SAINT ITA OF KILLEEDY, LIMERICK, IRELAND - JANUARY 15

 

Saint Ita of Killeedy

Foster mother of the Irish saints

475-570

Saint Ita of Killeedy is one of those remarkable female saints that we in the West do not typically hear of on a regular basis. As far as Irish saints are concerned, we are familiar with Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid (if that) and not much else.

Catholic.org has an extensive write-up about her, so I won't reinvent the wheel, but I will just give you an idea of what an incredible and unique person she was.

First, it was said that she was the daughter of two noble lines, one of which (her father's) linked back to Felim the lawgiver, King of Tara. I am also descended from him, so she and I are distant cousins, which is something I am happy to hear, because I would hope that she would be praying for her extended family and I might ride her coat tails thereby! (Hey! I need all the help I can get!)

In the Codex Kilkenniensis, her mother was said to be descended from Saint Brigid's sister! Saint Ita was born into an incredible spiritual powerhouse, it seems to me. It is almost as if this woman was destined to become a very holy woman, based upon the bloodline and other factors.

Decorated page from the

Codex Kilkenniensis

She was baptized as Deirdre, raised in County Waterford, and was purported to exemplify the 6 essential virtues of an Irish woman: wisdom, purity, beauty, musical ability, gentle speech, and needle skills. Ita had much stronger recommendations than these, to be sure.

She was given the name "Ita" which means "thirst for holiness," because of her obviously saintly qualities. (The more I hear about this woman, the more I wish I could have met her, that's for sure.)

Early on, Ita rejected the idea of marriage, and received agreement of her father to remain unmarried. I will stop here and point out that, one of the main jobs of a father in those days was to find a proper husband for whatever daughters were in his household because women had little or no method of self-support. The responsibility for the upkeep of a woman would pass from the father to the husband upon the daughter's marriage.  For a daughter to remain unmarried, it meant that the father had to agree to support her. I am not sure what would happen if the daughter joined an already extant convent, but I would bet that the father would be required to turn over a dowry to the convent upon the acceptance of the daughter.  Saint Ita, however, wanted to do her OWN thing.  What a woman!

She eventually ended up in Killeedy and started what appears to be a double monastery, one for women and another for men, as well as a school. Saint Brendan, the great "navigator" saint,  was one of her pupils.

Incredible miracles are attributed to her, and I'll let you read about those on the links I provide at the end of this blog.

What I always find remarkable about saints such as this is that they were very sure of their vocation, from an early age. I had a sense of my destiny, as I was strongly attracted to religion from a young age, about 7, as I can recall, but because I came from a wretched family with no religious education and precious little ethical life, it was a long time before I got focused.

Ita, on the other hand, was nurtured in an intensely religious environment, and the fact that she knew so soon and with such conviction the course of her life is a testament to the spiritual strength of her family.

It is stories such as hers that convince me of how very beneficial it is to provide solid religious education to one's children - and you can't do that if you have no religious life yourself. The old cliche that a family that prays together stays together simply can't be dismissed. Not all families are ABLE to do such a thing, due to divorce, differences in religions between the parents, and all sorts of impediments, however.

I am terribly grateful to have lived as long as I have, so as to have the time to get focused on the religious path that is right for me and which gives me such unmitigated joy. It does not matter that the circumstances of my health and finances and other conditions are not ideal. When you have The Lord, you have everything. Yet, at the age of 68, I feel as if I am still at the entrance of the road to holiness. I've just stepped through the gate, and there is so much to learn and do!

Ita had a very independent character. She was no shrinking violet, and it looks to me that her strength gave others confidence in her abilities. Soon after she struck out on her own, the local chieftan, offered her land for her monasteries and school. She only took PART of what was offered. I imagine that she calculated what she could reliably handle and then refused the excess.

Women saints who strike out on their own are of keen interest to me because I am also alone.  I like to hear about their philosophies.  In the case of Ita, St. Brendan once asked her what three things God loved best and she replied: "True faith in God and a pure heart, a simple life with a religious spirit and open-handedness inspired by charity." Of course, in her answer, we all recognize the two essential things that Jesus told us are necessary: to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In Ita's philosophy, she kept both of these principles hedged about by the simple life. I imagine that, when faced with any dilemma, her advice would be to "keep it simple."

Saint Brendan the Navigator

Ita dedicated herself to prayer, fasting, simplicity and cultivating a gift for spiritual discernment.  She was also endowed with the gift of prophecy and is considered the "foster mother of the saints of Ireland," who, along with many women, looked to her for guidance on the holy path.

