Ancient Prayer of Anoitment

This prayer could be used for baptisms or for a blessing. It is found in a paper by Fr. Sean O'Duinn.

It was originally in Irish and according to Fr. O'Duinn it likely dates to the 9th century. I think it would be a wonderful prayer to rededicate one's own life.

May the yoke of the Law of God be on this shoulder;
May the intelligence of the Holy Spirit be in this head;
May the sign of Christ be on this forehead;
May the hearing of the Holy Spirit be in these ears;
May the scenting of the Holy Spirit be in this nose;
May the vision of the People of Heaven be in these eyes;
May the conversation of the People of Heaven be in this mouth;
May the work of the Church of God be in these hands;
May the welfare of God and neighbor be in these feet;
May this heart be a dwelling place for God;
May this complete person belong to God the Father.

Martin Hayes on the Importance of Music

It's hard to define, isn't it?

A Man Who Recorded History

Austin Cooper lived from 1759-1830 and was a historian. His family calls him the Antiquary to distinguish him from the many Austins in the family line. Ge was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in London, but perhaps his greatest contribution to preserving history was his drawings. He traveled about Ireland on official business (collecting taxes) and sketched the ancient ruins and prehistoric sites, thus preserving on paper some of what can no longer be seen.

He was not alone in his desire to record history, thankfully. Besides his contemporaries, Austin's descendants worked to print and preserve some of these drawings. The material was kept in the family near Dublin until about 1960 when it was transfer with another descendant to England. The National Library of Ireland eventually acquired it and O'Brien Press published a book in 2000, Cooper's Ireland, Drawings and Notes from an Eighteenth-Century Gentleman.

There are drawings by Cooper in the National Library that are not in this book, and the library also has 18th century drawings by others as well.

You can read more about Austin Cooper and see some of his sketches on this blog by a member of his family.

Sheep

When I find a reference to the same thing in two different places (not intentionally like research) I stop and take notice. In two places today I read something about The Good Shepherd. While that's not an obscure subject for Christians, I still thought about it in a different way.

The Good Shepherd is a reference to Jesus. In the Book of John, Jesus refers to himself as The Good Shepherd. If you search the Bible, you find numerous references to sheep and shepherds. In one of the earliest, Joseph on his death bed says that God has been his shepherd. All this has led to tons of sermons on the subject.

I don't know about you, but I've often been told the story about how stupid sheep are. That's why they need a shepherd. And the conclusion is that human beings are also stupid and therefore need Jesus to shepherd us. I'm not doubting that we need Jesus, but I don't think people are stupid. (Generally speaking, that is!)

I didn't find that "stupid" reference in the Bible. If I missed it, would someone please show me? I don't think we're called to be stupid. Just the opposite: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." ~Matthew 10:16 NIV

It seems to me that it would be much easier to follow a shepherd if you were completely stupid. Having a mind to think and reason, like we do, makes it harder to trust. We think we know we better and that gets in the way. I don't think you have to throw away all your intellect, however. God gave us a mind. He did not make us....sheep, for instance. There is just something about sheep that He used as an illustration.

©2010 Cindy Thomson

Of course there are multitudes of sheep in Ireland, so I had the opportunity to observe them every day when I was there. I didn't really study them, but just noticed a few things. It was obvious that because they didn't know us, they moved away from us when we drove or walked by. This one did not move too far away from his meal, but he was ever observant of me.

Sure, sheep can make poor decisions and easily be led astray. I get that analogy. But like most things, there is more to the story. Any sheep experts out there willing to share their insights??

Adagio Trio

Today I'm bringing you a Q&A from a musical group called Adagio Trio. They have a Celtic CD out you might like to sample. 


