| |
| St.
Kevin |
|
This
is Kevin, the founder of the monastic settlement at
Glendalough in Co Wicklow. Year by year, his community
of monks increases, and the tide of recruits shows no
sign of turning.
What an inspiration Kevin has been
to these men, with his life given over to prayer, and
yet, he didn't set out to inspire anyone. He came here
to be alone with God, away from the world and all its
distractions.
|
 |
Kevin comes from noble stock - his ancestors
once ruled the eastern province of Leinster - and he
was baptised by the holy man, Crónán.
He came here from the monastery in Killnamanagh in County
Dublin, where he first went to become a monk.
Obviously, Killnamanagh was not so much
a destination for Kevin, as a point of departure. What
he learned up there has spurred him on in his search
for God, to embrace the simple life of the ascetic,
which he continues to do to this day.
|
| |
read
more |
| What
does such a life involve? Basically, minimal attention
to physical needs. The working principle is that the attention
needs of the body recede with denial, leaving the hermit
free to devote himself more fully to the hunger of the
spirit. It's certainly not for the faint hearted!
When Kevin first came here, he lived
on a sparse vegetarian diet, and slept out of doors
with no shelter. His only companions were the birds
of the air and the creatures of the woodland, and this
solitude suited his purpose perfectly. In the silence
of this magnificent setting, Kevin's spirit soared.
|
| |
|
| There
are stories told by people around here about the extraordinary
affinity Kevin developed with the world of nature during
his time alone here. There's the one about the blackbird
building her nest in his outstretched hands as he prayed,
and even better, the otter that rescued his psalter from
the lake waters! |
|
|
You
can take these stories with a pinch of salt if you like,
but what people are trying to say, is how happy and
fulfilled Kevin was in all of this, and more importantly,
how radiant and attractive he appeared in his simple
life. Charismatic in the best sense of the word.
Little wonder that other young men should have gravitated
towards his radical lifestyle. And so began the ironic
development of community growing up around a man who
came here for solitude. And they continue to come.
|
| |
|
 |
Kevin is an old man now but he still
treasures his moments of quiet. Whenever possible, he
slips away to his grotto overlooking the upper lake,
to give his time to prayer. By the look of things, this
is an ancient tomb, but it's just right for Kevin. Here
he finds God amid the solitude, the way he always intended,
when he first arrived from Killnamanagh all those years
ago.
|
|
|
|
Related
Links  |
|
|
|