Legends that have been passed down to us from her time place emphasis on her austerity. In addition to the miracles attributed to her, she created an Irish lullabye for the baby Jesus.

It is posited that she probably died of cancer, as she had a growth in her side that was the size of a pig by the time she passed.

I find it fascinating that, although she died about 1500 years ago, we know the location of her grave, which is in the ruins of Cill Ide, a romanesque church at Killeedy, where her monasatery used to stand. (The original monastery was destroyed in the 800's by Viking invaders, unfortunately.) The Romanesque Church that was built over the ruins also failed to survive, yet the site is nonetheless a popular pilgrimage spot. But another reason why I wish I could have gone to Ireland in my lifetime!

Ruins of Cille Ide

In addition to being the patron saint of Killeedy, Ita shares patronage of Limerick with St, Munchin, so many people crave her attention! There is also a nearby small town by the name of Kilmeedy (Cil M'Ide = Church of my Ita) that also has some history with and attachment to this saint.

It is helpful to me today to read of Saint Ita's emphasis on simplicity because my life, as a disabled person, requires it.  I can't afford the luxury of complex spiritual disciplines because my body and station in life are not suited to requirements. It is necessary for me to focus on the simple essentials, because I can do little else, as The Lord well knows! This reminder brightens my mood.

Both Catholic.org and wikipedia bear a long list of references for information about this truly inspiring saint.  I provide links here.

CATHOLIC.ORG

WIKIPEDIA

I will pray for you all, as I hope you pray for me.

God bless us.

Silver Rose

THE SEVEN YEAR CYCLE - UPDATE

 

"Appearances"

by

Silver S. Parnell

Copyright (c) 1996, all rights reserved.

My entire life has been devoted in a search for the Divine. No matter what my employment happened to be at the moment, my vocation has always been that of the spiritual seeker. 

When I was 11, I was corresponding with the Carmelite nuns in Carmel, California (much to the ire of my Catholic-hating mother!) In my late teens, I spent time with L. Ron Hubbard on his "Sea Organization Flagship." I studied Nicheren Shoshu Buddhism for a short while in my late teens, but found the chanting was not as mentally stimulating and spiritually inspiring as I would have hoped.

I had no religious input in my childhood, but as soon as I left home at barely 17, I entered onto the mystical and contemplative path, and I have loved every minute of it and I have learned a LOT about many different religions and philosophies, concentrating, for the most part, on Vedanta style contemplation which can be suited to any religion, really. The object of one's contemplation is what is key. Catholics will focus on Christ or God the Father or the Holy Spirit or Mary. Vedantists may fixate on Ramakrishna or another saint. The possibilities are  endless because contemplation and meditation are techniques.

I keep hearing from people that they believe that meditation is the process of "emptying your mind," but my meditation lessons with the Buddhists and the Hindus do not resemble that at all.

I have been blessed and extremely grateful to keep company with remarkable people like Zen Master, Roshi Prabhasa Dharma, beloved friend of blessed memory - and Swami Swahananda, probably the most influential person in my life, with whom I practiced and studied the mystical life of the Vedantic Hindus. When he allowed me to take the final sannyasa vows and gave me the monastic name of "Kaliprana", it was the happiest day of my life. Later, I became enamored of the Catholic mystics and began to trod that path. It has been a wonderful, rich, journey - full of joy and hope.

Swami Swahananda

My Hindu (Vedanta) teacher

About seven years ago, another Vedantist encouraged me to write a blog, as a way of gaining support. I have not received much "support" but writing this blog has helped give me an incentive to study my favorite saints and get back in the habit of writing on a daily basis. In the process, this HAS helped me develop research and writing techniques, as well as fed my soul with the examples of female mystics through the ages. Eventually, I began to feel fairly competent and realized that my lifelong writer's block with which I had struggled terribly, had been eased by the process of writing almost 400 blog posts.

At some point, I intend to take all the information I have gathered during my research for these blog posts and write a book about the rather more "unknown saints," accompanied by my own paintings of them. In the meantime, I was afraid that the posts themselves, which are a running diary of my days seen through the lens of saints who have feasts on those days, might be somewhat stale. I reverted them to draft state until I had a chance to review them and have decided to leave them "as is." They reflect what they are - a diary of thoughts, prayers, musings and research conducted over the years. The character of this blog will change and it will certainly be added to less frequently, but what has gone before will remain.