From their web site:

The Adagio Trio was founded in 1985 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their unique combination of harp, flute, and cello provides a fitting compliment for meditation or relaxation. Their CDs have been used in various venues such as massage clinics, yoga and meditation classes, retreat centers, music therapy, hospice, etc. Most of their arrangements, such as "Ashokan Farewell", "Shenandoah", Ave Maria", "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", "Pachelbel Canon in D", and "On Eagle's Wings" are original arrangements. Adagio Trio has been featured on public radio stations throughout the country including Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Oregon, and California, and featured numerous times on WHRO radio in Hampton Roads and WGUC-FM in Cincinnati. In the first six weeks, their debut album “Stillpoint” sold over 1000 copies. 





What led you to perform the Celtic music on Celtic Heart? And, how is this style of music uniquely suited to Adagio Trio?

We have always loved this style of music and wanted to learn more of how to play it. Kathy & Lin both have Irish ancestors and have loved Celtic music. We are not Celtic players, so we were all coached by local Celtic musicians so that our style sounded as authentic as possible. Our group of harp, flute and cello has a unique Celtic sound because the grouping is not typical. Unlike our other CDs, all of the pieces we arranged ourselves. We especially wanted to record this CD since our harpist, Lin had bought a William Rees Aberdeen Meadows Celtic harp in memory of her brother-in-law who was a lover of music and had died of cancer. The harp has such a different sound than the pedal harp. The flute and harp are traditional Celtic instruments, but the cello is not. I had to learn the fiddle style for some of the pieces on the CD.


Your music has brought comfort and relaxation to people who are recovering from medical problems as well as hospice patients. Did you set out to perform this kind of spiritually comforting music or did it happen by chance?

We did not intentionally try to create music for hospice or "spiritually comforting” music. However the type of music we chose was an expression of a variety of music that is uplifting and familiar. We tried to originally make a CD of music that we all enjoyed. When we started as a group in 1985, we were mostly a “gig” trio that played lots of weddings. Brides throughout the years had asked us about a CD, so we finally created our first recording “Stillpoint” in 1997. There are a few tracks on “Stillpoint” that are big requests at weddings such as “Pachelbel’s Canon” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. As the first few recordings started to sell, others shared that our music had a calming effect. Hospices, massage therapists, and yoga centers have all used our music. We didn’t really see that coming. That prompted us to record more CDs since people were requesting it.



Have you always been musicians?

Yes. We all have played our instruments for a living for many years. Kathy and I both graduated from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in the 80s. That is where we met Lin, our harpist, who had already been freelancing in Cincinnati and now also plays for hospice patients and teaches Suzuki harp. Kathy and I live in Chesapeake, Virginia where I am the principal cellist of the Virginia Symphony, and she teaches and performs also in the area.


Any upcoming performances or recordings you’d like people to know about?

We will be performing a concert in Lebanon, Ohio, August 19th, 7:00pm, at Resurrection Lutheran Church. We will also be performing in Cincinnati at Joseph Beth Booksellers on August 20th, from 11:30am to 1:30pm.  We usually play tunes from our 5 CDs, which are a mix of classical, folk, religious, and Celtic music. We hope to perform a few more times in the 2011-2012 season. Because we live apart from our harpist, we cannot perform as often as we would like. We would encourage anyone interested in attending our concerts to keep in touch via our website: www.adagiotrio.com .

Happy Flag Day!

Flags have been important to groups of people since Biblical times, and certainly Celtic clans used flags and colors and tartans to identify themselves. Today is flag day in the US. We fly our flag at our house every day, but today is an especially good one to fly the red, white, and blue.

This is the flag outside of the funeral home during my father's funeral. Underneath the Star Spangled Banner is the US Army flag in honor of my father's service.

Irish history

I'm always researching Irish history. Before I actually went to Ireland I tried to get as many visuals as I could before I wrote. Now having been to Ireland I have a better perspective on many places, but I still believe that when you are writing about the past you need a good imagination. Photos, drawings, and even early Edison movies help spark my imagination.

That's why I was so pleased to find this post from the Irish History Podcast. These are amazing film clips.

How ever did one write before the Internet?

And speaking of podcasts, there are several I like.

Here is an archive of the Irish History Podcast shows.

The Irish Roots Cafe.

And not to be missed, the Irish Fireside podcast.