If you are interested in considering becoming a member of our dispersed Community there are three stages in the process. You might want to consider the “Way of Life” without any commitment, this the first stage of Enquiry. If, after a period of time you decide that it’s something with which you’d like to go further, and you choose to make a commitment, you would ask to become an “Explorer”. This entails choosing a suitable Anamchara (Soul Friend) and creating a draft “Way of Life” to which you could recommit annually. The purpose of this stage is to discover whether such an annual commitment, and the personalised form of your “Way of Life”, encourages and enhances your spiritual journey in your relationship with God. If, after another period of time, you decide to make a more formal commitment to the Vow and the “Way of Life” you can choose to be come a “Voyager”. There is a liturgy for marking this significant step, called the “First Voyage of the Coracle” (inspired by the example of St Brendan the Navigator). In this latter stage you also rededicate yourself to the Vow and the “Way of Life” annually. Some take it a step further and make a Life Commitment to the Vow and the “Way of Life”. Throughout all of this you would be making these commitments within the context of your own situation, relationships and life. This is our form of the monastic spirituality pioneered by the Early Irish saints and their colleagues in this island.
Here we outline in a little more detail some of the concepts behind the 10 Waymarks of the “Way of Life”.
1. Learning with the Heart (ag foghlaim leis an gcroí) also known as “Lifelong Learning”
- Daily Bible reading is at the heart of our Way of Life (it is an integral part of our daily prayer rhythm). We encourage the Celtic practice of memorising Scriptures, and learning through the use of creative arts. We study the history and writings of the “Celtic” Church, becoming familiar with the Early Irish saints, as well as those in Britain and Europe. We remember their feast days and consider them as companions on our journey of faith. We also bear in mind their strong link with the Desert Fathers and Mothers and the Eastern Church, drawing them also into our field of studies. This study is not academic, we do it in order that what we learn should be lived. We also learn about God through nature and Creation, as they did.
2. Journey of the Little Coracle (turas an curachán) also known as our “Spiritual Journey”
- We are inspired by the example of St Brendan the Navigator who voyaged to seek God. Our equivalent spiritual journey comprises three particular strands and our little coracle carries us in the coastal waters of faith.
- The journey with our Anamchara comprises our twice yearly meeting with them to seek spiritual guidance, whilst reviewing our “Way of Life”. We may also be in touch with them at other times should we need their wisdom for our progress on this journey. They can also advise on these other two strands:
- The journey of regular retreats, some only a day long, for reflection and quiet and an annual retreat, usually residential at a place of our choosing.
- The journey of pilgrimage to a “thin place” (where heaven and earth feel to be very close); it may be a place associated with one of the Early Irish or other “Celtic” saints; it might be a site within our own tradition. In each case it will be a place to inspire our faith and encourage our journey of faith.
3. The Three Labours (na Trí Shaothar) also known as the “Rhythm of Prayer, Work and Re-creation”
- Prayer: We commit ourselves to a regular rhythm and discipline of daily prayer. The Community affirms and encourages the use of regular prayer patterns and practices, old and new, and provides its own prayer resources drawn from the “Celtic” tradition. Ways of praying will vary according to personality and circumstances; we affirm the exploration of every kind of prayer from silent contemplation to celebratory praise.
- Work: We welcome work as a gift from God. Every member should engage in work, whether it be the routine activities of life or paid employment. We avoid work motivated by values which conflict with the Way. In humility we accept what God gives us. If we have no employment and are not clear what our work is, then we seek the advice of our Soul Friend. We seek not to overwork because it robs us, others and God of time with them.
- Re-creation: The hours of rest and recreation are as valuable as the hours of prayer and work, as the Lord Jesus reminds us (Mark 2:27). Even the land was given a Sabbath (Lev 25: 3-5). The need for rest is built-in (Gen 2: 1-3). A provision for this kind of rest, which is both holy and creative, should be part of our personal Way of Life.
4. The Powerful Prayer Love (fpaidir chumhachtach an ghrá) also known as “Praying for God’s Will in God’s World”
- We commit ourselves to pray for the coming of God’s just and merciful rule in all the situations and concerns that we encounter, with persevering prayer. We may encounter opposition and the existence of spiritual forces of evil (John 12:31, Eph 6:10, 18). Prayer is central in overcoming them. We do not project onto this things for which human beings must take responsibility; we do seek to discern the spiritual influences at work. Such prayer is always related to positive action because our ultimate goal is to “overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).