I am entering into a new phase. I have lost most of the vision in my left eye, due to macular degeneration, and the right eye is likewise threatened. I am faced with having to get shots in my one good eye in an attempt to retard the progress of the disease. The doctors tell me that I have to get a lot better nutrition than I have mostly gotten during all these poverty years and take some vitamins and supplements that I have not been able to afford. (More about that later.)

When I first became disabled, I had a vision of what my monastic life would look like, but, gradually, over the decades since I took monastic vows, It has been pretty much impossible to maintain a proper monastic schedule because most of my time is spent in the laborious process of dragging myself through my painful days and caring for the body which has begun to fail. The mind, however, is still fresh, and I have reverted to living my monastic vocation in imitation of Brother Lawrence, who said that he was as much with the Lord, among his pots and pans, as he would have been if he'd been talented enough to chant in a choir stall. My mind rests with the Lord, and "walking meditation" has become my constant habit.

I practice the presence of God. Lately, I have begun the habit of chanting the Angelus in Latin. The ideal is to do this three times a day, but I admit to being only able to do it twice, due to wretched insomnia that keeps me up all night. I also pray the Jesus Prayer of the Orthodox Church, as well as the Rosary of Mother Mary and Chaplets for various saints. Also, the Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Blessed Mother Mary and Baby Jesus

by

Silver S. Parnell

Copyright (c) 2020, All rights reserved

Becoming a hermit was an afterthought. I never aspired to it. But circumstances forced me into that role and I have done the best I could with it over the last two decades. I hope that all the prayers and the pains that I have offered up on behalf of the world have found favor with The Lord.

Mystic Saint

by

Silver S. Parnell

Copyright (c)1996

All rights reserved

I have not even been able to have a caregiver in the house to help me because the agencies have no caregivers to send, except for the occasional ne'er do well who has had to produce a paycheck to show the court that she is working and thereby will get one step closer to getting her children back from the state. 

These people that occasionally appeared stole from me, harassed me and tried to push me around. Even the daughter of friends of mine managed to "disappear" some of my belongings, including a glass candle shade that belongs on my shrine, though I have no clue how she did that! Perhaps there is something about vulnerability that is too much of a temptation for people, or maybe she broke it and secretly threw it away and was ashamed to admit it.

I have also discovered that for some people, thievery is a way of life. Even when it risks much more than they gain by it, they steal.  It is an ingrained habit, apparently. So, it is perhaps better not to have anyone come into the house to help me. I will struggle along by myself, as I have done for more than 20 years.

A good friend of mine came by several times to get my dishes cleaned up. Since then, as a method of reducing the number of dirty dishes, I have resorted to eating frozen prepared meals because my back and knees cannot stand for cooking and cleaning.

At the same time, my Social Security income is really not enough to address my needs, and I have to try to improve my financial situation before I lose the rest of my vision. I am writing a novel, which I hope to be adapted to a film after publication. (I grew up in the film industry and wrote for television in my early 20's, so I am prepared for the pitfalls.) I also have plans for a series of paintings of New Mexico, my adopted state, and there is the possibility of a small limited line of art jewelry on the side, sold in a local store or online. I will have to see about that. 

These creative projects don't require that I adapt myself to any schedule and can be done when I am feeling well enough to sit and do them. These days, a week might go by when I am not able to do anything but get myself fed and bathed. The pain cycle has its ups and downs, often in response to the weather.

Lunch at the Vedanta Convent

during one of Swami's visits.

About 1989

A monastic schedule, on the other hand, is a more rigorous daily set of hours dedicated to specific spiritual disciplines. I can no longer pretend that my inability to keep to a schedule is TEMPORARY or that my health is likely to improve. Instead, my illnesses and syndromes are steadily worsening, and whatever efforts I make to improve the situation seem only to lessen the degree to which my health is going downhill.

I don't intend to change my lifestyle. I won't be going for boyfriends or husbands. You won't find me hanging out in bars or sitting through concerts. I will remain at home but I will give up the struggle to meet the requirements of a typical monastic schedule because I just can't do it any more.

The Lord will accompany me, as He always has, and it will be alright. I can still keep my mind occupied with Him in whatever activity I find myself. 

THE PLAN, GOING FORWARD

Originally, I had decided not to write this blog any more, but I have since realized that what I need to do is to cut down on the more ambitious elements of it. For instance, the research of the lives of the saints, for which I wrote quite a few biographies. That isn't necessary for an online diary that is, by definition, an account of things that have happened in the author's life - not in the life of someone who lived 500 years ago, or some such.

