Tag: Spirituality

People of the Spirit

A thought on Pentecost Sunday

Gifts given freely

Edith joined a house group I was leading one Lent. The Course was about Prayer and in one session we were encouraged to pray aloud for people and things that concerned us. We were given a week’s notice and just before we were due to meet again, Edith sent for me. She told me that she would have to miss the next session.
She had an anxious and slightly guilty look so I probed a bit deeper. She was scared of praying aloud because she had nothing to pray about. ‘You see, I’m not very spiritual’. I think what she meant was that she wasn’t very pious.
She thought that people had to put on a very posh or sugary voice when they pray believing that you have to speak to the Almighty in a certain way. Edith was too down to earth for that.
So I asked her how her daughter was. She was going through an horrendous divorce. Edith told me all her anxieties and how she hoped God would strengthen her and be with her and the children and so on and so on. At the end I said to her, ’say ’Amen!’’ She asked me what I meant. ‘Well’, I told her, ’you’ve just been praying about your daughter for ten minutes so you might as well say ’Amen’. Edith was no fool and she got it right away. ‘I have, haven’t I?’
‘Now come to the group and do it there again, amongst your friends.’ That is exactly what she did and everyone present promised to pray for her daughter. I saw a life lit up with new joy.

Edith didn’t join the rota for the intercessions. She had a much more important job in the church. She made all the purificators and corporals and albs and surplices. She was an amazing seamstress and everything she made for God’s service was made prayerfully. Every stitch carried it’s own moment of praise. ’It’s important to give God the best’ she would say. ‘After all, look what he’s given to us in Jesus. He’s given us so much love and grace. We must give our all to God!’

Of course, as she reminded me, she wasn’t spiritual!
Yet she gave her all to God and that day when she prayed aloud in that Lent Group, she gave a bit more. And it made her happier than ever. I might just have forgotten to say that she not only made our albs and other linen, she also washed and ironed them! She lots more vestments for the Church—but she wasn’t spiritual!

As we Christians celebrate Pentecost, it’s people like Edith who come to mind because she is an example of those Christians who just use their gifts happily for God and actually don’t realize that they are doing anything more than returning to God the love they have received from Him.
They never think about themselves. They lose themselves in the service of God and others.
I think Edith was one of the most spirit-filled people I’ve ever met.

[Mr G. Pentecost Sunday 2026]

Catching the Moon

My artist friend, Kay Gibbons, caught up with the Super (Wolf **) Moon last evening.

Driving home last night I watched the tree reaching up to catch the moon …. but the moon carried on her journey to return another night and I was the only one to catch the Moon -stopped suddenly in its tracks by the click of a button on a screen in the palm of my hand .
I was reminded of an early painting which was inspired by the Wolf Moon in January 2022.

**The January Full Moon is often called the Wolf Moon from the howling of hungry wolves in the winter.
This name is thought to have a Celtic and Old English origin.
Other traditions may also know it as: Celtic: Quiet Moon
North American: Old Moon Cherokee: Cold Moon
In the S. Hemisphere it is known as the Hay Moon, Buck, Thunder or Mead Moon

A Prayer of the Moon

O Lord God,
you called me to be a light to shine from the heavens,
to lighten the earth.
You fashioned me, as an instrument of creation,
as your Sun became the great light to rule the day,
so I became his refracted light.
Reflecting the brightness of my brother,
set in the canvas of night where you fixed the stars.

There will never be a time nor a place
where your light won’t shine upon earth,
a reminder that even when humanity is at its darkest point,
Your light penetrates, is always present,
a divine presence waiting for the clamour
of human vice and voice to be stilled and emptied of meaning.

Your Sun, Stars and Moon, we are a trinity of light,
reflecting your majesty.
Part of your cosmic desire for your love to penetrate the density
of human sin; sadness; selfishness
and so bring hope, light and true life to a world you have created
to be aglow with the joy of creation.

