St. Tudwal
St Tudwal, also known as Tugdual, was originally from Wales, the son of King Hoel the Great (who himself was purportedly the nephew of King Arthur). He lived from 528 to 564 AD He spent time as a solitary hermit on an island off the Lleyn peninusula, now known as Tudwal's Island. (There are apparently an east and west Tudwal's island, both now privately owned, the west version belonging to TV star Bear Grylls). Tudwal then emigrated along with 72 followers to Brittany where he spent the rest of his life evangelizing and setting up congregations. He is considered one of the seven founders of the Breton church.
One of the fascinating side lights I found out about St. Tudwal was his association with an activity called the Tro Breizh. This is a pilgrimage route, set out in a circular pattern in Brittany, to include the towns associated with the 7 founders of Christianity in the area. As such it includes a site for St Tudwal at Treguier. Originally started in medieval times (and thought to pre-date other European pilgrimage routes), it was "re-invented" if you will in the 1800's at a time when interest in Breton culture was increasing. The idea during medieval times was to complete the 600 km journey in a week. There was a Breton myth that if you didn't complete the pilgrimage prior to death that your soul would be fated to wander the route once every 7 years. There are several sites dedicated to the pilgrimage. One of the more concise ones is:
www.brittanywalks.com/trobreizh.htm
The idea of pilgrimage really appeals to me. My second son and I periodically daydream about walking the Camino in Northen Spain, and I used to fanticize about biking the Mission trail in California that stretches from San Diego to San Francisco. The Celts also seemed to have this fascination with visiting holy places and the Celtic landscape seems to be dotted with spots one could visit. Modern students of Celtic Christianity seem to flock to either Iona in Scotland, the monastic home of St. Columba, or to Lindisfarne in Northumbria where St. Aidan settled.
Ray Simpson, one of the founders of the Order of St. Aidan and Hilda, discusses the concept of "holy places" at some length in his book Exploring Celtic Spirituality. One section really struck me:
"A holy place evokes an atmosphere by devotion. It invites prayer. It carries a story. It can be a means of mission. It inspires encounters with God. It is never enough, though, to honor those places made holy by past obedience to God. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, it is not a question of whether this mountain or that holy city is most hallowed: God is Spirit and must be worshipped sincerely whever we are...it is, however, a question of allowing God to lead us to the place he has for us, both in life and in terrain."
So maybe instead of planning out a pilgrimage, I just need to be aware of what "holy place" God is leading me to next. Maybe it will be an inner city soup kitchen, or perhaps it will be a small chapel out on the Great Plains as I travel to see my grandson. I have to be spiritually awake enough to know when this occurs.
Lord, as I read more about these wonderful early Celtic Christians, I feel drawn to experience that sense of "holy places" that one visits on pilgrimage. Help me to make each day a pilgrimage, to see a holy shrine in the ordinary. And keep my heart open when You do want me to take the voyage to one of Your "thin-places," where the division between heaven and earth is a mere mental attitude. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment