Kinnitty Castle in Ireland and the Pursuit of Mystical Faith
Kinnitty Castle
Kinnitty Castle Forest
Wood Sorrel or Shamrocks
Kinnitty High Cross
Library Bar at Kinnitty Castle
Book of Knowledge volumes
Recently my husband and I went to Ireland where I was reintroduced to the value of storytelling. When planning our itinerary, I was asked if I wanted it to include Kinnitty Castle, which YES I DID, because it's Ireland and IT'S A CASTLE!
We drove meandering country roads with no center line and with space for only one vehicle, before turning off to the wooded driveway of Kinnitty Castle, a fortress with a stormy history, including raids, burnings, and destruction by various marauding groups. The present structure was built in 1928 by the Bernard Family. In 1994 Kinnitty Castle was purchased by the Ryan family, descendants of The Chiefs of the Clan Owney. As we entered the estate, a sign stated: “Serving guests since 1929.”
We walked the grounds, stepping off the main trail to trek on a horse path under ancient trees that shaded wildflowers, blackberries and wood sorrel--a plant sometimes referred to as a shamrock.
On the edge of the manicured lawn, the Kinnitty High Cross, carved from sandstone, stood sentinel. The 2.4 meter cross depicts biblical carvings of Adam and Eve, Christ's presentation at the temple, and the crucifixion. Although the age of the cross is debated, the history provided from the castle stated that Saint Colman commissioned the cross in the 12th century to commemorate the conversion of his father to Christianity by Saint Patrick.* The cross also contains references to a 9th century Irish king.
Talk about a garden decoration!
(I have a metal quail family in my garden, aged three years. Be impressed.)
I like to think I come from a deep sense of place having lived in the same house for 32 years and this gives me an understanding of the desert in which we live, but while I walked the grounds of Kinnitty Castle, I discovered a sense of place, centuries deep, that I could not fathom.
Ireland is a country of legend. Ancient stories. Mystery.
That evening we chose the Library Bar for dinner, the less formal option at the castle. (Because what writer doesn't want to eat in a library filled with old books.) Hardcover volumes lined one entire wall, extending from the floor to a few feet below the ceiling.Religious books. Travel books. Science books. "An unusual and antique collection", according to a guidebook.
While waiting for the apple tart with cream to be served for dessert, I noticed a series of volumes all belonging to The Book of Knowledge. Two volumes were missing from the eight-volume gilded set, including number 2 and number 7, leaving the reader with no knowledge of topics beginning with the letter C and letters S-Z.
I couldn't help but wonder what the reader would do if he wanted information on transportation or weather or cougars. Where is a person to discover knowledge when it is lost?
That's a question worth asking in our age of disenchantment, when stories that should not be forgotten have been relegated to legend or a history lesson and even the most important truths are left on crumbling sandstone.
Where should one keep their most valued stories?
Proverbs 7 tells of the importance of holding onto knowledge, and not just any knowledge, but the wisdom that comes from following God:
Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend (Proverbs 7:2-4 NASB).
Where should knowledge and wisdom be kept?
Not just on sandstone. Not only in books. Not in places where it can be lost or destroyed.
But in the deepest part of being.In our hearts.
And once there, to treasure it, like an intimate friend, because only in the heart is the story ALIVE. Beating. Pumping. Real. The story of faith is meant to be lived, not just remembered as an event in the past.
Since returning from Ireland, a place where stories go generations deep, and I walked among sandstone crosses and had dinner surrounded by books in an old castle, I want to delve deeply in the thought that Christianity is meant to be a mystical faith filled with wonder, that teaches us to have eyes on the invisible and to explore the reality of discovering God.
This requires a journey into the unseen where one finds the way with knowledge (a KNOWING) written on a human heart.
Talk about an adventure!
Next week I am going to share another Irish story about the suitcase full of books that came home with us.