. Anyone might experience this as a moment of wonder, but Jane is especially moved that the whale would trust humans who have been responsible for killing most of the whales of her kind in that very same location.
The Jane Goodall Institute, and certainly Jane herself when she was alive, take great pride in their Roots & Shoots program for youth, which has helped to form and empower youth conservation workers and activists around the world. Fostering education in young people is how Jane found hope for the future. Yesterday, we heard about St. Ita, who raised young children in her convent. Among her most memorable pupils -- was Brendan the Navigator, who lived with her as a child. Later as an adult, he formed a deep bond with her, in what the Irish call an Anam Cara, a soul friendship. (We will hear more about this in later days.) Between humans and humans, or between humans and animals, close friendships keep us true to ourselves and ideally -- set us free.
Who in your world has set you free in faith? Who is a mentor who helped change your life?
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This video produced by the Jane Goodall Institute USA was published on World Oceans Day, June 8, 2022 but made earlier that year in Tanzania. A characteristic framework for Goodall's messages is tough truths told plainly, bracketed by good news and signs of hope. "Roots and Shoots," mentioned in the video and in the write-up above, is the JGI program for youth conservationists, found in more than 80 countries.
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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