May your People be reminded of the Light of your dear Son,
who converts all hearts, no matter how dark and dim,
to sing your praises.
May they be good and responsible stewards of your earth
and allow your love to penetrate the whole of creation
so that with us, Sun, Moon and Stars, they may glorify you!

Mr G.
3rd January 2026

[][][][] Photograph & painting by Kay Gibbons.
If you would like to see more of Kay’s art, it’s on Instagram:
kaygibbons_art.glass.sculpture

Be on your Way!

**Statue of St James, Apostle & Martyr, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.**

Thoughts on the feast day of St. James, Apostle & Martyr, the first of the Apostles to give life for the Christian faith.
f.d. 25th July.

I have a special love of St James whose feast day we keep today. The Church where I learned what the Christian faith was really about was dedicated to him. Another church where I worshipped with much joy for 10 years was also under the patronage of the great apostle.
Perhaps I like him too, because he was something of a hot-head, always shooting his mouth off before he thought what he was saying! He also hoped for a special place in the kingdom of heaven but learned that worldly ambition has little to do with the Christianity. Humble, sacrificial service was the lesson he really had to learn and, as the first apostle to be martyred, (when he was beheaded for his belief in Jesus Christ) he learned that the Kingdom of God can never be had on the cheap.

I think I am attracted to him mostly because he is the Patron Saint of Pilgrims. This came about because legend has it that his body was brought to Spain and laid in a church built at Compostela in Northern Spain which has the added name of ’Santiago’ (Spanish for St James). When the Holy Land became cut off for Christians, it was Santiago de Compostela which became the European centre of Pilgrimages and Pilgrims flocked there (as they still do) to make a special journey which is both physical and spiritual.

As the Holiday season gets in full swing it is good to be reminded that ’Holiday’ is derived from ’Holy Day’ – a time of refreshment for body and soul.
A pilgrimage is not just a holiday nor a journey to see the sights. It’s a holy journey which has a special purpose. Those who go away on holiday are looking to re-charge their batteries and that is true for those who go to centres of pilgrimage too. People who go on Retreat or who visit holy places are seeking rest for the soul as well as the body. Of course, there is lots of fun to be had too and for pilgrims the journey is part of that.
Meeting up with fellow-travellers whose life experience is different and with whom one can share faith is as important as the destination—perhaps more so.

I felt something of this when I visited Assisi, the centre of pilgrimage connected with St. Francis and people who go to Taizé, Holy Island, Iona, Walsingham, Canterbury and other centres of Pilgrimage throughout the world, feel much the same. What is often felt is that God calls us apart to a place where, as the poet T S Eliot puts it, prayer has been valid. It’s a thin place, where God is more easily experienced. This is what I discovered when I took the Pilgrim way to Santiago a few years back. Of course, this should also be true of every church building but some places are special.

The word for this journey is ‘ Camino’ . That is a Spanish word meaning path, or way. It refers to a network of pilgrimage routes from all over Europe and beyond.
These ways each lead to the Shrine of St James in the city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

But journeys are not just outward. The real journey is inward and from Baptism onward Christians are all called to make a pilgrimage of faith—the journey of life—which leads us more and more into that most holy of all places, the Kingdom of God. The description of the Church as the Pilgrim People stresses this journey. We are a people always on the move, always changing and being changed by grace as we try to make space for God in our lives. This is true for most who are members of the world religions. We are all called to travel in faith to God.

Of course, we don’t always have to leave our homes at all!
I love the story of an old lady who was asked why she just sat in her room. “I’m not sitting’ she replied, ‘I’m on a journey!’ She didn’t need a special place to find God. He was in her heart. We find him best when we are still.
Happy travelling!

[See my Blog entry for July 31st 2022 for a poetic reflection on Camino Communion by Piers Northam]

St. Brigid and the manger of Bethlehem

St Brigid and the Manger.
Last Saturday, February 1^st, we remembered St. Brigid (sometimes spelt, Brigit).
Along with St. Patrick, she was Apostle to Ireland and is credited with him as one who proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Irish people.
At that time the links between Ireland and what is now the southern part of Scotland were very strong. So Brigid(t) enjoys a special place in the hearts of both nations.
Her abbey was at Kildare in Ireland and, as in some parts of the Irish Christian tradition, it was a double monastery of both women and men. This practice was later transferred to Northumbria via the mission from Iona.