I have kept diaries constantly throughout my life, I enjoy doing it, and there is no reason I shouldn't keep it up - at least in a more modest form. It helps me come to grips with the daily challenges and is helpful to keep my writing abilities honed a bit. So - I will write when I feel inspired, and I am going to try to keep it more brief. Let's see how successful I am!

MY HEALTH COULD USE SOME HELP!

In addition to the wide-ranging arthritic conditions, the macular degeneration that is robbing me of my vision has been proven to respond to special diet and supplements, most of which I can not afford, and I have a wish list on Amazon for food, visual aids, and some necessary household items. Amazon has my address and will mail to be direct. Follow the link below, and it will be self-explanatory:

AMAZON WISH LIST

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME:

Please feel free to leave a comment on this blog and I will be notified. You are also welcome to contact me on my Facebook page.

Here is the link to my Facebook profile:

FACEBOOK - CONTACT ME HERE

God bless you all.

Silver S. Parnell

Copyright (c) 2021
All rights reserved.

MUSINGS ON SAINT LIBERATA AND VOWS OF CELIBACY

Saint Wilgefortis, 

also known as Saint Liberata

Sometimes conflated with one other "Liberata"

of a similar time period

I love to pick out the names of the obscure female saints about which most people know little to nothing, including ME! When I run across an interesting female saint on a day when searching for them, I spend some hours researching them.

With Saint Liberata, also called Wilgefortis, Librada and other derivations, and sometimes confused with another Liberata who also died as a martyr, we have again a woman who, when faced by an angry father determined to give her in marriage when she definitely did not WANT marriage, is saved by some circumstance.

In this case, Liberata is rescued by the sudden appearance of a beard on her chin! The beard disgusts her would-be husband, and he abandons his suit. She goes on to become a nun, etc.

Is this a myth? Did this person actually exist? Does it matter?

In some cases, the saints appear to answer the needs of the spiritual heart. Those of us with leanings toward the contemplative life, who yearn to be with God alone and for whom earthly romance pales in comparison, are encouraged by stories of brave young female saints who eschewed the married state from the very beginning and pursued God alone.

There appear to be fewer male saints who specifically cite aversion to the married state as a reason for adopting a life of celibacy, likely because women were pretty much at the mercy of their family and society as to the form their life would take, in many instances. Men were also expected to marry, but their work and duties of station were  considered important, whereas the purpose of women's lives was, for centuries, limited to childbearing and rearing within a family. That was their sole contribution to society in the eyes of that society, and I can well imagine chafing at THAT particular bit, as it were.

In the case of Liberata, legend has it that she was eventually martyred at the insistence of her father, who was incensed that she chose religious life instead of the Muslim husband he had picked out for her. Because she was killed for choosing faith instead of family, she is officially considered a martyr for the faith. The backstory on this isn't given in any of the sources, and we are left to wonder why the extreme of crucifixion was imposed on her in the middle ages. Was her father just mad because she disobeyed the orders of this petty king? Was he tired of supporting her, as was his duty until she married? Was it a religious thing because he was a pagan and he objected to her faith? I don't know.

I look upon her story as one of many in the general theme of preferring God to man, and an example for all the vowed and secular women who have given themselves to this life. In my 17 years as an "accidental hermit," I have relied upon the examples of female saints like these.

Currently, there is a minor kerfuffle in the Catholic blogosphere about a book to which Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI may or may not have intended to have his name attached. In it, he supposedly makes the case for continuing the norm of celibacy for priests, in contradiction to some exception that Pope Francis may be making for the priests in the Amazon, where priests are few and far between. Humans like a good controversy, and there are plenty of Francis-haters who have traded in their Catholic faith for a Republican worldview that is cruel and punishing. Pope Francis has made it clear that Trump's wall is unChristian, and he certainly objects to ripping children away from their parents at our borders as punishment for daring to apply for sanctuary in our prosperous and promising country. Francis-haters became so because of these contradictions, for obvious reasons.

In any case, it amuses me that so many people take for granted that celibacy is some horrible, arcane punishment and that it "should" be dispensed with, just as we have dispensed with archaic practices like putting naughty people into stocks in the middle of town so that citizens can throw rotten vegetables at them. I have lived as a celibate person for more than 17 years, and I find it not at all inconvenient.

Saint Liberata relic

Don't get me wrong. Being married is wonderful. It is a lovely state of life, but it isn't for everyone, and it is damn hard to both have a family AND live entirely for God. In fact, it seems an oxymoron to me!