5. A Balanced Life (saol cothrom) also known as a “Simplicity of Lifestyle”
- We wish to “live simply that others may simply live”. God will make different demands of each of us. Our common responsibility is regularly to hold before God our finances and our belongings—conscious that we are stewards not possessors of these things—and making them available as God requires. A simple lifestyle means ordering our belongings, activities and relationships in a way that liberates the spirit; cutting out those things that overload or clutter the spirit. We’re not seeking a life of denial for we thoroughly rejoice in the good things God gives us. Our commitment is to openness. By our lifestyle, hospitality, intercession, and regular and generous giving we demonstrate our open simplicity.
6. Care for Creation (cúram don chruthú)
- At the heart of the Early Irish Christian worldview is the insight that God can be known through Creation in all its facets; this is its 3rd Pillar. So, we affirm Creation as good, but spoilt by the effects of human sin and by evil. We respect nature and are committed to seeing it cared for and restored. We aim to be ecologically aware, to pray for God’s creation and to stand against all that would seek to violate or destroy them. We look upon creation as a sacrament, reflecting the glory of God, and seek to meet God through God’s Creation, to bless it, and to celebrate it.
7. Restoring Relationships (caidrimh a athbhunú) also known as the “Healing of Fragmented People and Communities and Land”.
- The 2nd Pillar of the Early Irish Christian worldview is the holistic approach to life. So, we renounce the spirit of self-sufficient autonomy. We encourage the ministry of Christian healing. Not only do we “lay holy hands” on those who are sick, praying for their healing, but also on every part of God’s world, to bless it and recognise its right to wholeness in Christ. We seek to become more fully human—in the “image of God”—as we grow in Christ, and we believe that “the glory of God is seen through a life fully lived” (St Irenaeus).
8. Wind of the Spirit (gaoth an Spioraid) also known as “Openness to God’s Spirit”
- The 1st Pillar is an openness to the leading of the Spirit of God. So, we allow the Spirit to take us where God wills, whether by gentle breeze or wild wind. The Early Irish Christians had such faith in the leading of the Spirit that they gladly put to sea in coracles, and went where the wind/Spirit took them. We desire this same openness to the Spirit. We affirm the gift of prophecy (l Cor 14.1) and encourage its appropriate use. We seek to cultivate an interior silence so as to respond to unexpected or disturbing promptings of God, to widen our horizons, to develop “the eye of the eagle” and see and hear God through Creation.
9. Weave the Three Strands (na trí snáithe a fhí) also known as “Unity”
- In studying the history of the Early Irish church, we discover the unity we once had as one Christian people within the one universal church. We are constantly ashamed of our divisions. We repent of the schisms between Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and other Churches. We look upon all fellow Christians not as strangers but pilgrims together, and we honour those in oversight in all churches. We resist in our own lives things that damage the ‘unity in diversity’ of Christ’s body (1 Cor 12), not doing separately what is best done together. The Early Irish church was thoroughly indigenous to the people in a way that the church has never been since. It honoured, trusted and went with all that was good in the human communities it worked amongst. We seek to cultivate a solidarity with all people in everything wholesome and godly, to value God’s image in them, and to shed attitudes and practices that put up barriers between the church and the people. We desire the healing of peoples divided by class, colour, creed, ethnicity, gender, etc and repent of our own part in these divisions.
10. Share the Experience of Christ (Comhroinn Taithí Chríost) also known as “Mission”
- Our aim is that “the whole created order may be reconciled to God through Christ” (Colossians 1.20). We seek to live as one Christian community so “that the world may believe” (John 17.21). The goal of the “Way of Life” is to develop a disciplined spirituality that will make us effective in our witness to Christ in the world. The Early Irish church spread the faith from grassroots communities like Innisfallen and Clonmacnoise. Our’s springs naturally from the community of our local church within its wider context. The devotion to God of the Early Irish Christians was written in their lives, their actions and their words. It was the beauty and power of this that convinced people of the value of the Christian faith. We seek to share in those same qualities. We ask God to work through us in signs and wonders for God’s glory, not ours. Our mission also includes speaking out for those who are poor, those who are powerless and those who are unjustly treated in our society, and to minister to and with them as God directs.
If you are interested in exploring this spiritual path for yourself, then please do get in touch with us by sending a message from our Contacts page.