Many stories, traditions, myth and legends grew up around St Brigid, including one that suggests she was ordained Bishop to serve her Irish congregations. There is more evidence than not about this and if true, Brigid would have the honour of possibly being the first Woman Bishop in the Christian Church! That’s a thought for another time but one legend about her was brought to my attention by my dear friend, Heather Upfield, with whom I enjoyed a lovely friendship when we were both in Edinburgh. Her love of what we now call the Celtic spiritual tradition did much to feed and inspire my own love of it.
Earlier this week I received this note from her:

“In the Scottish tradition, St Bride was carried by angels from Iona to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve to be midwife to Mary at the Nativity. She then remained with the Holy Family till Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple. In the Candlemass mythology, she walked ahead of them carrying lighted candles, with a crown of lit candles on her head.”

The painting above by John Duncan, painted in 1913, which is in the National Gallery of Scotland, is inspired by this story. The two angels are carrying the saint between them to Bethlehem.

Wanting to know more, who better to turn to than my friend, Heather? I happened to find an article, by her, on St Brigid which was published in 2017. Here is the part of that which refers to this story.

“In the mythology, St Bride is carried from the Isle of Iona, in the Inner Hebrides, to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, to be mid-wife to Mary at the birth of Jesus. In the Ghaidlíg, she was known as‘Ban-Chuideachaidh Muire’ ‘knee woman of Mary’, as in the Hebrides, women gave birth on one knee. Not only is she present at the birth of Jesus, but she also takes on the role of the Foster mother of Jesus – ‘Muime Chroisd’. In the Hebridean tradition, a Foster mother was considered more important than a natural mother. They took the view that any woman could become a mother – and be good or indifferent or bad. But the Foster mother took on the rearing of a child who was not her own, and this gave her greater status. In the eyes of the Hebrideans, therefore, St Bride is more important than St Mary and it is she who is considered the true Mary of the Gaels. A Hebridean prayer during labour was ‘Bride, Bride, Come in. Thy welcome is truly made. Give thou relief to the woman and give thou the conception to the Trinity’.
Following the Nativity, the Church celebrates Candlemas forty days after Christmas. St Bride is closely connected to this Festival. When Mary and Joseph carried the infant Jesus to the Temple, St Bride walked ahead of them. She wore a crown of candles and held a lighted candle in each hand. The flames stayed completely still and were not moved by the wind. In some traditions, Candlemas is known as Feast Day of St Bride of the Candles, and she herself is known as St Bride of Brightness. The legend of the flames also corresponds with what we know of Oimelc (or Imbolc) as a Fire Festival.”

[Brighid, St Brigid, St Bride, St Bride of the Isles and Scotland’
©Heather Upfield, www.brighid.org.uk/scotland_footprints.html, 16 April 2017.]

A certain caution must be exercised and possibly a suspension of belief in this story. It is part of a folklore which belongs to a people who understand the importance of myth as containing a kernel of truth rather than made-up fiction. Chronologically, of course, it can’t be an historical truth but there is more than one sort of truth, especially where angels are involved! Sometimes we have to move from the human realm to the heavenly to discover a new way of discovering the heart of God. Poetry, art, storytelling and music belong to this realm. Often words fail us in their bareness and logic but spring to life in a new way if we use our communication skills differently.

So the myth of St Brigid’s visit to Bethlehem and the echo of a Candlemass ceremony which is ascribed to St. Lucy in Scandinavia , are wonderful stories about new birth, tenderness, care and light. Bride’s visit to Bethlehem is also a delightful and fun story. Anything that brings a smile to our lives right now can only be good!

Thank you, Heather, for bringing this source of joy to my heart.

[If you wish to know more about the painting by John Duncan, go to the website of the National Gallery of Scotland.
Search for John Duncan and click on to the the very informative podcast]