As I have mentioned before, there is some historical proof for people adopting a celibate life after they've been married and seen to the raising of a few children. Husband and wife both take up the life of a hermit or a sannyasi or a Buddhist monk. All the major religious traditions on earth have precedent for this. In fact, it seems natural that, after one has moved through the child-rearing stages, that the elderly would try to move closer to the God to whom one will 'return home' before long. There is absolutely no provision for continuing one's sex life after embarking on this stage, and I think it is terribly funny that Americans are so obsessed with sex that they get all up in arms about this issue about whether or not the Catholic Church should only accept married priests.

I keep reading from these people about what a TRIAL it is to go without sex, and what a horrible thing it is to ask of someone. It's hysterically funny, to me!

As with all rules, there will always be exceptions. In isolated regions, there is no possibility for the kind of day-to-day support that is generally given priests in developed countries. In the Amazon, it really IS a lot to ask of someone that they serve that community entirely alone, without the assistance or support of the church's institutions. Few people would be able to carry on like that, and I think it is smart of our Pope Francis to recognize this and to make provision for the only type of support that is feasible under this circumstance - a WIFE. To do otherwise might be considered cruel.

But, generally speaking, having a wife and children is a full time job in itself, and being a priest on top of those duties isn't practical. Without question, it would draw the church into a responsibility for the costs of raising such a family. Parishioners would be saddled with this obligation that has monetary and social implications, I would think. Providing separate housing for each priest and their families would be onerous. Disregarding the financial entanglements, there are very real burdens on a person's time, when it comes to children, especially. All of this has practical connotations, which can be substantial, if you give it some thought.

I am not saying that these pedestrian considerations are the reasons the Catholic Church proposes for just why celibacy should remain the preferred state for most Catholic priests. I WOULD point out, however, that many of the other religious traditions consider celibacy essential to the aim of the mystically inclined. When I was studying with the Hindus, and then in the Vedanta Convent, there was a lot of information about how necessary celibacy was to the "realization of God." Buddhists also have celibate monastics, for similar reasons. Those who have a dog in this fight and who feel compelled to opine about this controversy, should research the celibacy issue in various religious traditions in order to broaden their understanding of this topic. There is more to this topic than meets the casual eye!

As always, I encourage other women who are living the solitary life to contact me and say "hello." It is always good to hear from you, as it is to hear from all my readers, but I especially send a message of solidarity and support to my sisters in this life.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose
Sannyasini Kaliprana

SAINT WHAT'S-HER-NAME

Saint Ealhswith, wife of King Alfred the Great of Wessex

"The True and Beloved Lady of the English

Saint Ealhswith is one of a large number of saints about whom we know very little.  There are umpteen different versions of her name, which is rather typical for some of these folks during that era.  Etheidwitha is one.  Ealswitha another.  She was a Mercian princess, the daughter of Aethelred Mucil and a female scholar named Eadburgh, who was prominent at court.  Ealhswith was married to a very famous person (King Alfred the Great); we know that she established a convent, Nunnaminster at Winchester Cathedral, also known as Saint Mary's Abbey; and that her children and other descendants were illustrious, William the Conqueror being one of them.  Many of her descendants live in America, and I am one of them.

Customarily, I research a saint on their feast day so that I can come to an understanding of the particular gift(s) to be emulated.  In cases such as these, where little is known, an outstanding feature is usually the fact that the person founded a convent, monastic order, or a grand church, giving land and/or monies for this purpose.

Ruins of St. Mary's Abbey at Winchester

I can barely support myself, so making a big splash with a large piece of land and a fine convent is not something I can do, though I would like nothing better and think of little else on the rare occasion I buy a lottery ticket.  It has been a dream of mine for a very long time, and these days I still imagine that I will establish a community of disabled and/or elderly ladies who will pray their little hearts out with their last bit of energy left on earth.

This is where I have to get creative.  How can I emulate this ancestor of mine?  I have to recall the "little way" of the little flower, Saint Therese, and accomplish the essence of what my ancestor did, in a small way.

By holding a space in which people can be supported in a community of prayer, I am doing my very little bit.  I have a Facebook group called CATHOLIC FAITHFUL SANCTUARY, in which I try to post inspiring items and which I try to maintain as a worry-free zone.  In my home, I have two prayer corners, and, although people do not typically come to my house to pray, I hope that the atmosphere and visual image will be taken home with visitors.

Although I may not be able to found a convent or even join one, I can live a convent style of life, something for which many of these saints are valued.

As I work toward this worthy goal, I ask for your prayers of encouragement and support.

God bless us all.

Silver "Rose" Parnell
(c) 2015